UPDATE: 2012 Items to Declutter in 2012. Part 2 - I Think I Can, I think I can

In January, I posted a challenge to myself - to declutter our home. Specifically, the plan is to declutter 2012 items in 2012. In the original post, I gave a little background information as to why I tend to hold onto so much stuff. I also noted that I'd post updates as I go along, which I have done on my Facebook page. I've had some computer issues in the past month that have left me without a real computer and relying on my phone. Hence, the lack of brilliant posts from myself in the past month.

So, where am I? So far, I have decluttered my home of 425 items since January. Awesomeness, right? I will not lie, I feel pretty darn proud. I should note, that the amount I posted here is actually conservative. I have actually decluttered a little more. As I mentioned, my computer had some issues. It's currently being worked on by a friend. I had kept a running list of items on my computer and one of my final tech screw ups before the machine rebelled was not saving the list. Sigh. So, there was one set of items sent out for donation that didn't get listed and are not part of the tally. I can't remember every exact thing that I donated that day.

Most items have been going to Purple Heart. They have been coming out once a week to pick things up from my front step. I also purged my kitchen cabinets of both food and kitchenware. The food is shameful. I hate wasting food, but I had a few expired items in my cabinets. We also got rid of a lot of my husband's grandmother's dishes. They are pretty and they are old, but they have been stashed away for over 5 years. We will never use them because I am unsure of the lead content of the dishes. We already have our set of dishes that we use on a daily basis. Hubby was fine with donating them. We kept a few pieces and I plan to get those plate hangers and hang them up on a wall. I also got rid of various glasses and mugs that never see the light of day. I cleared up so much space in my cabinets. Now things can be stored properly and are more easily accessible. Bonus: I am more likely to cook if my kitchen is looking purdy. I have a mental block about working in the kitchen when it's cluttered and messy.

Emotionally, I have been doing well. I have to admit, I do wish I could wave a magic wand and have everything fall into place and look perfect. There are times when I feel overwhelmed and wonder if I'm ever going to reach my goal. These thoughts happen the most while I'm doing laundry. My laundry breeds. A lot. I have purged so much in the way of clothes. I got rid of 60 clothing items in a single night, with more leaving the house on other donation days. Yet, it still feels like we have too much. Other than those occasional feelings, I have been handling the whole challenge well. I feel like I'm able to let go a little bit easier. I have moments where I'll want to keep something because of it's associated memory, but those moments are getting less frequent.

So, keep checking back to see my progress. I update the totals on my Facebook page, which also feeds into my Twitter. If you can find me on Mothering.com, where the thread orginated, you will see my detailed lists of items donated. I may start adding the lists to my blog. Until then, let's keep on keeping on by not keeping things we don't need to keep. Yeah, I said that.

Pictured: My linen rack. It's a cheapie wire cube rack I got at Target many moons ago. The picture in the beginning is what it looked like before I started a decluttering blitz. Boo! The pic at the end is the way I intend to keep it. I donated a few sheet sets and a chair cover.