40 Days to Less Stuff: Update Vol 1

When I dreamed up this project, heavily inspired by the 40 bags in 40 days movement, I had no idea how freeing I would feel in just a few days.

I have only decluttered 5 areas so far but I feel so much better. I hadn’t realized it but in the 4 years since I bought my house, I hadn’t done much in the way of decluttering.

I went from living in a 850 square foot apartment through graduate school to living in a 1500 square foot house with my 10 pound dog. I didn’t need to stay on top of clutter because I had so much room.

I have an entire closet upstairs that is full of just random things I shove in there when company is on the way and I have no where else to put them.

Yikes. It never felt like a problem because I still had so much room to breathe. Until, Thomas and Peaches moved in this year then I started feel a little more claustrophobic. While Thomas didn’t bring all that much stuff with him, his presence definitely influenced the feeling of room in our home.

And it would be easy to blame it on him. To say that he brought in stuff and that was the problem. And for sometime, I was in denial and I thought that was the case. To be fair, Thomas’ stuff didn’t integrate into mine smoothly.

Mostly, it sat in the basement scattered from one corner to the other. And it drove me insane. On a daily basis.

So we tackled it together. We went to Lowe’s and purchased some organizational units and got the basement under control. This helped a lot but I still felt this impending doom. Like my walls were closing in on me.

And I realized, that it wasn’t Thomas’ stuff that was the problem. It was mine and he had just been too nice to tell me so.

Now that I’m actively tackling the problem, it is much easier to see how much of the problem was mine.

I started small because this project is anxiety producing for me. My kitchen junk drawer was easy enough to do in one sitting. I knew something that was achievable but deeply satisfying would be the perfect way to kick off my Lenten project.

I started by completely emptying the drawer and sorting things into categories. One of those categories was trash. Because there were straight up pieces of trash in this drawer. How? I have no idea but it happened.

I pulled out things that had another home, like screwdrivers and stamps, and put them in their proper place.

What truly belonged in this drawer, basically all the random bits that don’t have other homes, like matches and batteries, went back in.

Are you kidding me? How freaking satisfying is that? I don’t hate my kitchen junk draw anymore. And every time I’m in the kitchen, I check back in because it brings me joy.

Next up was my clothing. As a side effect of my Squat Proof legging series, I have accumulated a lot of work out gear. Which is okay because I go the gym or classes 4-5 days a week. And I do other actives like swimming and hiking. This is an area of my life that I’m okay owning excess because the fewer excuses I have to not work out the better. Nothing worse than planning an AM gym session then realizing you don’t have a clean sports bra.

BUT, the drawer I use to house my gear was overflowing to the point that I could no longer completely shut it nor could I shut the drawer above it. That’s a problem. I pulled everything out and sorted it.

Here is my secret shame in all it’s glory.

Here’s what I got rid of. Mostly worn out tops and the not squat proof leggings like the Old Navy active wear and the 90 Degree leggings. I have found gorgeous, comfortable, and completely squat proof leggings and I don’t need that kind of see-through negativity in my life. And a couple of bras that either don’t keep the ladies in place or just aren’t that comfortable. Thank you, next.

Next was clothing. I started with tops. I had a lot. Too much. A few things still had tags on it. I cannot. Even. Who am I buying clothes I’m not wearing? This ends now!

Here’s what I said goodbye to. It’s a lot but I still have a lot. My wardrobe is one of my major goals for this year. For now, I’m comfortable getting rid of just what I really know I’m not wearing. I anticipate that I will be continuing to cull and trim my closet throughout the year.

If you had told me that dresses would be such a problem, I would have told you were crazy. I thought I had my dresses under control. That’s because approximately half of my dresses were in my guest bedroom closet. Whoops. Goodbye beautiful friends. You served me well but you got to go.

Here is what I got rid of. It’s a lot. Oh my goodness. It is so much. I love dresses but I truly wasn’t wearing these. With prom and formal season coming up, now is the perfect time to sell or donate you dresses. Especially those bridesmaids dresses you convinced yourself you’d wear again.

To all the amazing women who asked me to be a part of their special day, I love you. I had a beautiful time. I felt like a stunning goddess but I have not worn the dress since. So, I’m passing them on in hopes that someone else will be able to love them and feel as beautiful in them as I did on your big day. I will keep the pictures of us together forever, instead.

(Seriously, though…I got really lucky and none of my brides have put me in something crazy or uncomfortable! I have truly loved each bridesmaid dress I’ve gotten to wear. I hope to repay the favor someday!)

I kept a large number of casual summer and fall dresses. I kept one special occasion dress for spring and two for cooler months. From here on out, I think I’ll be borrowing or trying Rent the Runway for special events.

Bathing suits were pretty easy for me. I live near the ocean. My parents live on a lake. My sister lives in Florida. So, swim suits are something I use a lot but I did trim the fat and let go of a few tops that I don’t feel fabulous in.

I wear the same 4 pairs of work pants each week. So, I have no business holding on to all this mess. I kept some cropped pants to mix in for spring and summer, capris, and jeans. Everything else can go. Excuse all the wrinkles. This was another overflowing drawer.

Let’s talk about shorts. I have a seriously troubled relationship with shorts. I’m very self conscious about my legs. I wear shorts very infrequently and prefer dresses because I feel they give me a bit more coverage and don’t emphasize the lack of thigh gap.

So, I didn’t declutter my shorts at all. I need to go through them and try them all on to see how they fit. But, I wasn’t up to it on this day. My legs weren’t shaved and after winter, they’re pale as heck. To give myself the best shot of ending up with a few pairs that I love, I’m going to wait until I can give my legs a little pamper session - a good exfoliation, an all over shave, and a light coat of self-tanner.

I will report back but until I make a decision, these are going into perguatory (a box in my closet - if I put them in the drawer, they will stay there forever). Baby steps, people!

That’s where I’m at right now! Tell me how your spring cleaning is coming in the comments below!