Kickstart to Clutter Free - Day 3

Today's area from Kathi's eCourse is one that I usually don't have too much trouble keeping clutter free. The kitchen counter top...

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

But then again, on this particular day, I was able to find homes for 19 things that really don't need to live on my counter.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

Once I put each of these items away (and a few items ended up in the giveaway box), I cleared the remaining items off the counter and cleaned all the surfaces.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

This is another before picture, but I wanted to show this to point out one thing. See the bananas hanging? Years ago, we put a large cup hook under the counter to keep the bananas off the counter. Honestly, I believe it helps keep the bananas from getting too ripe too quickly. Every now and then, we have a stray banana that doesn't like to stay with the group. Today, I gave that stray banana a new home...

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

...in the freezer! This will be a great way to have ripe bananas on hand for smoothies or banana bread, yum!

So what did the counter look like once I was done with this challenge?

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

Ah! And this took me no more than 15 minutes to acheive! 

Now some people might ask why my KitchenAide mixer is still on my counter? I use that thing every single week, and I really don't have the cabinet space to store it. Plus, I don't know if you have ever lifted one of those things, but they are heavy! I would rather have it on my counter and use it, than continually have to lift it out of a counter which might prevent me from using it as often.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 3

The great thing about a challenge like this is we are able to tweak somethings to suit our own individual needs.

Stay tuned for Day 4!

Kickstart to Clutter Free - Day 2

Today's area of focus from Kathi was 25 items from the surfaces in your bedroom...and I knew exactly what area I needed to tackle...and I am so embarrassed to post this photo of what the top of my dresser has looked like for way too long...

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 2

 I started by taking everything off the dresser and immediately throwing away the garbage (that padded envelope on top of the wooden jewelry box? the date on it was September 2014!) Once everything was off the dresser, the next step was...

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 2

...DUST!! Yep, that is disgusting, ew...

One thing I knew I needed to tackle was all the long necklaces I have acquired. So I enlisted the help of my handy son who put together a necklace hanger for my closet. With a few wooden door knobs and a scrap piece of wood from our garage, I now have this...

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 2

...a perfect place to store all of my long necklaces!

Before I put things back on top of my dresser, I dusted everything off and determined whether it was a keeper or a giveaway item. Then I started putting things back in their new places.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 2

And here is the after! I can't even believe that this is actually the top of my dresser!

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 2

If this doesn't convince you to give Kathi's method a try, I am not sure what will! I still have 12 days to go on this challenge and will be sharing with you the before and after as I go through each step.

Stay tuned for Day 3!

Kickstart to Clutter Free - Day 1

There is nothing like traveling on a Compassion trip to realize how filled our homes are with stuff.

Now don't get me wrong...there are 'things' in my home that I love:

My piano that I learned to play on many years ago...

My library of books that give me an opportunity to sit with a cup of tea...

My KitchenAide mixer that helps me prepare many baked goods for my family and friends...

My family photos which remind me of many memories...

But there are many things in my home that distract me and cause me grief:

The piles of paper...

The unorganized craft items...

The clothes in my closet I haven't worn in years...

One book, though, has truly helped me look at clutter in my home with new eyes...

Clutter Free by Kathi Lipp 

After I read this book over the summer, I immediately cleared out a full bookcase of books. For people who know me in real life, they know that this was a huge step for me! 

So last week, when I learned that Kathi has launched a Kickstart to Clutter Free eCourse, I knew I wanted to sign up!

Kickstart to Clutter Free

Her promise is to help you remove 500 things from your home in 14 days.

Today, I tackled Day 1 of the course...remove 100 pieces of paper!

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 1

I had quite a collection of sales flyers from Christmas sales that needed to be tossed.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 1

The bulk of the paper in our home is contained in these files. Old bills. Yep, I had old bills in these files from 2011.

Kickstart to Clutter Free Day 1

I started to shred these old bills and other paper items with our address on them...well, that is until the shredder started to overheat and stopped working, yikes! Guess I need a better system to handling these old bills.

The good news though...Day 1 of this Kickstart to Clutter Free challenge has been a success!! Over 100 pieces of paper are now in the recycle bin, phew!

So tomorrow, Day 2, the challenge is to remove 25 things from my bedroom.

Do you think this challenge is for you? Be sure to check out Kathi's web site. She can help you clear the clutter from your home so you can have more time and resources to focus on things you love.

Breaking Up With My Books

I love books.

I love books like some women love shoes.

I love books like some women love clothes.

I love books like some women love jewelry.

I love to shop for books like some women like to shop for...I think you get the picture.

My earliest memory of my love for books was reading late at night with a flashlight when I was suppose to be asleep. When my parents took away the flashlight, I would read by the light coming in from my bedroom window.

I love the way words on a page create images in my mind.

I love the sound a new book makes when it is opened for the first time.

Over the years, I have added many, many...probably hundreds of books to our home library.

But one thing I have realized (especially after reading Kathi Lipp's book, Clutter Free), is that I have hundreds of books in my home, that frankly, I just do not love. So why am I keeping books in my home that I do not love?

I kind of like the idea of a big home library, but there are many books I have read that just really aren't my favorites. They were good books, but not ones I plan on reading again.

So, I made a decision today...I need to clear out my home library and only keep books I love.

To be honest, this is going to be one of the hardest things for me to do. When I told my husband what I am going to do, he had to ask me twice what I was going to do.

Large stack of books to sort through

Tonight, I attacked one section of a very large bookcase in one room of our home. Basically, I put the books in two piles: did I love it and would I read it again? or did I read it and I don't think I will read it again?

Books I love

I surprised myself...my love pile was smaller than the other pile...

Books that need to go live somewhere else

Now to figure out how I am going to get this other pile of books to live somewhere else...

Excuse me while I go sort another shelf full of books...

First Steps to a Clutter Free Life

When people come over to our home, at first glance, most things are in their place and you normally don't see a lot of clutter around.

Our mostly clutter free front room

However, once you turn the corner and see my desk...

My cluttered desk

...or the pile of magazines...

Magazine pile

...or if you happen to be one of the very few people who get to see the dresser in our bedroom...

The cluttered top of my dresser

I am almost embarrassed to post these photos...especially this last one! Yikes! Look at all that dust! Unfortunately, these are not the only areas of clutter in my home...

But I met someone this past weekend who I believe is going to help me make those first steps to a Clutter Free Life.

Who did I meet? I can hear you asking...

Clutter Free by Kathi Lipp

I met Kathi Lipp!

Kathi was one of  the speakers at our local homeschool conference over the weekend. I had a chance to talk with her a bit on Thursday evening after I introduced myself to her as a Compassion Advocate in the area. Kathi is a speaker and writer who has recently partnered with Compassion to help more children find sponsors at her events.

She graciously gifted me with her new book 'Clutter Free' which I have practically devoured over the past couple of days. I still have about 50 pages to read, but I love her approach to identifying why we have clutter, and her three questions to help us identify what has earned a right to be in our homes.

In fact, just this morning, I had a pile of stuff to go through from VBS (yes, I know VBS was weeks ago, but I just kept procrastinating going through the stuff!) In about 15 minutes, I was able to go through two boxes and it feels so good to have it done! I am looking forward to finishing her book and taking more steps to live a more clutter free life!

Simplify your space...take back your life.
— Kathi Lipp

If you are struggling with clutter in your home, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Kathi's book.