It should be about Week 50, but because I don’t do them every week (or every month) I am only at Week 14. Oh well. In any case, it’s time for another cleanout of “stuff”, because… I am getting ready to move yet again! I am moving back to California in the next month or so, and am using this as an excuse to once again go through my belongings to see what I can purge. First of all, here is the corner of stuff currently awaiting its trip out my door to the Salvation Army and the local library:
There’s much more than 10 things in those bags. There are about 15 books, some household goods that I have been carting around for years unused, and a bunch of other assorted crap that somehow was held on to the last few times I moved. It feels good to know they won’t be moved again!
Remember when I got my bookcase to look like this, back in February?
And then when I got rid of that giant bookcase and got my book collection down to this size?
Well, I have now cut my book collection down even more, and every book I own now fits in this trunk:
I clearly remember the days of spending hours packing up books in order to get ready for moving, but no more – this trunk holds them all, with room left over for a few more. Every time I move, packing is getting so much easier!
Anyway, just figured I would share “Week 14” of the series I started last year to get the ball rolling in decluttering my space. Hope it inspires you to either start your own 10 Things Challenge or get back to one you started with me in the past!
I’m moving next year and your blog has helped inspire me to start downsizing my stuff now instead of later.
Everyone thinks I’m crazy because I want to downsize my daughter and I to a smaller apartment but I’m tired of wasting my money on an apartment that just collects clutter and can use the rent savings to help my daughter pay for college.
It’s been a big relief each time I take a bag of books or box of crap out of our apartment. That’s one more box that I don’t have to move and one more box of stuff that owns me.
Good luck with your upcoming move.
Thank you for the inspiration! It is especially inspiring to me to read about an”older” person striving to live the simple life, as i am myself a “fifty something”…We too can be free and careless! I have been de-cluttering and simplifying for a while and appreciate the community of like -minded non-conventional peers. so please, keep writing. Good luck on your new home! The thing i like about California, is that you can do without AC, and pretty much without heating.
Where are you heading to in Ca? Back to Santa Monica, or elsewhere? I only ask because I’m looking for ideas…Despite the amount I purged both before and after moving overseas, I still feel weighed down by STUFF so maybe this will be the encouragement I needed to do another round!
Well, Christine, I am only in my 30’s…
Jesse – LA area. Can’t afford Santa Monica, sadly. I don’t make that kind of money anymore, but I am ok with it because I am working for me now, not for my house 🙂
I’d love to know what books you’ve kept and why. I imagine these are books you refer to often or have a special significance. Thanks!
i am so happy i found you! i could use some organizing and you have inspired me!!
THANK YOU!
i have to ask….where did you get your bookcase?? I love it!
xo
k
It was from Ikea 🙂
99% nonfiction, as I dont reread fiction books so I don’t keep them. The books I kept are on gardening, green, a few biographies, Red Sox history, homes/furniture, etc. Boring stuff, but things I refer to often.
I don’t know if I mentioned this last spring on here or not but I’m inspired by your 10 things challenge. I teach 8th grade and we were working on a way to give back to our community so I gave them a challenge to find 10 things they could donate to someone in need. We ended up collecting over 100 bags to donate to the lupus foundation! So my students were able to simplify, clean out their rooms, and help those in need! Thanks for this great idea!
I just found you today, and enjoyed going through your 10 things challenge posts.
I found myself laughing inside as I have been decluttering for the better part of two years. There were days I got rid of a 100 things. My new hubby had a 10 x 20 storage unit full of stuff. If I hadn’t tossed so much at one time I seriously think I would have been tossed into a funny farm by now. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this decluttering.
It is sad how we think we need so much.
Also loved your comment on working for yourself and not your house.
jilly
I recently helped friends move and then made a move across the country from Austin, TX to Chicago, IL for graduate school. I realized that everyone I know owns too many things, so I’ve started getting rid of one thing a day (anitemaday.blogspot.com to follow my progress). While I may not be extremely on time with every post is good to know someone else out there believes that getting rid of a few things every week is a good way to simplify your life. I definitely agree that moving smaller makes a move easier, and now I can’t wait to move again when I will be forced to look through all of my stuff and purge!
Good luck!
Rebecca
Congratulations on getting your book collection down to such a manageable size! I hauled all of my books cross country three times. The last time I moved I went minimal beforehand and it was such a relief not to pack em, carry em, uhaul em, carry em again, and unpack em. Plus just like you I no longer needed a bookcase!
Now I’m a huge fan of the library.
Cheers and good luck with your move,
Tanja
I love this idea! I really love the book shelf too. 🙂 I love the idea of having books stored in a trunk because they are hardly looked at and would be so much easier to move. Never would have thought of that! Thanks. 🙂
My library was one of my pride’s in life. I have taken to Kindle and sold most books on Craigslist.
I have replaced most books I am attached to with a Kindle format of the same content for much cheaper. Usually updated or revised.
Any book I want to read I can download in an instant with whispernet.
I recommend this for anyone looking to reduce.
Reading on a handheld computer makes common sense. Easy to clean and carry.
I eliminated my entire office and work anywhere.