Less 365 Project Progress Report: Three Months of Decluttering

Back at the start of July I decided that I needed to do some decluttering and set myself the challenge of doing a second Less 365 Project - getting rid of one thing a day, every day for a whole year.

I found the first year a bit of a challenge so I really wasn't sure if I was going to manage this second attempt... but I've just finished the first three months and have cleared out loads of stuff! Just nine more months to go, haha :)

I've not actually been picking one item a day, but I've been decluttering in little bursts here and there and keeping a list of the stuff I've been clearing out so I can track my progress. I keep thinking "oh my goodness, I cannot possibly get rid of any more things!" but then all of a sudden I realise that actually I'm never going to read that book and this top no longer fits and I no longer like that band... and a few more things get added to the list.

I still have no idea if I'm going to manage the full 365 things but having that as a target is really helping me focus and be honest about the stuff I do and don't need, and to cherrypick the stuff I love from the stuff I've just kept for the sake of it.

In July I cleared out...

... some badges that I must have stored somewhere damp because they'd gone rusty, a broken pair of headphones, a mini suitcase my sister swore used to belong to her, a vintage cup that was pretty but also pretty useless, an old pen pot I don't use, a skirt I no longer wear, two worn out tote bags, a blanket with lots of holes in it, a t-shirt that shrank in the wash, several boxes of old paperwork, two empty storage boxes, a garden ornament that I don't have a garden for, a tablecloth I don't use, a vintage dress that never suited me, a broken clock, some kids books I don't feel sentimental about any more, some vintage embroidery I was going to sew something with and never did, a cross stitch picture I never got round to framing, two teatowels that were falling apart, a book I'm not going to re-read, a pair of trainers that no longer fit, a book I'm never going to read (and can get from the library easily if I change my mind), two ornaments I no longer like, a mechanical whisk which I've never used, a broken kitchen timer, and two DVD box sets of TV shows I don't want to rewatch.

In August I cleared out...

... a damaged purse, some mis-matched cutlery, another DVD box set I don't want to rewatch, a t-shirt that was totally the wrong colour for me, a shirt that was too small for me, an old t-shirt I used to use when I dyed my hair, badges from my days doing Brownies and gymnastics as a kid, a damaged old bag, a brooch with a broken clasp, three broken necklaces I didn't like enough to mend, a pair of shoes with a hole in them, a craft book I'm not going to make anything from, my least favoruite badges from my childhood collection, a plant pot I never really liked, an ugly craft project I made as a kid, a book I'm not going to reread, two serving dishes that I've never used, two storage boxes and a tin I no longer need, an ugly keyring, an old t-shirt, a bag I no longer use, some zines I'm not going to re-read, some magazines ditto, a teatowel I don't use, and a print I don't love any more (and I don't have enough wall space for the ones I do love!).

And in September I cleared out...

.... two recipe books I never cooked anything from, two kids encyclopedias and a picture book I no longer love, a book of comics I don't want to reread, a boring craft book I don't want to make anything from, an interiors book in a style I no longer really like, a letter rack I don't use, a battered pencil tin I used at school but haven't since, a DIY manual I'm never going to use, a box of Christmas baubles and some other decorations that were my least favourite in an over-flowing box of Christmas stuff, a box of board games I've never played, a slightly ugly vase, some coffee cups and a serving dish I don't use, three storage boxes and a tin I no longer need, a necklace I bought ten years ago and never wore, a bracelet ditto, a necklace I wore a lot when I was a student but haven't worn since, two records I can't play because I don't own a record player, three CDs I never listen to, a book of poetry I don't want to reread and a slightly battered old bookmark.

Seriously, how did I have all this stuff just hanging about in my house???

Here's to the next three months!