Hi Sherinjoy!!I actually have been AWOL/MIA while having been embarked on not one but TWO de-cluttering adventures these past couple of weeks!
My most dear sis and mom came up for a visit the day after my birthday. My sister teaches school and this is the first summer she has not taught summer school thus giving her time to actually achieve a long-awaited dream of helping me jump-start a serious de-cluttering project in my home. We attacked dear Little Man's room which was a sad conglomeration that ranged from nursery days to his current adolescent status.
At the end of the two and a half days, we had basically gutted the entire room with the exception of a couple of small drawers in the bunk bed unit and the hanging clothes in the closet. I ended up taking an entire van load of donations to Goodwill...something I had never done before - much to dear sister's shock! She documented the occasion with pictures even!
Dear son and I even took his shredded box springs to my very dear (massively BO) best friend's home who was utilizing a dumpster for a re-roofing project! I have some things left to take to a consignment shop and a few things I am going to try my hand at selling on eBay. This, though, sort of 'showed me how it was doable and possible' and how fabulously rewarding it is! Dear little man is thrilled and anxious to be able to finally have friends over.
The de-cluttering adventure then carried on the next week when I went to my Mom's to honor a coupon for a Girls Only Weekend from her birthday in February
It was to be her choice of what we did but this whole de-cluttering project at my house sort of got the ball rolling in that direction...as most SHE's come by such traits honestly, let us say!
She elected to work at her house and we just got TONS and TONS done! It was literally like conducting one of the famous shows we all watch and love on t.v. ala Clean Sweep, Neat, Clean House, etc.!! She was very defensive and resistant on Day One...and then somehow some magical transformation occurred by Day 2 and we just ROOOOOOLLLED! We ended up taking numerous bags to be donated, made arrangements for furniture to be picked up for charity and took over a dozen big black trashbags full along with other un-bagable items to my mom's dumpster at her office! I brought home two biiiiig Schwans bags packed of paper to be taken to our recycling bins full of oooooooold magazines, catalogs, junk mail, old mail, etc. etc.!
*\o/* It was quite an educational experience all the way 'round and I do believe I am now equipped with all the tools, mental and otherwise, that I'm going to need to really take this de-cluttering project within my home to the next level!