5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

5 Things I Can Live Without: Thursdays are posts where I let the world know what I am getting rid of in my quest to minimalism/ preparation for baby.  The title was taken from The Dehoarding Diary.

Somehow the cleaning products have made lots of cleaning product babies, and there are 1/2 used plastic bottles full of chemicals all around the house. I really enjoy just using vinegar and water, and the others in the house use it the majority of the time as well. Since reading up on more natural cleaning products and reading Clean Start: Your Guide to Natural Home Cleaning, I don't know why we keep the other cleaners. So I asked Dad to go through some of them, and we're getting rid of the ones we no longer want. So far here is what we're giving away: 

Once I get to cleaning the basement and garage there will be more. I know they're hiding down there somewhere!

The plan was to bring the unwanted bottles to my baby shower and let the ladies take home what they want. However, as usual, I did not get the task done on time. A friend really wants some of these cleaners, so she can pick them up whenever, and I will find someone else to take what she does not want. I love actaully acting on my beliefs/ wanted lifestyle and getting rid of these toxins!

How is everyone else doing? Any awesome changes?

We Survived!

I'm not sure how much more productive we were on a TVless Monday, but we had fun, and I had much needed time with the husband. He was happy to have the TV back on Tuesday though :)

Some highlights of the day:

• We learned what Oobleck is, what slacklining is, started a puzzle, and played online Madlibs (remember those?).
• I learned a lot about more about minimalism and about air purifying plants (next on the list: buy plants for the house).
• Thank you notes from my graduation went out, a sympathy card went out. By "went out" I mean put in the mailbox - President's Day = no mail person
• I also finally, FINALLY! tried my hand at hang drying the clothes! Another post on that soon. I say success though, and the nerd in me enjoys laundry even more.
• Cleaned the front closet again and started the linen closet - would be done if I wasn't so disorganized.

I am pretty excited to make No TV Monday a regular thing. It is already helped me not watch as much, and when I am watching, less interested. Already have a list of shows I'm about ready to toss.

5 Things I Can Live Without: Thursday

This past Thursday I asked (maybe told) my husband to look through the closet and pick out five things he no longer wanted.

I would have done the same except that I found six things just by folding that day's laundry.

So this past Thursday we found 11 things we can live without.  We have them in a bag to take to a thrift shop.  I love having my husband on board with this, even if it is because I just keeping asking/reminding/telling him to please do it for his pregnant wife. :)

Since then, I have taken everything out of our closet and dresser and we are currently going through it. I'll keep ya updated.  :)

5 Things I Can Live Without: Thursday

I am writing two posts today, as I feel the two subjects deserved their own title and space.

After feeling defeated, unproductive, unmotivated and restless, I finally finished reading Dehoarding Diary last night. After reading it I felt newly inspired to keep up my cleaning and decluttering efforts.  Everyday for the last week, even if only 30 minutes, I have successfully conquared throwing things in the trash/recycle, moving things to their proper location, filing, or putting things in the "I do not want this" bag. For whatever reason yesterday, cleaning the car did not feel enough, and I felt I had wasted the day. The Dehoarding Diary helped me realize that nothing changes in a day.  The diary is for an entire year, and when she quit writing, she still had a long way to go.

• Habits take time.
• Small changes/efforts add up.  I am not going to clean my entire house in 30 minutes or even a day.
• Taking a day off is okay, and needed.

These are the thoughts I am taking from her blog.  That and her "5 Things I Can Live Without: Thursday" idea.  Every Thursday I will make it a point to put 5 things in the "I do not want this" bag.  This bag is a collection of items to take to Goodwill or to sell somehow (I have a ton of schoolbooks that I do not want, but since some cost over $100, should I really just give them away for free?).  I will try to list the items in this blog to help motivate myself, and possibly others.  Hopefully I can get my husband on board so we can get some of the bigger things out (do we need the tvs in the basement, the extra dresser, the the love seat?) as I cannot handle these things myself.

In other progress:

• I found the recipe for the chicken burritos I want to try tomorrow night, I just have to get the motivation to go grocery shopping. (I am also making changes to the recipe, and this is major because I always feel I will mess up the recipe if I don't do it exactly the way it says.)
• I remembered to bring my lunch to work Sunday, but forgot a fork.  Instead of getting a plastic fork, I used my bread to eat the casserole.  One less fork in the landfill, and hopefully lesson slearned to not forget my fork again!
• Husband's grandparents bought us a crib for Addy!  It's all getting so real!  I am trying not to panic about all the things we have not bought for her, and the things in the house we still need to get done to get ready.  Everything takes time.