2015 must be the year for setting goals, and I know it's only February 27th, but I'm on a roll! I started a new exercise routine in January, put simply working out at the gym three times a week an increase from my goal that I started in October which was twice a week. I also set a reading challenge goal where I am holding myself to finishing one book per month. So far, goals are being kept, but I realize it's only been two months.
Earlier this week, I was visiting a friend's house for the first time. She told me about a 40 day de-clutter challenge that she was doing through the blog White House Black Shutters. You can find the info about the challenge here. Part of the reason for my visit was part of a service exchange that we are doing. I help her de-clutter her home and she helps me learn how to knit. But in reality, that just lead me to another project in my own home and although it is fun to knit, I think de-cluttering is more of a necessity right now. Let's be real here. I know I'm not the only one who has a home office that looks like this!
Plus it was quite revealing when my husband said "Wait, you are helping Julie de-clutter, what about our house?" Alright, good point. So, I'm in. I'm also doing the 40 day de-clutter challenge. However, I know it's not realistic for me to stick to a plan like this although it sounds like a wonderful plan for those who can stick to such a plan, so in order to be successful, I made some adjustments. After all, If I don't feel successful, I will probably have a harder time sticking with it.
First, I made a list of areas in our house that need de-cluttering. Next, I filled in the dates beginning with my start date on the planner provided on White House Black Shutters, which I absolutely love by the way! I liked the idea of having Sundays off so I kept that in my plan as well. Then, I filled in the first week of the list according to how much time I can devote to each task on a particular day. For example, I knew I had a lot of errands to run today, so I only wrote down a small task for today "snack space" instead of a larger purge such desks in the office.
When I write my progress down, I write d/c which is my shorthand for de-cluttered and specify what I went through. On the first day I had living room & entry way (they are basically the same room) and for progress I wrote d/c baskets and crates. In parentheses, I wrote down if my husband has things go through to remind me that there is more to be done. Although my goal is to have no unfinished areas, when it involves items I don't feel like I can purge, these notes should help.
Earlier this week, I was visiting a friend's house for the first time. She told me about a 40 day de-clutter challenge that she was doing through the blog White House Black Shutters. You can find the info about the challenge here. Part of the reason for my visit was part of a service exchange that we are doing. I help her de-clutter her home and she helps me learn how to knit. But in reality, that just lead me to another project in my own home and although it is fun to knit, I think de-cluttering is more of a necessity right now. Let's be real here. I know I'm not the only one who has a home office that looks like this!
Plus it was quite revealing when my husband said "Wait, you are helping Julie de-clutter, what about our house?" Alright, good point. So, I'm in. I'm also doing the 40 day de-clutter challenge. However, I know it's not realistic for me to stick to a plan like this although it sounds like a wonderful plan for those who can stick to such a plan, so in order to be successful, I made some adjustments. After all, If I don't feel successful, I will probably have a harder time sticking with it.
First, I made a list of areas in our house that need de-cluttering. Next, I filled in the dates beginning with my start date on the planner provided on White House Black Shutters, which I absolutely love by the way! I liked the idea of having Sundays off so I kept that in my plan as well. Then, I filled in the first week of the list according to how much time I can devote to each task on a particular day. For example, I knew I had a lot of errands to run today, so I only wrote down a small task for today "snack space" instead of a larger purge such desks in the office.
When I write my progress down, I write d/c which is my shorthand for de-cluttered and specify what I went through. On the first day I had living room & entry way (they are basically the same room) and for progress I wrote d/c baskets and crates. In parentheses, I wrote down if my husband has things go through to remind me that there is more to be done. Although my goal is to have no unfinished areas, when it involves items I don't feel like I can purge, these notes should help.
As written on the plan, I took Sunday's off. However, I may choose to adjust this at any time. I wrote all of my ideas in pencil, so it doesn't feel as permanent to me. Since I have a few other goals going simultaneously, I figured I should be a bit more flexible with this one!
I'm looking forward to going through this process at the same time I am reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Tsh also blogs at The Art of Simple. I like how my reading goal and my de-cluttering goal are merging this month!
Lastly, it always helps me to have someone to walk through a goal with. I'm using the blog where I found this great challenge to check in periodically and read others questions, comments.Although this wasn't my goal to start, I think I'm going to be checking in with my friend, Julie to keep me on track. We just haven't decided what that's going to look like yet. Anyone else interested in joining in? I'd love to hear about how you are doing with simplifying your stuff!
Lastly, it always helps me to have someone to walk through a goal with. I'm using the blog where I found this great challenge to check in periodically and read others questions, comments.Although this wasn't my goal to start, I think I'm going to be checking in with my friend, Julie to keep me on track. We just haven't decided what that's going to look like yet. Anyone else interested in joining in? I'd love to hear about how you are doing with simplifying your stuff!