Commitment to a Clutter Free Existence

I live in the upstairs portion of a duplex in a two bedroom suite.  Our place is roughly the size of an average two bedroom apartment.  That being said, I have enough clutter to fill an average 5 bedroom home.....the madness needs to end.

I have begun a major de-clutter project which I hope to be completely finished with by the end of August. My goal is to fill one large garbage bag full of clutter once a week until it is time for me to go back to school.

If you have read my previous post about throwing old makeup away, you will know that throwing things away is a challenge for me. Actually the word "challenge" is a bit of an understatement...it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE. 

I have started this project in our spare bedroom.  This is where I keep my clothes, makeup, craft supplies, and various other sources of major clutter.  I have a feeling this room alone could stand to lose 3-4 garbage bags of clutter.  The other reason for my de-clutter is I would like to purchase a few new items while on vacation in Ontario and I do not want to put clutter on top of clutter! I'm a bit neurotic about clutter...in case you haven't realized this. I'm assuming most people would not dedicate an entire post to clutter. This post will mainly consist of things I pulled out of my closet and shoe rack.

Anywho, I thought I'd share some pictures of what has been removed from my dwelling so far!

I have a lot of purses that I love, and this just isn't one of them. I received this as one of those "free gift with purchases" kind of deal. It looks cute in the photo, but I tell you...it is really cheaply made and flimsy. I don't think I have ever used it actually. I don't think it could carry much without ripping to be honest. Why did I keep in my closet for so long? I need therapy...clearly. Do you want to know what makes this even more shameful? I already have a much nicer leopard print purse....

This shirt I loved for MANY years...it looks cute on, is comfy and goes with nearly everything...That would all be true if you asked me to describe this top 2-3 years ago. Now it is getting ratty, and has HORRIBLE sweat marks in the armpits. Um gross? Why do I still have this?

Here is another top I have loved for years. I'm sorry to see this one go because it is one of those tops that makes me feel skinny. It is just really flattering. Problem is, at some point I must've got bleach on it or something..as there are a few spots on it...quite noticeable ones when you have it on.

There is nothing wrong with this top at all and I've hardly worn it despite having it for more than five years. The reason I do not wear it is it has a VERY revealing neck line when worn.  I don't mind these sorts of tops for around the house, but I have so many tank tops that I wear around the house and I have lots of others that are more appropriate to be worn outside the house. So long boobtastic top.

I think I kept this shirt more for nostalgic purposes than anything. Some clothes just remind you of many memories in your life. This top reminds me of grade 10 and the good group of friends I had then and the stupid things we used to do. I wore this to one of the grade 10 dances as well...It doesn't really suit my style anymore as I don't care to look like a disco ball these days...

Getting rid of this is actually painful.  I LOVE this hoodie and have loved it since 2008.  It still fits well and is so comfy. It is really warm and very flattering.  The problem with this hoodie is that A) I have a billion hoodies from the great hoodie buying binge of 2009 and this one has various stains that will not come out. One of them appears to be yellow paint, one is chocolate (or at least I hope it is), and one appears to be mustard. Yes I am disgusting. So long stained friend!

Another hoodie purchased in either 2009 or 2010. Like I said, I have so many hoodies and this isn't one that I ever grab for. It shows stains quite easily as it is so light in colour and I am not really in to the designs on it anymore. If you've read my previous post about my shopping must haves for my Ontario holiday, you may be thinking "why is a hoodie on your list?" Because lululemon hoodies are unlike regular hoodies and they are a bit more mature looking than the above hoodie.

Another nostalgic shirt that I never wear. It is looking pretty rough and needs to be thrown away. I'm not particularly attached to it and am not sure why it is still in my closet. Oh right, because I'm mental.

This is another one that makes me sad to get rid of. My mom gave me this shirt in high school and I have worn it a lot over the years. It is beginning to show its age and has some sweat marks as well.  Why am I such a sweaty beast?

This is a MAC gift bag that was included in one of my MAC orders around Christmas. I put in my closet thinking "Oh. I will use this for an xmas gift!"...I never did and likely will never use it. Be gone!

On to some footwear...This is another painful picture to look at as these are now removed from my hosue.  They have been very well worn and have a lot of scuff marks on them.  I have had these since possibly elementary school to be honest. I remember one of my friends having boots with a heel in like grade seven and then begging my mom to buy a pair. I keep packing them around from place to place that I've lived even though I never wear them anymore. So long boots. I will miss you.

But wait...these shoes look really cute! These shoes look brand new! That's because they are. I also have these shoes in tan and LOVE THEM. They are really comfy and look more expensive than their actual $10 price tag from Walmart.  I wear the tan ones often but rarely put these ones on. Why? Because these have always felt really tight and uncomfortable and I never knew why. If you look closely at the shoe on the left, it is clearly a half size smaller than the one on the right. The shoe on the left is in a 7 and a half and the shoe on the right is in an 8.  The shoe on the left is actually painful and unwearable. How did I not notice this when I bought these? Well..I tried on the tan ones and loved them and just grabbed the coral ones without trying them on...not knowing someone had mixed up the sizes...sigh.

I still have some more work to do in the closet but I was getting bored and the heat in the spare room was becoming unbearable as it has been quite hot the past week or two.  So last week I purchased two nail polishes and one L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow. As promised, I have pledged to throw away one item for every beauty item purchased.  First up...this Sally Girl lip gloss.  As you can see in this photo, this gloss has really separated and has a gross blob of liquid in it. Yummy!

The third item I chose to throw away was this Hard Candy Glow All the Way body bronzer. It is SUPER sparkly. Pretty much makes anyone who uses it look like Midas touched them..Not attractive on my fair skin whatsoever.

I am actually thrilled to through this away. It makes me mad every time I look at it. It cost over $20 and has ZERO pigmentation.  It is some cube shimmer thing from the Body Shop that I purchased 5 years ago. I have to pack about 237928329 layers on my eyes to notice even a slight wash of colours on my lids. This item made me angry and yet I still held on to it....


So there you have it! The above items and a few pieces of old poster board I used for various school assignments equalled one large garbage bag full. I will be looking to get rid of another bag hopefully this weekend!

I hope this inspires you in some way to rid yourself of clutter.

Cheers!

Nicole