40 Bags Update

For the most part I’ve been doing well at my 40 bags challenge.  I do tend to miss a few days during the week and then catch up on the weekend.  The main focus of last week was sorting through clothes in various closets and dressers.   Conveniently, Brad was out of town so there was no opposition to his dresser being cleaned out  :).  I swear that I didn’t plan it that way when I made my original list (although nobody believes me). 

I’ve also decided that I don’t want to deal with the hassle of having a garage sale of items that are mostly under $1.  Taking the tax write-off through turbo tax is a lot simpler and don’t have to bargain with everybody who shows up.  Donating the items will also get them out of my house sooner and I don’t have to figure out where to store all the random piles that are throughout the house.

So far I’ve learned that I have a lot of extra stuff to get rid of and that I really need to figure out some better storage systems.  This is especially true in my closet; the hanging items are all scrunched but there is a good amount of vertical space which isn’t utilized.  I’m considering raising the first level and then adding a second level for items like t-shirts and jeans.

Unfortunately I put the “easy” areas at the beginning so the next part of the challenge is going to require a lot more dedication. I know that my craft room is going to be a multi-day event, but its going to be amazing once its all organized.

This challenge will definitely be pulled out again next year as it forces me to look at specific areas, especially those that tend to collect stuff, and decide the importance of each item.