Wheelin' and Dealin'

I've been on a decluttering kick for a while, but have kicked it into high gear with the discovery of the book "The Life changing Magic of Tidying up" you know, like the rest of the world.

I went through clothes.. well, err.. most of them..

And then Books! I brought the books I didn't want anymore to the local used book store. They gave me like $7.00 in credit, which is $7 and a half a shelf of space more than I had before!

 After books I had an 'oh crap' moment- well, a room. You see, I had a crap room- the back room/craft room/stick it in there room. I had to get in there and get working in order to get the stuff into categories to continue. It was a disaster.. Even the dogs thought so.

While I was doing this, I made a "donate/trade/sell" box of stuff that was not trash, but that I did not want any longer...
It was overflowing..
And then there was my normal hoarding behavior.
Like.. paper.. printer paper I got for free or $1.

I've been posting that shit on yard sale sites.

So far at $93 more in my pocket!

I also found a bunch of change. And then I had a bag of change from the bedroom.. and the bank of change in the laundry room.. and a bank of change in the kitchen that was full- and ceramic.. and round... and on more than one occassion I have wondered if it or my tile floor would break if I dropped it.. I therefore called in my best reinforcement: the Dad. A quick text asking if the bank converts change informed me they do, but for a fee (boo). However, his other bank does it free (yay!), so I left that out for him and voila, got a $79.56 check in return.

I also determined that the old Honda's snow tires would fit his car... and made him pick those up (I mean, he was getting 5 free snow tires). So, that was the 'service charge.' haha

365 in 365: Day 11, the Dogs try to help

My dogs must be trying to help me clean up- they exterminated this toy from their toy box. They even got it OUT of the house! 

I also have this fella, Oso, an oversided, excited, toy destroyer. He will definitely help me weed through their toy box! 

Items in my house: -16

365 in 365 Day 10- making up for the missed time!

Ok- I have been slacking. I have been getting general cleaning done and finishing up some projects to move them from half completed to fully completed, so that is helpful. I also had surgery so was out for a while. 

Here's my husband's contribution to our clean out: 

I am too attached to my adorable crabbie salt and pepper shakers to throw them both out, so I just have a pepper shaker in this now.. one less thing though! 

I've also sold the top bag of star fish for $5. They were from my bridal shower decorations. 

The lower bag is now in my yard sale box- along with... 

 Items: -15 (and a lot for a yard sale!) 
Dollars in my pocket +$5 (total of $33!)

Back on the Wagon- 365 in 365 Day 9

I fell off the wagon, but I was catching up on much needed things around the house- laundry, foster puppy, etc. Here's our foster Nevaeh, spayed and going to her forever home later this week! 

Here is my item from my hiatus- a shirt that is stained and in the trash. 

I also looked through some of my pinned pinterest posts and found a few organizing calendars to follow. They recommend doing a bathroom cleaning out. My OCD makes me a hoarder - yet I have been working on this gradually. I found ear cleaner from when I got my ears pierced 3 or 4 years ago- obviously that isn't needed. 

In addition to just throwing things, I have been trying to use items up. That lotion that is half full, the five bags of dog treats that are open and can be consolidated if only you had stuck to one bag (the pups are happy to help with this). I don't think they count as items, but they are having a great effect on my overall clutter problem! 

365 in 365: Day 8: Sweaters and Shirts

I took 15 minutes from my lunch break to spend going through just ONE shelf in my closet and hanging stuff up/clearing out. I found five shirts/sweaters that I really was never going to wear again. 

Items in my home: -13

365 in 365: Day 7- useless lampshade

Today's item is a lampshade that won't stay on a lamp. In the trash!

365 in 365 Day 6: Old Business Supplies

I used to have a direct selling business but have stopped selling and still have items in my house! I have to say- it was refreshing to get rid of so much stuff when I made the decision to stop selling. I have been trying to sell as much as possible to other women who have businesses that could use them to at least regain a little of the investment. 

I recently sold 2 ring sizers to someone for $2- they are out of my house, in the mailbox. Success! 

Items out of my house: -7
Dollars in my pocket +$2 (total of $28!)

365 in 365: Day 5 - Old Winter Boots

Today I got rid of my "back up" pair of winter boots. They are no longer water proof- that is why I got a new pair. I did save the laces as I had just replaced them the same season that I last wore them so they were practically new. I will need to find a place for them. 

(Sorry they are sideways..)

Total Items from my home: -5

365 in 365: Day 4

Today I got rid of a pair of dog eaten shoes. I won't even try to defend why I kept them.. except maybe I was in denial that my foster dog ate them. At least she waited until they were at the end of their lifetime anyways. 

Total Items from my home: -4

365 in 365: Day 3

This is Day 3 as last weekend Dad and I went to NY and weren't home! I made up for the missing days by throwing out 3 pairs of old underwear when I was packing- but I won't make you look at a photo of my old underwear. 

Today's item is our old scale. It stopped working (or I became VERY skinny!! haha no- one of the feet broke..) and I bought a new one but in typical Ali fashion, never threw out the old one. 

Now though, it is finally IN THE TRASH!!

Total Items from my home: -3

365 in 365: Day 2

I finally sold my two remaining ring holders on line. I sold them for $9 each plus shipping- so $18 in my pocket from this one! 

Does that count as 2 items? Hmm.. 

Total Items from my home: -2
Dollars in my pocket: +$26

365 Things in 365 Days

The Challenge: Eliminate 365 items from your home in 365 days. 

One item a day- not hard right? 

Maaayyybe.. 

Day 1: Extra Utensil holder

Our silverware came in this utensil holder, however, it didn't fit well in our drawer so we never used it. I sold it on line for $8. 

Items in my home: -1
Dollars in my pocket: +$8