Life challange - week 22 - declutter

WOW, this is a biggie for me! We moved into our house nearly 2.5 years ago. At the time it was a nice fresh start! We decluttered before we packed, and then some more as we unpacked. Fast forward 2.5 years and oh my gosh...it's found us again!

In week 22 Deb has us looking at decluttering. She makes it clear this isn't going to happen in a week - and could take a year - but chip away at it!

Okay step 1 for me - read the articles on decluttering. I read Deb's articles:

How to declutter, sort and organise in 5 simple steps

Dealing with sentimental clutter

Dealing with memorabilia, collections and heirlooms

10 tips to declutter your bookshelf

I realised I keep many things 'just in case'. I'm conscious of money - and don't want to get rid of something if I'm going to need it in the future and have to pay for it again! I've got work shirts I haven't worn in over a year - but keep them just in case I decide to wear them next year (of course I won't - I've grown bored with them and changed style a bit!). The kids have heaps of toys which they don't play with anymore - but what if they decide the want to again?

I also have some memorabilia. Craft is a biggie for us too. Savannah is at childcare 4 days per week and brings home paintings and pictures on a daily basis! Hunter loves craft and during their play sessions at school, along with at after school care, he is continually making something that just must come home and he must keep! I recently went through my box on top of the fridge with all the pictures in it and kept just the best stuff - but I want to go a bit further and photograph each item and keep only a few.

I visually went through each room and thought about what needs decluttering...I then made a plan and a rough order:

1. kitchen 4 draws
2. my bedside table
3. my hanging clothes
4. top of my walk in robe
5. jewellery box
6. big kitchen tubs and cube areas
7. lounge room book case
8. computer cabinet
9. Savannah's dresser
10. Savannah's clothes in dresser
11. Savannah's built in wardrobe
12. Hunter's clothes
13. Hunter's built in wardrobe
14. kids books
15. kids artwork
16. kids toys
17. garage

The kids toys and garage are huge ones that will take a while, which is why I have left them for last - although if I think about it I will be much happier once the toys are done - and they need to be done before Hunter's birthday in September. I aim to tackle one toy tub at a time.....The garage needs more storage solutions - as identified in my home audit. I'm happy to leave that one until I'm happy with the house.

I started on the kitchen draws yesterday - and they are done.

So now I need to stick to the plan. My aim will be to do one area per week (and I've realised Sunday's are not good decluttering days for me - I'm tired then)...I will need to priorities as one of my top 3 tasks for the day to declutter an area.

Wish me luck!