The September Summary
The monthly summary is a new feature that will show what I have decluttered in the previous month.I'll also use it to stay accountable to my plan of finishing the first draft of my novel and show you the work I've been doing on my upcoming ebook. If you want to play along, feel free to list your decluttering totals in the comments below.
Decluttering is a huge part of creating a simple life. It's one of the first steps people look to take, and it is by far one of the hardest. When you're faced with literally years of accumulated mementoes, clothes, papers and junk, the idea of ridding your home of it is really daunting.This year, I challenged myself to declutter 2012 items by December 31. That equates to 5.5 things a day.I really thought I would struggle with this challenge. 5.5 things a day is a lot.But I've actually found the opposite to be true. Once my head was in the right place and I started to notice the sheer volume of stuff surrounding us, it's been quite easy to stick with it. Aside from the benefit of decluttering the physical items:
- I feel lighter
- the house is easier to tidy
- it takes less time to get dressed in the mornings
- I'm more motivated to keep simplifying in other areas
This month I focused on the clothes storage - boxes and boxes of kids clothes that our two have grown out of. Rather than keeping these shut away for any potential third child, I decided to pass the best clothes on to family and donate many of the rest.I'll be honest, it tugged at my heart a little, but I realised that holding on to these tiny clothes will not make our kids tiny again. It also is not a big enough reason to extend our family further. If we do that, it won't be because of a box of cute clothes.Items Donated or Given Away:
- my clothes x 87
- Sparky's clothes x 45
- shoes x 2
- bags x 1
- kids clothes x 421
- kids shoes x 12
- hard rubbish x 25
- miscellaneous decor x 99
- wardrobe x 1
Items Thrown Away (Beyond Repair or Use):
- my clothes x 11
- Sparky's clothes x 7
- kids clothes x 53
- kids shoes x 4
Total = 768Add that to the 1581 already gone and we’re at a total of 2349!Success! More than 2012 items decluttered this year.I'll see how high we can make it by the end of the year, because I know there is so much more to go. Damn, this paring down is addictive!
Novel Update
Last month I told you about the novel I'd started. I was nervous to do that, but the level of support I received from you was astounding. Thank you - yes, you - so much.Progress is good, if not a little slower than I'd hoped. Having never done this before I am flying blind and feeling my way through the process. Some days I get 1000 words out while others it's 50. And I'm OK with that. The characters are slowly emerging, letting me get to know them, and I have to say - they're pretty damn interesting.Word count total: 8200
Ebook in the Works
The Slow Home Bootcamp has been going incredibly well (despite some technical hiccups - sorry folks!) and I have been asked numerous times if I'll be following it up with an ebook.I'm excited to share that I've started working on one this month and hope to launch it early next year.The (proposed) title is:
"Luck, Schmuck - The No-Nonsense Guide to Creating a Simpler, More Contented Life."
Admittedly, it might need some work! But I'm in the early stages of outlining the chapters...Word count: 1200.
Most Popular Post This Month
Did you catch this post? At last count, it's been shared over 230 times and is one of the posts I've worked hardest on - ever.
21 Quick Actions To Simplify Your Life Today
New Slow Your Home Members
This month has seen huge growth in readers (Hello! Drop me a line! Let me know what you'd like to see more of around here.) in large part due to this humbling post on Becoming Minimalist.
At the end of August I had a combined total of 497 email subscribers.
At the end of September there are 1907 lovely folks subscribed to my email list. (I know, right?!)
Thank you all so much for reading. I am insanely passionate about creating a simpler life and the benefits it brings, and I can't even tell you how excited I am to share what I know with you. Better yet - I can't wait to see what you have to teach me! Share with us below - what's the one thing you achieved in the past month that you are most proud of?