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.