Week 14

Week 14 - item weight: 12.6lbs  Cumulative junk loss: 668.7lbs


Content: Large bag of sea shells, wooden models

Process: I realised both with the shells and the models that I really prefer the process rather than the product... I loved the hours spent gathering the shells and had always intended to do some crafts with them. As far as the wooden models go- I love doing models. I never know what to do with them afterwards. In this case, due to improper storing, they will be disposed of.

Week 13

Week 13 - item weight: 18.8lbs  Cumulative junk loss: 656.1lbs


Content: Luggage style picnic kit, my husband's electric guitar

Process:The picnic kit is up for grabs-if anyone wants it. I always wanted to use this more but in reality we don't really picnic and it's been hanging around taking up room. The electric guitar, one Matt has owned for over 20 years, is being gifted. Glad to be back on track; I am a quarter of the way!

Week 12

Week 12 - item weight: 10lbs  Cumulative junk loss: 637.3lbs

Content: tools; cordless drill, 2 battery packs, charger lamp, various small hardware items

Process: It was time to admit the fact that I don't need multiple power tools... (I still have a cordless and a corded drill on top of these!) These were part of my dad's tools, so I felt a little attached to them, however the batteries are dead and so old that I doubt finding their replacement would be easy...

The post is a few days late as I had a last minute work request to travel and I wasn't home most of the week.
I will have to double up this week to keep up my momentum.

Week 11

Week 11 - item weight: 26lbs  Cumulative junk loss: 627.3lbs

Content: Final box of books

Process: It feels really good to have sorted through my book collection. This is the final box of books. I might put a book or two in another box but I now don't have that many left. I started going through my tool "box" (or more like tool pile) and I can see next week's mission...

Week 10

Week 10- item weight: 17.2    Cumulative junk loss: 601.3lbs

Content: Another stack of books

Process:So I know this post is late- I had a weird work week last week which involved me working the weekend, so I didn't get it posted at my normal time. Hence two posts this week. I continued on with the books. I feel like I've found an easy groove, yet I am slowly running out of books! I will soon be challenging myself in a different way. As I go through the books, I am finding a few that I wish to keep; mainly some of the older/rarer books, and a few that carry some neat memories- like Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders...
On the plus side, all the shelf space that i've cleared is filling me with ideas of where to put other stuff that has not had a home in so long!

Week 9

Week 9- item weight: 18.2    Cumulative junk loss: 584.1lbs

Content: (cat not included) Another stack of books- I made a deal with a work buddy who is taking all my war books! Some shoes/boots and a sweater

Process: The books are getting easier to give away although I did decide to hold on to my copy of "Empire of the sun" as it's a fantastic book. Although I have been "getting rid" of books for a few weeks now, they are still stacked waiting to be dropped off at goodwill. Some might be purchased at my workplace's book sale so I can't wait to actually get them out of the house. until then, getting them off the bookshelves will suffice.

Week 8

Week 8- item weight:  400lbs    Cumulative junk loss: 565.9lbs

Content: 1980 Yamaha XS400

Process: So I debated for a while if I should include this in my junk loss project. First of all- it's only 1 item, and it certainly does not fit in a box. It has however been a belonging that I've been holding onto for far too long. The "beast" was my first motorcycle- we spent many great moments together! I had every plan to mod her into a cafe style racer. Last year, when I got my newer bike, she got left in my driveway. My heart would sink every time I would see her just sitting there. This spring, she had gained a new patina of rust and I knew it was time to let her go.

I sold her this week to a young guy wanting to use her as a 1st bike. It was tough to see it go. That's why I placed this as my week 8 junk loss; it's been the toughest so far.

Week 7

Week 7- item weight:  24.5lbs    Cumulative junk loss: 165.9lbs

Contents include: 26 books and a motorcycle helmet

Process: I was really busy yesterday and got out of my Friday routine, but that's ok- it's still this week! I have been going through my book shelves and finding satisfaction in clearing some room. I think I may have a bookshelf for sale sometime soon!  I am slowly getting rid of my massive war novel collection. There was a time about 10 years ago when I bought book after book to add to it- but there came a time about 6 years ago when I just couldn't stomach another book on violence. My fascination as a pacifist, had met it's satiation. I know without any doubt in my mind that war is terrible- no need to surround myself with books to iron in that point.

The motorcycle helmet- I don't know why i've held on to it. It was tossed in the sale of my most recent bike and I had been planning to donate it. I don't trust second hand lids, and I don't even dream of wearing something that isn't a full helmet. Off to the goodwill you go! (Very suitable for a Halloween costume- friends, don't ever buy a second hand helmet for safety reasons)

Week 6

Week 6- item weight:  23lbs    Cumulative junk loss: 141.4lbs

Contents include: 25 books

Process: This week I have been pretty distracted so the books were an easy thing to de-clutter. I continued my work from last week and cleared a few shelves of all my books. It's a little like seeing old friends- unfortunately for these "friends" I haven't open their covers in ages. I don't need those books to remember the fun times and the great stories. Time for them to bring joy to someone else. My John Marsden series (Tomorrow when the war began, The Ellie Chronicles) was hard to let go- it took me a while to collect all the books but I have them all in electronic format. None of them seem special enough to hold on to in my future life of limited space. Only a few select books will make that cut!

Week 5

Week 5- item weight:  24.4lbs    Cumulative junk loss: 118.4lbs

Contents include: Lots of books, a sleeping bag, blood pressure cuff, alarm clock and board game.

Process: This week was mainly my stuff, although my husband parted with his antique alarm clock. It used to be white- now it's a strange yellow from sun exposure. My work is doing a book sale and it's given me a little motivation to clear some shelves. I will likely donate more books this week and stash it as a cheat week. Better they go to a good cause, then simply to the thrift store.

Week 4

 

Week 4- item weight:  22.4lbs    Cumulative junk loss: 94lbs

Contents include: 3 laptop cases (you read that right, 3!), a puzzle, books, Christmas ornaments, a game, some Christmas decorations, a lost season 2 box set.

Process: This was the first week I found myself struggling a little with the process. the past couple boxes felt simple as I could look around me and immediately spot something I knew belonged in the boxes. I found myself pacing a little and wondering what the next step was. I guess I must have some form of item hierarchy of importance, something I've never really given much thought to. I think I want to become more mindful when I acquire new things about where they fit in this hierarchy, maybe that would help me sift out what I truly need.

The books again were difficult. I made the conscious decision to part with some of my Everest/mountaineering collection. Although it was quite small, I had taken the time to gather some really cool books. But they gather dust on the shelf and although I like seeing it there, I know the stories I don't need the pages to remind me of them. Time for someone else to enjoy them. I am dangerously close to the 100lbs point. That's kind of surreal as there doesn't yet seem to be much gone. It causes me to wonder how incredible of a change my living space will have had after 48 more junk purges!

Week 3

Week 3- item weight: 19.4lbs     Cumulative junk loss: 71.6 lbs

Box contains: a healthy stack of books and CDs. Some older computer games, a bag full of knock off meccano parts, a bag sealer, some chocolate molds, various computer parts, bubbles, and 2 ebony carvings.

Process:We had the box out in the open this week and I found myself going through my day and taking notice of the items I was interacting with. I would catch myself wondering if I truly needed certain things. As a result the box filled a little each day. Since it was a smaller box, we tried to focus on smaller items because we also have a lot of that lying around. I will admit, I am grieving a little around the book loss. I know that I have a lot of these books in electronic format and I certainly don’t need 4 bookshelves worth of novels. I am going to have to think about what books are truly meaningful to me because I do want to keep a small collection.

Week 2

Week 2- item weight: 30.4lbs     Cumulative junk loss: 58.2 lbs

Contents include: Large garbage bag of clothes (pants, shirts, sweaters, coats) and a printer.

Process: This was actually not too difficult. The printer was easy, as it’s not been used in over 4 years. (proof is the cords were still wrapped up from our last move as is our fancy labeling system of SR-Spare room.) However, getting rid of clothes involved a little bit of thinking things through. I only need so many clothes to be “grubby”, as they come in handy when I am working on the bike. That said, I don’t need 7-8 shirts that can get dirty. A particularly challenging thing to give away was an old Ani Difranco shirt I’ve had forever. “Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right”. Loved that shirt to shreds-literally!

They are now off to greener pastures.

Week 1

Week 1. Box weight 27.8lbs     Cumulative junk loss: 27.8 lbs 
Box contains: a ton of programming manuals, some toys, radio, small fan, picture frames, some books a camera case, a ceramic figuring, some Christmas ornaments and a few other nick knacks.

Process: This was actually quite easy today. My theory is that at first this will be a simple exercise, but as time progresses it will become more challenging to part with stuff. I was more selective with picking various individual items, whereas my husband made a b-line for his stack of computer manuals. I guess he has been wanting to do that for a while. In a way, I was a little disappointed to stop there, but we already had a large box from before that we need to bring to goodwill (that we aren't counting in this purge challenge) and we have more than enough for a trip. There will be plenty of time next week to continue with this.

The idea

I've been struggling lately with life. Trying to find my purpose and feeling a little lost looking at the years ahead. I feel trapped in a constant cycle of working to live and living to work, yet the only rewards I reap is money, exhaustion and a constant sense of sadness for repeating the cycle over and over.

For years, my husband and I have talked about a simpler life, one in the outdoors, closer to nature. This idea brings me so much hope. We are both enjoy the outdoors and are much happier with a simpler lifestyle.
As a result, we are putting our ducks in a row to be able to make that life a reality, sooner rather than later. There are many steps to take before we can make that dream a reality, but simply starting the process sustains us. We will get there someday! Currently, we live in a large apartment with more furniture than we have room for. There are boxes stacked around and our shelves feel cluttered. This also contributes to me feeling trapped and depressed. I do feel much happier with less!

Thats when I had an idea. What if i issued myself a challenge- getting rid of a box load of stuff every week for the next year. At first I thought it was a little crazy until I realized just how much de-cluttering this would equate to. When I brought it up to my husband, he was all for it, so Challenge on!

The ground rules are as follows:

-The size of the box does not matter (min. size shoe box), however it must be full and contain multiple items
-anything considered as a belonging can be placed in the box (trash like junk mail, recycling is not considered a belonging)
-items in the box end up in one of 2 places; donation center or garbage
-Each week the box will get cataloged and weighed in order to keep track of our collective junk loss.
-If inspired, I can continue packing items (hey why stop a good thing), and they can be photographed, and weighed and kept for a cheat week. (hey I am human!)
-my husband and I have to contribute equally to the box contents. We both get a say on joint belongings and we have no say on each others stuff.