DAY 22 - 100 DAY DECLUTTER - 9 Old Uniforms Garments And An Upcycle Idea - Rag Rug

Items:          9 of my son's old uniform garments

Owned for:   2+ years

Why I kept it:    

• I thought he might pick them up to turn in as I am sure they held money out of his final check for them

Why letting go:   

• He left the job around 2 years ago and I am sure it too late 
• Trying to clear out his room to make it a makeup/craft/storage room.
• 
  

Destination: Gave to my son and offered to put new patches over anything that had a company name on it and he can also wear when working on vehicles.

Had he not agreed to take them I would have removed the patches and donated to a local thrift store or repurposed into something else, such as a the rag rug using fabric strips and a cardboard loom from the video by Maya Marin at EHow on Youtube

100 Day Declutter - DAY 20 - 2 Blankets

Items:          2 blankets

Owned for:    3-10 years

Why I kept it:    

• The red fleece blanket a friend had given me so it was for sentimental reasons.
• The  comforter was almost new.  I had purchased for my son's bed in hopes he would let go of his old blankets I had patched to death already.  He didn't like it as it was "stiff" and not "broken in"  like the ones he had and he didn't like the print; it was wadded up at the foot of the bed.  

Why letting go:   

• My ex said it was cold in his room and was going to purchase additional bedding.  I loved the red blanket my friend had given me but it was used often and getting worn but otherwise good condition.  
• Son moved out nearly 2 years ago and had only spend the night once.  There is still one of his old blankets.

Destination: Gave to my Ex

Overall Status of Declutter:

It is discouraging that I am only on Day 20 and over a month behind chronologically, but the 100 days will be 100 days total.

One thing that has been curtailed is a lot of impulse spending because if I bring something in, I something else has to go out.  I am sure Amazon misses me, as does Ebay, J.C. Penney, Dollar Tree and the resale and thrift stores in town.

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 18 - Reorganizing Closet by Colors

Above:   Clothing that needs organized in closet

This post is a little different than prior posts as in order to figure out I want to keep and decided since I have part of my son's old closet empty to organize clothing that I have worn in the past few months and love and all clothing I have laundered by color.  What will remain is probably all going to be purged.

When I have more time I will go through and try on more items, but so far I decided to pass on hot pink cardigan on the far right because although I like to color and style, I don't like the fabric and it has been added to a thrift store bag.

Below:  Reorganizing clothing by color by color

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 17 - 3 Pairs of Jeans & 3 Pairs of Men's Work Pants

Items:          3 Pairs of Jeans & 3 Pairs of Men's Work Pants 

Owed for:    My son has owned for 2-5 years

Why I kept it:    

• My son left them when he moved out around 2 years ago.  Kept in case he stopped over and might need a change of clothes as he sometimes works on vehicles dirty
• All are in good shape

Why letting go:   

• .Son rarely stops over and had never needed to change clothing.
• Texted my son the sizes and asked if he wanted and he said yes.

Destination:

Giving to my Son 

Update:

My son's father, my ex-husband, has been in the hospital the last week so most everything else has been put on hold for the most part.

I am working on declutter of his closet first and plan on putting items I use all of the time in there is some sort of order to help me see what I am not using and what to get rid of.

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 16 - 4 Video Tapes and a DVD

Items:           4 Video tapes and a DVD

Owed for:    1-10+ years

Why I kept it:    

• The Black Stallion Returns - bought as part of lot on Ebay -never got around to watching
• White Oleander - friend gave it to me and I watched; good movie but a little but a bit gut-wrenching
• Dream for an Insomniac - bought a year ago and watched - movie was more like watching a stage play and only so-so.  Had a young Jennifer Aniston and thought I would pass on to fan with a VHS player but haven't ran across one.
• Eraser - was another Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick; this one with Vanessa Williams as the love interest.  Son watched a time or two
• Bridget Jones Diary - Age of Reason - gift from a friend around 10 years ago.  Decent chick-flick.

Why letting go:   

• No sense in keeping around something I am not going to watch or plan on watching again.  

Destination:    Local Thrift store

A little discourage only on Day 16 of Declutter while now into the 2nd Day of February, but has been a crazy time with Marv in the hospital twice, two birthdays, vehicle problems etc., but hopefully this month will be more productive.

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 15 - Clean Laundry Pile Up

Items:           

Sorting out clean laundry piled up on a chair.  Picked out 9 items to get rid of.  As I am a renter and my washer dryer the kitchen chair is across of it and has been been a temporary catch-all when sorting out items when removing them from the dryer.

Owed for:    

Usually just an item or two until about 3 month ago as I would not be having Thanksgiving or Christmas as my place.

Why I kept it:    

• Many items just needed put away, but some items ended up there as I was on the fence about keeping or getting rid of..

Why letting go:   

• As most of the stuff on the bottom was there for 3 months i decided not to be on the fence about the stuff to get rid of.  

After:  

I have my dining room chair back!   From on trying to only use long enough to sort, put on hanger or fold then put away immediately.

Destination:  

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 14 - Xersion™ Short Sleeve Sweater Dress-Plus

Item:           Xersion™ Short Sleeve Sweater Dress-Plus - purchased on sale online at J.C. Penney in
                 December. 

Picture from website:

Owned for:  - A month

Why I kept it:    

• Looked cute in the picture J.C. Penney's website; maybe it was just my mirror at home.
• Material felt very comfortable, thought I might wear it as a nightgown

Why letting go:   

• Was more like a thin sweatshirt ype knit more than a sweater and a cheap one.
• Color was a lighter gray than expected
• When tried on the cross-over thing at the bottom looked like a mistake in construction.
• Clingy in all the wrong areas.  Felt it look like kittens tied in a bag struggling to get out when I walked when looking in a full length mirror.   While bad lightly would impact color, it wouldn't really change that.

Destination:  Returned it to the store

In the past, I probably would have kept it and used it as a nightgown or around the house because of the hassle to have to go the store and wait in line (as I could not justify paying return shipping).

I am trying to pare down to things that I actually like and need and no sense starting out with a garment I really don't like just because it was comfortable.

Closet Decluttering & Organizing Inspiration Video

It was good to see the above video on Dominique Sachse Youtube channel where she cleans out not one, but two of her closets and organizes her home office.

I know my closet declutter is going to take a lot longer than 4 hours and will probably do it over a period of time, but this video has inspired me to:

• Buy some clear storage containers to I can organize items and see what is in the containers
• Start at to bottom and work up
• Have boxes or bags to sort items into:
• Keep
• Donate or give away
• Recycle 
• Trash

I have lived where I at for over 15 years and I have a hall closet that started as a "Holiday" closet to store seasonal decorations,ribbon and wrapping paper.   As there was plenty of space left I put towels in there, then  decided to store jewelry boxes in there and those were pushed back to make room for craft items and fabric for projects. I added used bubble mailers as they can cost $1 or more to buy new, a bubble jet printer as backup (do they even make ink for that anymore?).  They were joined by some 3 1/2 inch floppy disks with pictures stored on them and a sundry of items I can no longer even remember. 

I think before I start on that, I will work on the more obvious areas in the living room as that is what people see, but it is a goal to have done before the 100 day declutter is over.

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 12 - Artificial Flowers in Plastic Vase

Item:           Artificial Flowers in Plastic Vase.

Owed for:    19+ Years

Why I kept it:    

• As with many things I have kept if not for sentimental reasons, I thought their might be a craft application.  

Why letting go:   

• It looks like a Bingo prize at a nursing home
• Was a present from a guy I was dating at the time when in the hospital after an accident.  It is cheap and artificial, just like turned out to be.  
• It was probably a Nursing home Bingo prize; he was living his his elderly parents at the time and he was coming to see me in the hospital, saw them and said "Hey Ma, can I take this to my girl I am seeing?  She is in the hospital?".  Although it was probably something her good friend Maisey or Gertrude got a Bingo and gave to her, she said "Sure, son" hoping we would work out and he would move out.
• As I have not used it in craft project in nearly 20 years, I probably never will now.

Destination:    Local thrift store.  May it go on to brighten another Bingo table.

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 11- 4 Vintage 1950's Dinner Plates Franco Fiorgi by Quadrifoglio Made in Italy

Item:           4 Vintage 1950's Dinner Plates Franco Fiorgi by Quadrifoglio Made in Italy 

Owed for:    10+ Year (picked up at an estate sale)

Why I kept it:    

• I like how they look and think any food looks great on them
• .Big, thick and sturdy

Why letting go:   

• Big, thick and take about half of the dish rack I have in a cabinet
• Too rare and nice for everyday use
• Don't have the full set; just four plates.

Destination:    Giving to my ex to use for small get-togethers as he doesn't have any matching plates.  

                       One plastic plate he had I am certain was stained from oil-laden car or motorcycle parts left on it 

                       for a  long period of time.by either he or my son, but once it went through the dishwasher it was 

                       put back into dinner plate circulation.

                      

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - DAY 10 -Takeout Plastic Tableware & 2015 Carmike Cinemas Popcorn Bucket

Item:                      Takeout Plastic Tableware & 2015 Carmike Cinemas Popcorn Bucket

Owed for:               1-3 years

Why I kept it:    

• When we would get takeout and take it home (mostly from Fazoli's), I would save the plasticware fork/knife/napkin figuring could use it for a picnic until it over took an entire drawer.  Obviously, was getting takeout more than picnicking.
• .Kept Carmike Cinemas Popcorn bucket for sentimental reasons and figured I could use it for something.

Why letting go:   

• All are taking up too much space and they are not needed.  Going forward can write a post about the movies we see to remember the good times instead of physical object.

Destination:    

Took to Celebration of Life for a relative over the weekend and plan on taking into work to as we                      have "food" days frequently/

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - Day Nine - 4 Towels

Items:           4 Towels

Owed for:    4-10 years

Why I kept it:    

• It seemed like there was a black hole under my son's bed captured towels and socks in its vortex and would have to grab old ones out of the closet just to dry off.

Why letting go:   

• Two of the towels are getting a little raggedy on the eges and the other two are discolored after accidently washed with an article of clothing I had dyed a wine color and despite being bleached.
• The towel shortage stopped when my son moved out and I have more than I need.

Destination:    Local ASPCA Animal Shelter

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - Day Eight - Son's Favorite Fire Truck Small Blanket

Item:                   Son's Favorite Fire Truck Baby Blanket

Owed for:           22+ Years

Why I kept it:    

• It was my son's favorite blanket from the time he around 2 years old to 5 years old. He spotted it when he was 2  at a thrift store and wanted it as it had dogs on a fire truck on it.  He used to carry it around with him everywhere .until we used it to try to put out an engine fire my Taurus (ended up putting out by pouring Diet Coke on it).. It is bigger than most baby blankets but not as big a a full size so it was easy for him to carry around, but still cuddly to cover up with for a nap without being too small.

Why letting go:   

• My son is 24; he has long forgotten this blanket.
• It is in really rough shape. The center area had a slight burn that I cut away, but he didn't want fixed.   I tried to reinforce it with Heat N Bond, some fabric scraps and zig zagged and darned the heck out of it for donation - what it looked like before is below.
• Batting and backing are still in good shape.

Destination:    Local ASPCA Animal Shelter.

Although the decluttering is slow going right now, I am trying to get rid of things I have held onto for a long time to make it easier to get rid of things I don't have as much of an attachment before starting on any specific area.   

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - Day Five - Vogue Magazine - March 2014

Item:                 Vogue Magazine - March 2014  

Owed for:          3 years

Why I kept it:    

• The issue was chocked full of thing that were popular in early 2014 and I had planned on putting it in a "time capsule" for the year my son turned 21 to give to him on his 31st Birthday so he could reminisce.

Why letting go:   

• I'm the sentimental one in our family, not my son.  He's not going to want a a time capsule for his 31st birthday; he is probably going to want a power tool and a six pack of Coronas.

Destination:    A Little Free Library

This magazine joined Day Two Declutter book "Santa Paws" at the the Little Free Library across from St. Joseph Hospital that is outside a church.  On the left are kids books and adult books are on the right.  

100 Day Challenge - Declutter - Day Two - Paperback Book - "Santa Paws and The New Puppy by Nicholas Edwards (2003)

Item:           Scholastic Paperback book of "Santa Paws and The New Puppy by Nicholas Edwards (2003)

Owned it for:    8 years ago son got as a present at a family Bingo game

Why I kept it:    

• My son had a German Shepherd growing up and it is a good book

Why letting go:   

• Is just collecting dust in the bookcase for 8 years when it could be enjoyed by a young reader

Destination:   Little Free Library downtown

New Year's Resolution - 100 Day Challenge - Declutter

I have been reading about 100 Day Challenges online and was inspired by the article on Refinery29
10 Things You Should Throw Away Before 2018 to make mine decluttering my home.

The article by many useful tips not just for throwing something into the trash, but recycling or passing it on to someone who place that will need or want it.

As Marv got out of the hospital today I am not going to have time to start it today and as life may get in the way, may not be able to devote time to it or post about it every day but as the challenge is for 100 days.

To begin going to use some of the boxes from Christmas for:

• Books and magazines for donations to Little Free Libraries
• Donation (thrift stores and will have to check into donations for shelters and Animal shelters)
• Giveaway - either to a friend or through Social Media

Other items will be:

• Recycling - Our community has bins we can put paper, cardboard, plastics and glass for recycling that is picked up every 2 weeks.

Last resort:

• Actual trash

Do you have any New Year's Resolutions or are starting any 100 Day Challenges?  If so, please feel free to post about it on the comments or leave a link and I will check it out.

Happy New Year!