A Challenge For 2014

I am taking on a challenge that I've been considering. I've been reading about it for a couple of weeks now, and I don't know why I didn't "jump on the band wagon" before, but I'm sure I was preoccupied with my mother-in-law's death and other issues in my life. But I have decided to announce here my intention to begin this challenge. It has to do with decluttering.

 

Kathy Lipp's Blog is challenging us to The 2014 Things Challenge.

 

To be fair, I've already started this, so I am going to try to reconstruct what I've given away here at the beginning. I will probably not be able to figure out everything that we've gotten rid of, but here goes: 

1 - 40 -- Star Wars figurines, unopened in package, which my dad had given to me and we had put in the attic for almost a decade.

41 - 60 - Set of World Book Encyclopedias, with accompanying Year Books.

61 - 151 - Here's where I am guessing. I had hubby take three big copy-paper-boxes of books to the used book store. They probably had more than 30 books per box, but I'll just say 30 per box.

152 - a pair of dress shoes that I never wear;

153 - a pair of loafers that I never wear;

154 - a pair of other shoes that I never wear.

155 - 158 - a Science curriculum Teacher's Manual, student textbook, test book and answer key that I was done with.

This doesn't even count all the things I got rid of by throwing away files and files of old papers. I'll have to be diligent to try to pay attention to that type of thing as well to help me reach my 2014 goal. 

So, the difficult thing is that I am decluttering at a time when the (non-clutter that becomes clutter) items are pouring in from my mother-in-law. The big challenge is to get rid of more than I take in, significantly more. So 

So we'll say I've gotten rid of 158 things so far. I've probably gotten rid of a bag of things to a local charity that came to my door as well, but that might have been in December, so I'll leave it at that for now.

I'll try to pop in and give an update from time to time. Currently on the "chopping block", waiting to get out of my house are:

• a butcher block kitchen clock that we got in 1979 - still works, we're just tired of it;
• a "Butler's Table" coffee table that we've used in our family room for years but don't want any more.

Then it it back to the books again. I've got to pare down what I've got. I just have to!

Let me know if you decide to take on this challenge as well.