30 Bags in 30 Days

30 Bags in 30 Days

My neat freak lovely husband has a rule that we have not stuck by in our house lately:

*If you haven't worn it, played with it, used it, touched it or even looked for it in the last year, we need to get rid of it.*

Which is a good idea, in theory. But that's a tough one for me, considering I come from a long line of pack rats. My grandpa was known to go to flea markets and auctions and come home with tools, old wooden pipes (we've found 13 so far), tools, glass electrical insulators (you know, the things that used to be at the top of power lines... I think. I don't know why he wanted those things), and more tools. He was a gifted wood worker and mechanic, so all of those tools came in handy.

I remember when I was little and my cousins and I would play in my grandparents yard, garage and basement. There was always so much stuff. But when you're 8, it's not stuff, it's treasure! There were places full of treasures! Garden sheds, tool sheds, storage sheds, 2 old Winnebagos and let's not forget the garage. The garage was the best place of all. It's not a conventionally good smelling place, but I love the smell of it and the memories it brings back.

My grandpa passed away about 5 years ago, and this past summer, his children took on the daunting task of sorting through everything at my grandma's house. And a daunting task it's been, it's taken weekend upon weekend to make a dent in that garage, but it's been interesting to see what's come out of it.

I wouldn't say my parents are anywhere near that level of "packrattedness", but it's not to say they haven't kept their fair share of unneeded items, especially in the basement. I'm pretty sure there are still Halloween costumes from 1989 in a bin somewhere down there. But who knows? They may just come in handy someday. 

I have a habit of keeping things too. My childhood things, baby things, things I found at Goodwill or on clearance that I never actually used.

Needless to say, my husband does not have my same feelings about "stuff", which is where that rule came in. It's not necessarily a bad rule, just one that goes against my pack rat nature. So, in an attempt to get ahead of the game, I made this list of 30 Bags in 30 Days after reading this post. I tried to come up with 40 places, but I just couldn't, so I knocked it down to 30. My goal is to organize one area each day and make an effort to get rid of (either throw or donate) the things we don't use or need. Some of these will be tough. 

By the way, I put my foot down on his one year rule: baby things and sentimental things are off limits. He knows better than to fight me on either of those. :)

So here it goes:

30 Bags in 30 Days

1.       Kids’ dresser

2.       Kids’ closet

3.       Kids’ book shelf and drawer

4.       Kids’ toy shelf

5.       Kids’ other toy shelf

6.       Jose’s dresser

7.       My dresser

8.       My hanging clothes

9.       Tupperware cabinet

10.        Pantry cupboard

11.        Junk drawer

12.        Top of fridge

13.        Our “random crap” cabinet

14.        Utensil drawer

15.        Under bathroom sink

16.        Linen closet

17.        Top shelf in bathroom closet

18.        Medicine cabinet

19.        Movie and game cabinet

20.        Movie drawer

21.        My crafty cabinet

22.        My car

23.        Front porch

24.        Garage toys

25.        Garage shelves

26.        Computer desk

27.        My book shelf

28.        Under basement stairs

29.        Basement storage

30.        Kids’ toys in basement