Well Hello There! Soooo I guess I’m overdue on an update for the 365 Declutter Challenge. You know, the one from 2014? Sorry I went missing for so long! Those of you who emailed and left comments while I was away – thank you! It meant a lot to know that I was missed.
Life got in the way for a while and then when I went back to blog again, and I couldn’t access the back end of my blog! Something went wrong with an auto-update and I didn’t know how to fix it. But once I asked the awesome folks at Dreamhost (I use them to host my blog) for help, they fixed the problem in 20 minutes or less! Yay! If only I had asked them sooner!
And then I just had a hard time getting started again. You know what’s weird? As much as I wanted to blog, I felt kind of guilty doing it. I felt like I really should be doing dishes, laundry, or putting groceries away that have been sitting on the floor for days.
But here’s the thing: My house actually looks better when I am keeping up with the blog. I thought that was true, and my sister confirmed it for me. So I shall continue on!
Now for the update! I took lots of pictures of the things I was decluttering, but due to disorganization and technical difficulties, I can’t access them. Boo. I was going to let that stop me, but that’s silly! Here’s the best I can do right now. This is what my decluttering sheet looked like when I went to update it:
I got rid of lots of clothes, paper, shoes, stuffed animals, magazines, catalogs, an Aerobed, a toddler basketball hoop, broken buckets/outside toys, cookbooks, and a vacuum cleaner!
My goal was to get rid of 365 things in 2014 (one thing a day). I did it! I actually got rid of 479 things! Here’s the final decluttering chart for 2014:
The Big Question: Did it make a difference?
Even though 479 things left this house, I can’t say it was enough to really make a difference. It is definitely progress, and I am happy about that. It’s moving in the right direction for sure. But there are still too many things in this house, and I am determined to continue decluttering.
I know that my home will be more peaceful and less stressful. I know that I will be able to spend more time on things that are truly important if I am not spending so much time managing and digging through clutter.
What’s Next?
I am planning to continue blogging and sharing about my decluttering adventures. Maybe some other things thrown in there, too. Even though it’s a late start, I did print out the 2015 version of Nourishing Minimalism’s Decluttering Chart. I haven’t decided for sure about what goal to set this year, but I’m thinking 500. It’s tempting to try for 2,015, but I’m still not sure I can manage that in 1 year. We’ll see!
I know a bunch of you were also doing the 365 Declutter Challenge. How did you do? I’d love to hear about it! I’m also taking requests if there is anything in particular you would like me to write about this year.
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