THE GREAT 1000 CHALLENGE
What is it? It is me getting rid of 1000 things in our house before November. It is a major decluttering/downsizing project. A key component for the project, however, is to get rid of the 1000 things while minimizing what goes into the landfill -- so that means recycling, freecycling, donating, and hand-me-downing as much as possible. Also, it is finding 1000 things in our house that nobody notices are missing (i.e., things we have outgrown, don't use, and don't want). I'm not out to traumatize anyone.
I've been working on this project since school started in fits and spurts. It's disturbingly easy to walk into a room and find, say, 10 things that we don't need anymore. So far, I'm up to 450 things (+/-). And, it's also disturbing that you really can't tell I've gotten rid of almost 500 objects. How much stuff have we accumulated?! I always have a running box of "stuff" to donate in the garage, so it isn't as if this is the first time I have given away anything in years and years.
The accounting portion of this project is proving more difficult than I expected. If an object has many pieces, I considered whether should I count each piece individually or as one larger object. I didn't want to waste prime de-cluttering time in a self-imposed bureaucratic limbo, so I decreed that the number of items will be proportional to the number of times I've had to pick them up. For example, does one pair of shoes count as 1 or 2 objects? Adult shoes = 1 object. Kid's shoes that I've put away 700 times = 2 objects. The pack of 10 dried-out markers = 1 object. The 1000 piece puzzle still in box = 1 item. The kid's 10 piece puzzle that I've picked up at least 100 times = 5 pieces. The papers have really proven tricky. I'm sure I've recycled >1000 papers, but how to count it??? My rough rule of thumb for paper recycling is 1/2 inch of papers = 1 item. It's tough love over here.
What does 450 items look like? So far, four trunkloads of stuff to goodwill, 6 or so miscellaneous other bags of stuff to various organizations, about 15 cubic yards of paper, and only 1 trash bag. Not bad. The next 500 items will be a bit harder, but I keep finding little stashes of clutter tucked away in a drawer or the back of a closet (ahem, Caroline), so I'm sure I'll get there. Stay tuned for progress.
If anyone is interested in joining me in THE GREAT 1000 CHALLENGE (or even any smaller challenge, like THE GREAT 200 CHALLENGE), let me know! I'll cheer you on!!
We hope you're not giving ANYTHING away that we gave you!
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ReplyDeleteActually, most things so far are items people have physically or developmentally outgrown. Some very special treasures have gone into storage in the attic, but I haven't been "counting" them in the 1000 since the items are still inside the house. I have my eye on that delightful drum set you gave us, though, but Ben still likes to play it.