Day 243 - Notebooks

I cringe at the thought of discarding these notebooks full of wonderful study notes, but after holding onto them for years always thinking I would refer to them from time to time, do you think I ever have? You would be right if you said no. They are only taking up space. So with very much will and purpose, I have chosen to let go of them. I trashed the notes, and the notebooks are going into the donation box. Making  room for newness in my life!

Quote of the day: "People hold onto stuff like their kids' old clothing as a way of holding onto the past. Or they keep things they think they might need someday as a way to control the future." - Peter Walsh

Day 242 - Keys

Time to toss the keys. I no longer have a door or a lock that they fit. 

Quote for today: "I don’t know the secret to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."- Bill Cosby

Day 241 - Candle

This candle has been on the bathroom shelf for a long time. I always forget about it which tells me that I must not like it enough to use it. Sorry baby. You just aint lightin' my fire.

Quote for today: "I was put on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now, I’m so far behind I’ll never die!" - Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes)

Day 240 - Sundress

Today's declutter item was a royal blue sundress of my daughter's. She has too many clothes and this isn't really her color, so she decided to let it go.

Today's quote: "The point of cleaning isn't to have a pristine house, it's to have a FUNCTIONING house." ~ Marla Cilley

 

Day 239 - Coffee Mug

Saturday August 27 I relentlessly had to let go of one of my favorite coffee mugs. The handle is cracked and soon will break. Bye-bye, poor purple cup. 

Quote for the day: "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary."  - Vince Lombardi

Day 238 - Book

Today I'm letting go of a book. Although I read the first few chapters, I will probably not ever get around to reading it in its entirety. It's a good book, but my bookshelf holds other books I am more interested in.

Quote for the day: "My riches consist, not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants." - Joseph Brotherton

Day 237 - Hole Punch

This hole punch doesn't work properly. Some of the holes don't puncture the paper. So it's going, going... gone!

Today's quote: "How much does your clutter cost in peace of mind or missed opportunities?" ~ Marla Cilley

Day 236 - Pencil Sharpener

This pencil sharpener doesn't work, so I threw it in the trash today. No sense in keeping something that doesn't even work, right?

Quote for today: 

"When we buy something, we tend to buy—certainly the product—but much more the promise. If you buy this lipstick, guys will pick you up. If you buy this cookbook, your family will sit around the table laughing and smiling like Leave It to Beaver.

Nnnae! You need to think about the responsibility you have when you buy something. You're...buying the manufacturing process, the resources, the energy, the shipping cost. Don't talk to me about global warming and corporations, because every time you buy an item, you're [having an] impact on the planet." - Peter Walsh

Day 235 - Shorts and Top

Today some shorts and a halter top saw their last day at my house. They are being donated.

Quote for today:  “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” - Stephen Covey

Day 234 - Hangers

We have too many mismatched unorganized hangers in our house so the declutter item today is a group of hangers. 

Quote of the day: "Order is the shape upon which beauty depends." - Pearl S. Buck

 

Day 233 - Clear Box

Today I'm getting rid of a really nice looking clear plastic box that I always thought I would use in some creative way for a gift. It hasn't happened and the thing is taking up space in my closet. Time to recycle it.

Quote for today: "If your house is full of stuff, all the blessings that could fill your house can't get in. The stuff takes over. It robs you psychologically. You can't be at peace." – Peter Walsh

Day 232 - Pullover Top

Today I purged a pullover top from my closet. I always liked it, but it never fit right. You know how that goes, right? So I decided not to keep something I don't wear.

Today's quote: "Our necessities never equal our wants." - Benjamin Franklin

Day 231 - Candle Holders

These candle holders take an unusually small size candle that is hard to find. Consequently, I never use them. Even though they are very pretty, I have decided not to keep them.

Quote for today: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo Da Vinci

Day 230 - Drawer Clutter

Do you have a junk drawer? I do, and more than one. How does so much clutter find its way into a drawer? Well, this stuff joined the declutter club and jumped into the trash. 

Quote for today: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." 1 Corinthians 14:33

Day 229 - CD Case

Today I tossed a CD case into the donation box. I nearly donated it a few times, but I hung on to it every time I saw how darn cute it is! But of course, I realized I really don't need it. So out it went. Bye-bye Kitty!

Quote for the day: "You can't organize clutter; you can only get rid of it!" ~ Marla Cilley

Day 228 - Paper

I went through and cleaned out my file cabinets a little bit. Quite a bit of paper was shredded and brought out to the recycle bin. Less paper; more room! I still have tons more, though. I think I mentioned previously that I have lots of paper clutter.

Quote for today: "It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them." - Benjamin Franklin 

Day 227 - Bell

There are school bells, church bells, sleigh bells, door bells, southern belles, and the Liberty Bell; but why in the world was there a bell tucked away in the back of my dresser drawer? Oh well, I don't love it, use it, or need it, so it's going into the donation box today.

Quote for the day: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." - Winnie the Pooh's Creator A. A. Milne

Day 226 - Chin-Up Bar

My son, who has had his own place for several years, and who has given me permission to get rid of his stuff, did not take his chin-up bar. No one else at home uses it, so it's gone... out the door... hasta luego!

Quote for today: "Use it or lose it." - Unknown

Day 225 - Cassettes

It's not the first time I got rid of a batch of cassette tapes, and I can guarantee it won't be the last. These are the ones I threw away today.

Quote for today: "Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves." - Edwin Way Teale

Day 224 - Suspenders

When cleaning out a closet or drawer, do you ever come upon something you haven't worn, used, or even seen in years? I found a pair of suspenders in my closet. I don't wear suspenders. They immediately went into the donation box.

Quote for the day: "A house that is cluttered is usually lived in by people whose minds are also cluttered, who need to simplify their lives. This begins with simplifying and clarifying their thinking. Mind and life need to be freed from the 'disorder of the unnecessary.'" – Elisabeth Elliot from her book Discipline: The Glad Surrender

Day 223 - Blazer

As I continue to clean out my hall closet, I find a lonely blazer that hasn't seen the light of day is a very, very long time. It is time to let it go. So long, blazer!

Today's quote: "Don't agonize. Organize." -Florence Kennedy

Day 222 - Leather Jacket

I have decluttered items from elsewhere in the house and garage, but lately I keep coming back to the hall closet. I think I just want that closet cleaned out once and for all. It surprises me how much was crammed in there. Even after quite a few things have been removed, it is still pretty full. This, of course, brings me to the item for today: a leather jacket from the mid-90s. It is not used by anyone anymore, so there is no sense in continuing to store it. As of today, it's out of the house.

Quote for today: "It's important to edit your closet. If you don't wear it, get rid of it!” - Nina Garcia, Project Runway Judge and Marie Claire Fashion Director

Day 221 - Floppy Disks

My archaic (as my cousin put it) electronics are history. Haha! And so are the floppy disks. This stack of floppy disks hit the waste bin today. 

Today's quote: "A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it." – George Carlin

Day 220 - Cassettes and VHS Movies

Some old recordings of music on cassette tapes went into the trash and a few VHS movies went into one of the donation boxes today. 

Quote for today: “Life is too complicated not to be orderly.” - Martha Stewart

Day 219 - Sentimental Fabric/Project

Why do I consider this fabric sentimental? My Nanna gave it to me to make her a robe, but she passed away before I could make it. That was in 2002 and I kept it all these years. I just couldn't bring myself to discard it like it was nothing. Recently I had a great idea. Since the fabric is quite soft, I decided to make baby blankets for the organization "Newborns in Need" and donate them in honor of my grandmother.

Nanna's fabric - 5 yards

I only used about two of the five yards that I had, so I will still need to do something else with the rest, but at least I am making a good dent in it and it's for a good cause. I made three blankets, and backed them with some baby flannel that I had.

Baby flannel - 1 yard each

I'm glad I had the baby flannel on hand. The prints went very nicely with the pink fleece.

Finishing off the edge of one of the blankets

I am happy with the outcome and am ready to donate these to "Newborns in Need". :)

http://www.newbornsinneed.org

Three baby blankets done and ready to go!

Quote for today: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” - Saint Francis of Assisi

Day 218 - Refrigerator Magnets

Today's decluttered item is a set of refrigerator magnets. It is  kind of cute, yes, but my refrigerator is too cluttered with things like these. It's time to minimalize and give it a more streamlined look. 

Quote for today: "In a sense, clutter is the end result of procrastination." – Jeff Campbell

Day 217 - Boxing Gloves

I'm still fighting the clutter! Today I got rid of a pair of boxing gloves. These were my son's during a kick boxing phase. Next he went on to bigger and better things while the gloves took up space in the closet. Now they will be exiting the house and I get more free space. Loving that!

Quote for today: "The best way to get something done is to begin." - Author Unknown

Day 216 - Camera Manual

Today I added a camera manual to the donation box. I have no need for the manual since the camera is gone.

The quote for the day: "Picture yourself in your minds eye as having already achieved this goal. See yourself doing the things you'll be doing when you've reached your goal." - Earl Nightingale 

Day 215 - Springform

The other part of this springform cake pan is missing and has been missing for quite some time. I kept thinking it would suddenly reappear, but not so. I have finally decided that without its mate, it shall meet its fate. Bye-bye, springform.

Quote for the day: "Your home did not get messy in a day and it is not going to get clean overnight." – Marla Cilley, The Flylady

Day 214 - Yarn

Hi everyone! Hot today, isn't it? 


I bought several skeins of yarn about the middle of the '90s with which I crocheted a nice afghan for the family room. It is still used quite often. During the winter months, it is draped over the back of the couch to cuddle with while watching TV. I must have kept the extra yarn "in case" I needed it to make repairs, if that need should ever arise. Well, that scenario has never shown its face, and it may never; therefore I am going to free up some space and donate the yarn.

Today's quote: "Your home is a garbage processing center where new things are purchased and slowly demoted through various stages of trashification until you're done.” - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld

Day 213 - Thimbles

I started a collection of porcelain thimbles in the '80s and it didn't take long before I forgot about it. It has been tucked away in a box for years; not on display, not being used, not being loved. I read somewhere that if something is stored away and not being used, no one else can use it, either. So I'm giving these away so they can be enjoyed by someone who will love them more than I do.

Quote for today: "How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them." -- Benjamin Franklin

I thought this quote fitting as today I am dealing with my thimbles, a step in "mending" my fault of collecting too much clutter. :)