And the purging continues….
This time, as we continue to prepare for our move at the end of June, we attacked my daughter’s room…again. Outgoing pile number one consisted of two boxes of books that went to a friend’s house and a bookshelf to help her organize all those books :)
Outgoing pile number two (below) went to the thrift store owned by a very good friend of mine. More books, clothes and tons and tons of other stuff my sweet pack rat daughter finally agreed to part with. Unfortunately none of that pile includes any of the million and one notebooks she hoards owns. No way was she parting with those. I just have no idea where she gets her addictive tendencies from. It makes no sense at all! :)
I’ll admit though that I do love notebooks as well so I really didn’t press too hard.
How many others can relate to a love of pretty empty pages with endless possibilities?
Don’t store it, use it!
In my big bathroom cupboard purge fest of last week I discovered, tucked away in the back corner, an old matching soap dish and toothbrush holder.
It’s been in hiding for 5 years! We actually used them in our old house but I replaced them when we moved because these ones didn’t go with our new decor. Anyhoo I really liked them at the time and decided to hang on to them “just in case”. Now remember this was 5 years ago and over time I had completely forgotten they were there. Out of sight, out of mind as they say.
However, I think it’s safe to say that the statue of limitations on my bathroom beauties had expired. It was way past time to make a decision about their fate.
I still really liked them, that hadn’t changed, but since I hadn’t put them to use as they were intended in the past 5 years, chances were EXTREMELY good I wasn’t going to in the near future either.
A decision had to be made.
The only way it made sense for me to keep them would be to find some other way to use them. I can’t stress this enough, if you really love something, honor it, and put it to use. With a little creativity, many things can be used for something other than they were originally intended which is how my toothbrush holder became a lovely pen holder.
A simple yet practical solution. I did part with the soap dish and was okay with that. I’ve freed up storage space and am now enjoying the holder I love without feeling like I’ve cluttered my space to do it. It’s a win win.
The morale of this story…if you haven’t used something in a long time, you probably aren’t going to. Cut your losses and re-purpose the item or part ways with it but just don’t let things keep taking up valuable storage space for the “just in case” opportunity.
Don’t store it, use it!
What one thing can you re-purpose today?
Related: I also love this great idea to Make a Posey Vase from a Toothbrush Holder from Jenn at Frugal Upstate.
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Sponsored by The Dinner Solution ~ Menu Planning and Freezer Cooking Made Simple and It’s Frugal Being Green
Makeup Storage Makeover
Oh I was a busy little bee today trying to get my makeup and hair products purged and organized. When I started I didn’t really think it was going to take me too long but before I knew it I was not only clearing out my vanity table but all three cabinets in each of the bathrooms as well. Once I got going and saw my purge pile growing I just wanted to keep adding to it. Such a great feeling.
This is what left my house today:
My makeup drawer before:
And the after…I moved the “container that started it all” to the back of the drawer and added a new one in front just to mix things up a bit:
Here is a picture of the other drawer that holds some of my hair accessories:
My vanity table before:
After:
I’m so happy I made time to get that done (even if it meant my floors didn’t get cleaned…oops). I feel so much lighter now, I LOVE that feeling! I even came up with some new storage solutions that I’ll share soon.
How are you making out with yours? Will you be ready for the end of the month?
Sponsored by The Dinner Solution ~ Menu Planning & Freezer Cooking Made Simple
Related posts:
Storage Star ~ Donation Station
Not long ago I blogged about the purge pile I keep behind my office door for items that I’ve collected throughout the week that need to go to the thrift store. I like having a designated spot to throw these things as I go about my day. Quick and easy and just waiting to be filled…begging to be filled actually. This tiny little voice from the box calling out to me over and over again “help me, I’m hungry, need more stuff”. So annoying really but it seems the more I fill it the more it calls out to be filled. What’s a girl to do but feed that darn box a few toys, towels, clothes, or tools (just kidding honey!), breath a sigh of relief and enjoy the silence….whew!
Cruising around blogland I discovered that Danielle from Home Ever After also has a purge box but what I love is not only has she decorated her box but she cleverly calls it a Donation Station!! Seriously I love stations, why didn’t I think of that? Check out her post here to find out why she uses such a system and how she is going to ensure that it gets used by all her family members as well. Great job and definitely Storage Star worthy in my book!
Hmmmm, I wonder if she hears the voices too?
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