- Black garbage bags. You can use any kind you want, but I use black because you can't see through them. Sneaky purger that I am, I don't want my decisions questioned. No, I don't ransack my children's bedrooms and throw away all of their beloved treasures, but it's better if that plastic broken battery-hogging toy that my son hasn't touched in 5 years magically disappear without rearing it's ugly head to be seen and desperately missed by all.
- Magic Erasers, paper towels (or rags), spray cleaner and my vacuum. I wipe down counters, wipe out cabinets, shelves, and countertops while I'm purging. I go through packs of Magic Erasers. (I can do this because I only have one little one home all day-if you have a baby or babies, maybe just stick with the purge, and not with the spring clean.)
- I keep in mind that my goal is to touch everything in the room or area that I am working on. If I have boxes, clothes, books, toys...no matter what, I go through each item and make a decision to keep, give away, throw away.
- Figure out what you are going to do with the bags. I give books away to a local foundation that resells them, I pitch the garbage, I give the rest to Goodwill (I put the bags immediately in my trunk)...because they have a drop-off station 2 minutes away. I don't do resale shops or garage sales, because for me, it's just too much work. I throw the Goodwill bags right into the back of my van, and make the run as soon as I get a chance.
- I work really fast. Obviously, the bigger and the more complicated the room, the longer it takes, but I don't puzzle over decisions, or get distracted by other things...besides Patrick of course. I don't answer my phone...my goal is to get the job done as quickly as possible.
I always go back to the first months we moved into this house. I had really wanted to start fresh. I had given away tons of stuff from our old house...I purged like crazy when we moved. We had no closet or storage space in our old 1840 house either...so when we settled into this house it was very simple, very empty, very refreshing. I filled one drawer where there was now 5. The kids used just tiny bits of their closets. Some rooms had just a few items of furniture. It was so easy to keep clean and I felt so energized without so many belongings. Sometimes I get out my old photos from when we first moved in, and that motivates me to bring my home back to where I loved it.
The other visual: What if I had to show my house in minutes? I know this is hard core...but I learned my lesson once with my first house...we put off all these little projects that we wanted to do forever, lived with them forever, inconvenient and all, and when we went to sell our house, here we were running around getting it all done for SOMEONE else to live in and enjoy! Ridiculous! So it helps me to think, even though we will never move, that is my ideal for this space/room to look like? Sometimes we get used to things and don't realize how cluttered up, or inconvenient they are. Try a fresh eye...a 'perspective buyers' eye.
52 comments:
I love your 40 bags in 40 days! I did it last year in preparation for our move but somehow stuff has appeared again! I'm doing it with you this year. My house is so much easier to keep clean without so much stuff. Plus I buy WAY less stuff when I'm in a "get rid of it" mode.
Just grabbed a cute 40 bags in 40 days button from White House Black Shutters. I can't wait to start the purge!!!
Here we gooooo!
Thanks for the tips! This my first year doing this and I'm excited!
I'm joining you as well. It might take me a few days to get the button up and everything but ill be purging as I go. Thanks for the encouragement.
I'm going to give this a try, along with a Facebook fast. :)
sarah, i just posted our journey beginning this process (thanks to you!) .
Do you travel?
sandy toe
I'm joining in this year, so please keep the updates, motivation, etc. coming. This is NOT my strong point but desperately needs to be done. Thanks for the encouragement!
BLACK BAGS.... Best tip! My kids mourn the loss of every forgotten stuffed animal if the see it heading to Goodwill!
I'm joining in as well, and when I mentioned it on Facebook, a bunch of my friends were interested, too!
This is just what I need right now. I can TOTALLY relate to what you said about your old house and new house....we fixed all the things we had been putting off to sell it...while we lived in it while it was "show ready" it was great! Simple. Clean. We actually filled 3 dumpsters full of stuff...so I thought that all of this new clean living would follow me to the new house - somehow I am surrounded by chaos and clutter again and it has only been 18 months! Like I said, this is just what I need. I just have the tendency to think too much and get sentimental about items!
Love this so much, and created an event on Facebook for it (just search for "40 Bags, 40 Days" if you're interested)...people who are "attending" can post ideas, updates, photos, etc. We've got almost 100 attendees so far! Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah!
I LOVE this idea. I started last week since I will be out of the coutry in April. I have 30 bags to go at this point!!!
You are speaking my language! I HATE clutter. I grew up in a clutter-filled house with a mother who was a bit of a hoarder (magazines from the 70's in piles in her closet!). I swore I would never do that to my kids. What a great piece of advice about looking at your house from a buyer's perspective.
What would you suggest for someone like me who works full-time and doesn't want to spend the whole weekend cleaning? I want to do something like this without disturbing the family too much!
I wrote down your room by room breakdown and adjusted it to my house. I am so excited to get started once my pumpkin bread is out of the oven. You are so inspirational with your thoughts and posts. I feel we'd be fast friends. Have a wonderful cleaning day!
I am off and running and so are so many of my non-blogging friends here in the heart of England! What a superb idea. My recycling bin is now full on Day One, and I need a nap........
loved this last year and love it again this year. the only difference is.... this year i AM going to do it. i hope :)
I "watched" you do your 40 bags last year, and decided THIS year I was not just going to watch, I would "just do it"! I also, linked up with white house, black shutters, who is doing the challenge from your inspiration as well...heading out today to get my BLACK bags...and please share, how do you use "magic erasers" I always hear about them, but have NO idea what they are used for???
Thanks again, and good luck!!
I too am doing a version of this. Our house isn't nearly big enough to go through 40 bags in 40 days. I am also doing it on weekends only so it is a little different. We are planning on moving here in the next few months so this is a perfect time for us to get rid of all the junk that we have acquired since living here. Good luck to all!
Love this!! We have a TINY, one bedroom apartment for the 3 of us. It's temporary, but if it gets messy, it looks horrid! I am doing 20 bags in 40 days as a start. And blogging about it. Thanks for the inspiration!
I'm totally doing this. Now, I travel for my job so I may have to double up somedays. But, I tell ya...I am committed! And, my hubby is going to be beside himself. I'm not a hoarder but there are definitely some things I can live without. Thanks for the inspiration!
PS: Long time blog stalker...first time commentor (pretty sure I just made that word up!)
I purged in a big way about a year and a half ago, because I thought we were moving. I even went through our lifetime of storage (all the stuff my husband I saved since childhood). And organized EVERYTHING. Took me weeks.
Every year before Christmas, I do a giant toy purge, so we are down to bare bones there.
I honestly think if I tried to fill 40 bags at this point, I'd have nothing left! My husband said the same thing.
So I guess that's good???
I've thought the same thing about keeping it "show ready." Only, the things I want to do to the house are major (like replace the carpet with hardwood...new counter tops, new cabinets.)
And we won't do that until we pay off the house next year and can save up cash. So, for now, we live in it less perfect than I'd prefer, but still blessed.
Have fun purging!!
Sandy
Thank you for reminding me! I'm doing this!
I think this a great idea. I'm all about breaking things down to bite size! And with the Army moving us this year, we definitely need to lighten things!
http://thatarmywifelife.blogspot.com/2011/03/40-days-of-spring-cleaning.html
I'm new to your blog and really enjoy it! Thanks for all the tips. I also have a blog you can stop at if you want! thanks again
Emily
Great tips as always!
Sarah~I have been so giddy waiting for today to get here. I'm joining you in the 40 Bags in 40 Day endeavor (I think you should do a Linky). I started in my master bathroom and, as of this moment, it is my most favorite (and cleanest) room in the house! I am bloggin/vlogging about my accomplishments later tonight. Thanks for the idea!
april@Party of Five
http://www.westerhold.blogspot.com
i'm on board! i started a few days ago since we will be gone for a week later this month. it's great. thanks for the inspiration!! it truly helps to have a list and to cross things off :) soo satisfying!
Today I put out my first three bags for Goodwill!! I am so excited about getting rid of things we don't love and/or need.
Hi Sarah! I have a question about your blog header. How did you get the scrapbook paper background around each picture? I've been playing around in Picasa all morning and can't seem to figure it out. I am sure it is something simple I am missing! Thanks!
sounds good, except I have to get this done by April 1 when the house goes on the market!
This is brilliant! I told my readers about it last week. everybody thinks its brilliant. I planned my own version over the weekend. I was excited to get started (even though its been a tough week). Something is so relaxing about cleaning and purging.
Day one, down. Got through one bedroom. Realized that some surfaces are WAY beyond the help of a Magic Eraser and filled 3 bags! Felt so good. Wished I had hours and hours to do more.
My 4 year old literally tore into one of my black bags like some sort of wild animal and yanked out 3 of her old dresses screaming, "I LOVE these!!!!"
I swear they are equipped with radar.
I did it last year with you and I am doing it again! Thanks for the ideas and motivation!
I loved this post when you did it last year and am excited to see it again. By nature though, I am a constant purger (could be also that we've had two children in the last 2.5 years, so I am tired of being overwhelmed by STUFF, I know you know the feeling). Anyway, I liked your comment about the "perspective buyer" eye. I have gotten really used to the way our house is decorated because we're focused on other things (our kids, paying off debt, etc), so we haven't really spent any time or energy "re-decorating" ... however, occasionally I see a picture of a room in my house and think ... OMG! What must people think when they see this? or How can I possibly have let this room go for so long (clutter, mess, hodge podge, etc)? My point is... if you take a picture of your space in question, sometimes seeing the picture will give you perspective into how to change/re-organize/re-decorate your space for the better. (Not YOU personally of course, wink wink, but people in general.) Great post! I visit your blog daily. :)
Man... you are always so inspirational/exhausting this time of year ha ha! Love you!
I am so excited to join in! I started yesterday in my kids' bathroom- and got a full bag! Hubby doesn't think I will be able to find 40 bags worth oh stuff.. I LOVE proving him wrong (I am so competitive!)
I saw you do this last year but this year I will join you. We will be moving in a couple of months to our hopefully forever home. My husband will be retiring from the military. We finally get to settle down in one place. I don't want to take all the clutter and things we don't love there. I always kept things because I didn't know what our next place would look like or if something would work better there. Thanks Sarah for helping me get ready for the next chapter of our lives.
Sarah,
You truly are my inspiration when it comes to all things sensible and practical around the house. Your post about going through each room and fixing things up as you would when selling your house really motivated me last year. You said it best when you stated, why fix up your home for someone else to live in.
I don't know if I can fill 40 bags since I'm single, but I just dropped off 3 big bags of clothes at Goodwill and I need to go through more stuff. It's really embarassing to realize how much junk I (and others too) hold on to, especially since it's stuff I don't use, need, wear, etc.
Please keep us motivated with your posts. I'm doing my part in purging and getting rid of the excess.
Today was my first bag. If you read my blog for the day, you will see that I didn't fare so well. BUT, I am NOT giving up!!
Thank you for reminding me to GET BACK TO IT! My main nemesis is paper. I keep ignoring my office and going on to other things. Gotta adopt that frame of mind of "what if I need to have a visitor in this room." Ahhh!!!
Hello from Frog Hollow Farm~ I love the idea of 40 bags in 40 days - purging always feels so good. Ciao, bella!
So glad you posted this! Your blog looks awesome~love the header, and the navigation bar! It looks so clean and fresh...someone I see is ready for spring :)
This is such a great idea! I've been wanting to purge for months now but am overwhelmed. I think this may work on some scale. We are scheduled for holidays soon...so maybe before and after. Thanks for the inspiration!!:D
So I was so confused why I never saw this post {I read in google reader} and I even went back just now to reader to see if this post was there...and it wasn't! So I thought I would let you know in case there was a glitch with your feed.
But as you have the last few years, you have inspired me to observe lent and I am very excited about it! Here is my post I put together today if you are interested in reading: http://www.domesticfashionista.com/2012/02/observing-lent.html
xo
Ashley
Look how you're inspiring so many of us, Sarah. heck, someone even made a button for the movement you've started--you are the real deal. So no more talk of boring posts--I hope you feel awesome when you start posting those empty drawer photos this year.
P.S. I took a stab at interpreting that dream you had of Cath. That was so, so funny, and in hindsight I don't know why because you're forever on the sidelines at some sporting event cheering someone on!
I have to share a funny story with you. I purge when my dh is working and give things to our church. One day he was riding his bike and noticed a homeless man under a bridge wearing a shirt just like he had. Yes I was busted. LOL Oh well at least it was put to good use.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
I love the idea... except I'm going about it all backwards I think. I'm actually going to do a spring clean (yes that will take me all 40 days and then some) and maybe a little purging while I'm at it. I've got three little kids at home and I'm pregnant with #4. I'm fortunately not sick but I've not got lots of energy either. Do you have any tips for a good deep spring clean with little boys around all day? How do you really get things clean without it being completely undone in a matter of minutes? I fear I spend so much time doing and redoing the main rooms of the house that I'll never get to the deep part of my deep cleaning!
Just found your blog. I love this idea! We spent the weekend cleaning out a large storage closet in our teenage son's room and another large storage closet in the hall. We did so good! One bag of clothes for Goodwill and a few bags of garbage. He was so excited! There are a few boxes for me to go through of his school papers (I saved everything from kindergarten and 1st grade, lol) and he needs to go through toys. I'm so ready to get rid of stuff! :-)
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