A year ago I joined the 40 bags in 40 days challenge. 40
bags in 40 days is a challenge which takes place during lent (the
catholic period of fasting). To me this was a blessing in disguise.
For many years I had this problem of collecting too much stuff around in my
house. Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/events/637377976316873/?fref=ts
I grew up with
parents born before WW2. My mother always told me to take care of things,
especially clothes, in case of rougher times. Actually, as a teen I used to
redesign and alter clothes a lot and they turned out pretty cool. But that was
the 80s, which was really convenient, because I couldn’t really afford buying
clothes then and fashion back then allowed an individual style. At the time
having access to stored, old stuff made sense.
Anyway, I learned
that we do not throw away stuff, we keep it… thing is: things started piling
up, too much of everything, and suddenly I looked around and discovered I never
used any of it, but it took up a lot of space in my house. Space I would really
like to clear away and make useful and presentable and room to breath.
I started off thinking that all the piles and boxes in
my house was an impossible task to take on, when I stumbled upon this challenge
I started thinking that a tiny bit is a lot more than nothing at all, so I
joined. I didn’t do it the scientific way: I did not download the calendars or
plans available
everywhere on the net, I didn’t have a room or area scheduled
each day. I just thought that I’d wing it. Everywhere was somewhere good to get
started. But it was
scary, I tell you.
At first it was
really easy: a bag was filled in no time. Getting rid of a little bit of it all
wasn’t too painful. Some days I even discarded a lot more than what I had
planned. It was 5 minutes of contending passions. But as the 40 days was coming to an end it became more
painful. I found things I had forgotten I even had, and I found things which I
knew would never be used again, but memories overwhelmed me. It is stupid to
hold on to broken etch a scetch just because my son wrote his name for the
first time on it, but it is painful to get rid of.
I continued,
though. Trying to be reasonable about it all, and after a while it became more
of a personal cleansing. I reminded myself of the advantages I would get from
it all:
-More space
-Easier to clean
-More presentable
home
-Less clutter…. The
list grew longer the more I thought it through.
On day 40 I started
thinking I was doing something which was good for me. I could already see the
results, and I was happy about it. The present became even more important to
me, and the feeling of constantly to resign in frustration was replaced with the
feeling of achieving something great. To me it was great anyway, and the family
started to notice the changes in our house.
 |
| off to Salvation Army second hand store. |
There was no
reason for me to stop, just because the 40 days were over. Every day I got rid
of another bag. Some days I just cleared out too small socks from my kids’
drawers, other days I finally got rid of boxes of pocket books I had read too
many times.
One day I didn’t
have much time to spare… less than my usual 10 minutes, so I grabbed a grocery
bag and went into the bathroom. There I threw away empty shampoo bottles, expired
creams, lotions and make up and I ended up filling up three bags.
I just love how
good I am getting at getting rid of clutter… yes, I stopped calling it stuff or
things; now I see clutter.
Today is Ash
Wednesday, people from all over the western world are picking up on the
challenge. To get some starting help you maybe need a schedule.
White House Black
Shutters offers this one:
I didn’t need one
last year; this year I have noted down areas to focus on each day… there is
less to just shuffle into a bag now.
I noted it down
on the family planner, which is in plain sight in the kitchen. The kids have
become curious, so this year it will be more of a family activity. I just can’t
wait until this afternoon… I am excited to get started!
Read more here: http://pamelacrim.com/40bags/
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