that's me. right now.
i am one project away from total overwhelmdom. and when that happens, i get paralyzed and nothing gets done.
but that's not happening this time. it's just not. why? because:
1. this wednesday is ash wednesday and i am really inspired by what i am doing for lent.
2. my father-in-law is coming to stay with us for a bit and he is ready to work! he told me to have projects ready because he doesn't want to run out of things to do. yeah, we are THAT lucky. and you better believe i have a list. so excited for him to come. he is going to help keep my head from bursting.
here's why i'm excited about lent:
so, last year i was really inspired by sarah from memories on clover lane. for lent she did a project she called "40 bags, 40 days". she went through her house and collected 40 trash bags of stuff to either throw away or donate. brilliant! i really need to do this and i am confident that i won't have any trouble coming up with 40 bags of stuff.
(my laundry room. keepin' it real)
so far, i have numbered 1 through 40 on a piece of notebook paper and i've listed the areas in my house that i want to clean out. which happens to be every single area. from the attic to the garage.
(my kitchen...a previous attempt)
i am really going to fight my urge to sell our stuff on ebay or take it to a consignment store to get some money out of it. i have done this in the past and it does feel good to get some money out of things that may still have some value. but this can prove to be very time consuming; especially ebay. right now my time needs to be used in better and more productive ways. sure it would be nice to have a few extra bucks but when i think about the bigger picture i realize what a blessing it is to be able to donate our stuff. there are people out there who aren't shopping at goodwill because they want to post a dramatic "before and after" on their blog. they shop there because they have to.
(my sewing room. the "dumping ground".)
bless someone else with it.
focus on what's important.
be less materialistic,
less greedy.
cleanse my spirit,
cleanse my home.
own less,
appreciate more.
i will be sure to post updates on how it's going. i am soooo ready to do this! want to do it with me? leave a comment and let me know...we can do it together!
thank you to sarah for being my inspiration in this. i have read every single post on her blog related to the 40 bags, 40 days topic, more than once. here is the link to all of sarah's 40 bags, 40 days posts.
have a great monday!
~elisabeth
I swear we are the same person :P I read the same post, and totally plan on doing the same thing. I'm uber excited to be getting rid of so much stuff. In my mind, less stuff = MORE HAPPY. In general, I try hard to follow the rule that if I bring something into my house, something of equal size MUST leave. It really helps keep the "stuff" manageable, but I've been breaking my rule a lot lately, which is not good. I try to be really thoughtful about what I bring into my home. I want to LOVE everything that I see aroud my house every day, and when I don't love something that I have to see daily, it really affects my mood. As a creative person yourself, I'm sure you're equally affected by the aesthetics of your surroundings. As least that's what I keep telling my husband anyway...."I need this home to be beautiful for my mental health, dear!" Haha! Well, happy purging! Can't wait to see more "afters"!
ReplyDeleteI definitely need to do a purge for sure. I have plenty of areas to work on. Your sewing room looks like my spare bedroom right now. Looking forward to see your progress.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth - that is a wonderful idea!! I have been trying to think of something like that to do for Lent as well - what a great inspiration!! I think I will be joining you on this lenten journey of cleansing my spirit and my home. Thank you.
ReplyDeletea friend of mine just emailed me and told me about a store in our area that *gives* away the donations. even better. (sometimes i think goodwill can be a bit pricey for what you get. $3 for a shirt, really?) i will be taking our "stuff" to this new found store. i like it that people won't have to pay any money for our donations; makes me even happier.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, I totally agree with you about Goodwill. I think they have lost the meaning of "good-will" and I have heard not so nice things about them. So glad you found a place where people can pick up your items for free. I purged all of my unwanted things last summer; looking forward to seeing your process!
ReplyDelete~Rachel
Yes, yes, yes!!! I will be doing this challenge as well. I love Sarah's blog and this is one of my most favorite ideas she has. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm way late, but have decided to jump on the 40 bags bandwagon! I just recently came home to focus on the kiddos and have become claustrophobic in our clutter. I am hoping to pull off half of this challenge though!
ReplyDeleteI hate that I missed this entry! But I do believe I will try this anyway.
ReplyDeleteI will sell my stuff at a yard sale in June though b/c I have a daughter to send to college next year. I need all the extra $$ I can get. :o)
I just came to your blog from Window Mistreatments but I have to say thank you for this post. I just started a new round of purging after we moved this spring and I was starting to pile things up for consignment. I will be taking bags to Goodwill Monday.
ReplyDelete