Hello everyone! Today, I wanted to share an update on how decluttering went for me this spring!
The weather has finally been consistently nice that I finally switched out my winter clothes for the summer clothes! I used that opportunity to declutter my closet and then also continued on with the rest of my things! For the most part, I do try to use that “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra that I learned in grade school, along with avoiding throwing stuff out as much as possible. I hate throwing out items that could still be useful!
Here’s some updates on what I’ve decluttered.
Spring 2022 Decluttering Update
As I mentioned, I started on my closet! I didn’t have a ton to throw out this time, but there were quite a few things that I just didn’t feel like keeping anymore. I had way too many sweaters, for example, so I picked out a few things I did not want. I also decluttered a few tops as well, particularly if they were too small, too baggy, or just stuff that I felt I had worn so much I was literally sick of them! More things I decluttered were old dress pants, blazers, and fancy shoes. Since I work from home now, I don’t need these items anymore, so I was glad to get rid of them.
For the most part, I threw things into large plastic bags and gave them to my mom to drop off at the thrift store. She hasn’t actually taken anything, to my knowledge, as she likes to look through the stuff first and keep stuff that no one will ever use again but she wants to keep “just in case”. It drives me crazy but I never go to the thrift store and she does, so at least there’s a chance she’ll actually drop it off someday. I did keep some stuff intending to take photos and post the items on my Poshmark. I’ve never had much luck on Poshmark, but I figured I’d at least try. That reminds me! I did go through my Poshmark items and removed a few things from my listings to throw those items in with the other donations. I did lower the prices on the other things but they still haven’t sold either so I think at this point I’ll donate everything left over and just post the new items.
After decluttering the closet, I moved onto my accessories. I did pick a ton of bags that I no longer wanted to keep, so I used those to pack up donations too. It was great! I grabbed some jewelry that I didn’t want to keep anymore as well and old headbands. I used to be super into headbands back in my college years (2009-2013) and so I was shocked that I still had some! For me, if I don’t see something I completely forget that I own it, so I had them in the bottom of a jewelry box and was so surprised I had them. For some reason, headbands tend to give me headaches now, even the soft fabric ones, so I never would wear them anyway. I threw them into the donations too!
From there, I moved onto old skincare and make up. I rarely wear make up anymore so I had a ton of stuff that was super old now. I did keep some of it for now to do an empties post, because it had such a small amount left that I couldn’t believe I still had it! I think I kept it intending to replace it after the quarantine, and also once I used up the non-empties. Since I never replaced them and haven’t bought make up in awhile, I didn’t need the items anymore! At this point, I’d have to start over finding the right products and shades, but that’s a problem for future Pamela to figure out! I also threw out old mascara, eye liners, lipstick, face creams, nail polish, and so much more. It was a little sad to throw out stuff that I didn’t use up, but it was much too old to keep and use anymore.
Next up was my art supplies! I’ve always loved crafts so I had a ton of stuff that I’d accumulated over the years. Plus, my local library started doing take home craft boxes with the quarantine and so I had a ton of left overs from that too. I’d heard about another library near me that was going to do a craft supply swap. I quickly grabbed everything. Markers, watercolors, pastels, crayons, jewelry beads, pencils, and so much more was all going to go! I filled up two tote bags and headed out. Normally I would have probably kept half of those items “just in case” I felt inspired to create again with them. But at this point I’ve owned a lot of those items for years, including the entirety of the lockdowns over the past two years. I figured if I hadn’t used them yet then I never would, and I could just buy or borrow more if I did want to get back into it (I never buy expensive supplies). I was thrilled when I saw people pick up and take the items I’d brought in to the swap. I managed to get out without anything new too! I do have some office supplies/school supplies now that I wish I could get rid of next. I did recently reconnect with a local teacher who I’m hoping I can give the items to. I’d meant to give the things to her last summer but I kept forgetting the things at home and I really want to get them to her this year!
Finally, I looked through my bookshelves! This one is always tough as I already decluttered a lot. For the most part I only keep books that I either really love or haven’t read yet. Since most of the books I read are from the library, I haven’t made a dent to that second category at all! I did manage to get a small pile after all that I intend to take to a nearby store that buys/sells used books. I can’t wait to get rid of those items!
Other than that, I did look through a ton of other random categories. Decor, stationery, my dog’s things, and more. I have a lot of random stuff I’d love to get rid of. It’s though as I doubt the thrift store is the correct place for all of these items, but I don’t want to just toss it. I was thinking of maybe starting to save stuff up for a local rummage sale that I saw this year at a local park. Unfortunately, I’m pretty lazy so I don’t know if I’d follow through with this plan or just add it to the donations pile.
So that’s how decluttering went for me this spring! I do like decluttering about once a season. I feel like it works well for me to do multiple decluttering session a year, as I feel like I always then raise my standards for what I do and don’t want to continue to keep. I’ve gotten rid of a lot but still have a lot, so I hope to continue to move things out!
Thanks for reading!
Pamela
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