10 Things Challenge – Week Thirteen.

OK, so it’s been 2 months since I last wrote up a 10 Things Challenge report, but I haven’t stopped getting rid of stuff! While there seems to be a backlash against the “Live With 100 Things” meme lately (I was always against it – it’s too strict and silly), I am all about keeping only what I need and not much more, even if that means I have more than 100 things – which I do. But in preparation of my latest downsize, I have been donating and selling a ton of stuff that I just don’t need or won’t work in my new place. For example, remember this?

That was my gigantic bookcase that at one time was actually full of books, and then was slowly culled down to what you saw in it here back in February. As of a week ago, only 5 of those squares were in use after I donated another 3 bags of books to the local library. And here is what it looks like now:

Yep, all gone. Who needs a HUGE bookcase when there is nothing to be kept in it? My personal library is now down to a size where I am just going to stack the books against the wall in a corner and call it a day. I kept my favorites and a few reference books, but other than that I decided that if I really wanted to read a book again I could just get it from the library. Besides, my new apartment is 50% of the size of this place (1300 sq feet vs 756 sq feet), so I need to keep it down to the essentials – of which that 6 foot by 6 foot bookcase was not. I think this move is going to be one of the easiest yet, as aside from the kitchen stuff I only needed 10 boxes to pack up all my belongings. A lighter load is definitely good for my brain.

Oh, and this past week I also downsized my car – from a 4 wheel drive Subaru Forester station wagon to a Mini Cooper S. Way better gas mileage and way more fun to drive. I figured that if I wasn’t ready to go car-free (this city is SO not good for that), a smaller car would lower my expenses and carbon footprint.

So there you have it – an update on the challenge. I am still purging and downsizing, and to be honest – my head is clearer. I don’t know if it’s because I have less stuff to worry about or just that having less “stuff” to maintain offers up more free time, but either way I am truly loving downsizing my life. Are you still doing the 10 Things Challenge? If so, how’s it going? If not, why not?

10 Things Challenge – Week Twelve.

OK, so a few weeks ago I wrote Week 11 of this series when I was getting rid of 34 books from my bookcase. This alone was pretty good news and I was pretty happy with my accomplishment. However, soon after I finished bagging those books up, I went crazy… in a good way. I went back to the bookcase and pulled another 31 books out of it to get rid of! I now have only 4 of those squares in my bookcase full of books; I guess it’s time to get rid of the case itself, huh? But, it gets even better – I then pulled everything out of my office closet and methodically went through it all, removing the following items I am getting rid of this week:

- An electric guitar I haven’t played in years
- A stand up fan
- A portable cd/tape player
- A rubber horseshoe set
- A wooden wall clock
- 2 model cars
- 2 shoeboxes full of cables/cords/adapters
- An over-the-door hanger
- A walking stick I made myself but have no need for
- A shoebox full of 4-track tapes from my days of being in bands
- 2 curtains
- 5.1 surround speakers I no longer use

All this “stuff” doesn’t seem like that much when it’s all put away in boxes, closets, and shelves. But once you start piling it up in the middle of a room it seems like a lot more. I looked at my 5 bags of books and all this other stuff and realized that I had paid to move it all here to my new apartment only to now be getting rid of it. I thought I had gotten rid of all unnecessary stuff back in New Mexico, but I guess not! It really is amazing how much crap we lug around “just in case”, isn’t it? I am on a quest to get rid of everything in my house that I don’t use on a weekly basis, and so far so good.

Are you still doing the 10 Things Challenge? Seems I have accidentally turned it into a 50+ Things Challenge but hey – who’s counting? Next week I will tell you about what I did to my master bedroom closet, so stay tuned!

10 Things Challenge – Week Eleven.

Sure, it may be 4 months later, but it’s still the 11th time I have posted a 10 Things Challenge! For those of you who don’t know, back in August of last year I started an almost-weekly post listing 10 things I was getting rid of in order to declutter my house. Well, I got rid of a ton of stuff and then moved to Colorado where I live now. And since I am settled in here (although thinking of moving yet again), I decided there was much more I could still get rid of and that I didn’t need. Over this past weekend I pulled 34 books from my bookcase – and it’s just the beginning. I am going to try to sell these books, and as soon as I get rid of them I am going to pick another batch. I am really seeing no point at all to keeping 95% of these books that I could get from the library and read any time I wanted to. So out the door they go! Here is what my bookcase looked like before I chose the 34 books:

Looks pretty empty already, right? Well, at one time it was full with books – every single block was stuffed. Now there are half empty ones, along with the bottom left one which holds my now-deceased cat’s homemade cat scratcher that I am keeping for the next one. And the USPS bin is for paper recycling only. It’s not so much of a bookcase now as it is a catch-all for a bunch of stuff. Also, those vases are going to be sold as well I think, as I don’t really have a use for them and have been moving them around for years.

And this is what the bookcase looks like as of today:

A little emptier, a little lighter. Now, to get rid of the books I took out so I can go back in and pick more. So there you go – another 10 34 things out of my house for good! Are you still doing the 10 Things Challenge? If so, how’s it going? If not, why not?