40 Bags in 40 Days Update! #40bags

I've been soooo slow getting my bags ready.  I've gotten rid of 5 bags...so far behind. Today is my day though! Work has been crazy add that to the kids schedules & I've had no time, but today I'm making time.  The house needs to be cleaned & I have know I have stuff that I need to get out for good!

My bags so far included, 2 bags of my clothes, a bag of children's clothing, toys & trash.  It drives me nuts that I can easily go through stuff & get a bag of trash & recycling...why can't we just get rid of this stuff as we go along?!  No idea, but working on it!  How is everyone else doing? Check-in & motive me please!!!

40 Bags in 40 Days

I've tried to do the 40 bags in 40 days challenge for the past 2 years. Last year, I totally forgot how many bags I got rid & the year before I barely got to my 40 bags.  This year, I'm hoping to go over!  I feel like my entire family has a lot of things we don't need & are cluttering our home.  

I found this great blog post called 40 Bags in 40 Days Are you up for a Lenten challenge? "It’s a pretty simple concept: Just commit to ridding your home of 40 bags of “stuff” during the 40 days of Lent." So I am committed! (Blog post is no longer available). 

I love the feeling of organization, though my home rarely feels this way but it so nice to start the spring fresh & with less stuff!   It also challenges me to get rid of meaningless things that are cluttering my life, instead of just giving up candy 40 days. I'll try to post often and if you're taking part, please comment and let us know what you're getting rid of, we'll cheer each other on...I'm sure I'll need some help around bag 20 or so!

The challenge starts on Wednesday, but because we're home with a snow day today, we might start a few days early!  The first few bags are always easy, but it does get tougher as you go along!  Good luck!!!!

40 bags in 40 days...Update!

Is it possible that I've already lost track of how many bags I've gotten rid of? Here is a list of what I can remember:

• 1 bag of stuffed animals
• 4 bags to the Goodwill.  (after I wrote this list and after the trip to Goodwill, I realized I left a few things out of the bags, so at least 2 more bags are ready to go!)
• 1 bag ready to go to Cradles to Crayons
• 1 bag ready to go to a used electronics event at the school
• 1 bag of paper recycling (empty out coupon inserts & other random papers!)
• 1 bag of expired & old stuff from a closet
• 3 bags of trash/recycling: broken toys, old containers, etc. I recycle as much as possible but some of it is just trash...which makes me wonder why we have it anyway!  

So I can remember 9 bags, which isn't too bad, I know I'm missing a few though.  I'm hoping to keep track of of the remaining bags just a little bit better!  Right now I'm really focusing on closets, cabinets & tables.  I went through my linen closet & rearranged/organized-it's like a whole new closet!  By removing things we didn't need, were expired or I knew we'd never use, I feel like I've gained a ton of extra closet space!  I'm also going through cabinets in the kitchen & getting rid of extra mugs, old cereal, etc.  More cabinet space in the kitchen is never a bad idea!

How is everyone else doing?  If you're playing along, let me know what you're getting rid of!  If you're planning to get rid of gently used children's clothes, don't forget I've teamed up with Cradles to Crayons and the Springfield Mall to host a collection from March 8th-30th!  Details are HERE.

Organizations that can benefit from 40 bags in 40 days

I've recently begun my 3rd year of "40 bags in 40 days" ( you can read the details HERE) and it gets me excited when I think about the organizations I can donate to while ridding my home of unwanted things.  I know there are many people not only following along, but also participating in this 40 day journey with me so I wanted to give you a few places you can send your unwanted, but still good quality items.  

Today I went through my kids clothes and found a nice pile that I plan to donate to Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia.  Cradles to Crayons (C2C) is a charity near & dear and as a mother, the idea of children needing basic supplies is troubling.  C2C assists children in the Philadelphia area, "from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive - at home, at school and at play." C2C provides these supplies for free to children in need & they need donations of gently used & new children clothing & supplies in order to fulfill this mission. 

If you have old sheets & towels taking up way too much room in your linen closet, the Delaware County SPCA is always looking for donations to help keep the animals comfortable during their stay at the shelter!  

Check through your pantry & if you have food that you no longer eat or just have too much to use before it expires, Philabundance is just one organization who will take your donations & help distribute it to people in need, again in the Delaware Valley-helping neighbors.  

There are  so many other organizations,So clean out  Purple Heart, Goodwill Services, Mothers Homes, Homeless Shelters who are all in need of donations daily-lets see if we can help them!

40 bags in 40 days-Year 3

 For the past 2 years during Lent I decided to help get rid of clutter in my life & start the spring & summer fresh with 40 bags less stuff.  I like to check in every once in a while to let people know I'm on track...or sometimes not.

The momentum at the beginning helps me to get rid of a lot of things up front.  I will use regular grocery shopping bags to help keep my goal attainable. I love the feeling of freeing my home of stuff, it really just makes me feel better &  more organized!


If you'd like to give up 40 bags in 40 days, leave a comment & we'll cheer each other on!!!

As a family we're also giving up going out to eat---I think it will be interesting to see how if we save money & if we can do it!  I know I'll need help around bag 20.

40 bags in 40 days-Day 2

Yesterday I announced I'd be doing 40 bags in 40 days again this year. I started late, my first bag was taken out today. It feels great to get rid of the junk again this year! I'm doing this for Lent, but I know a number of people who are just doinig this with me, to help get the "stuff" out of the house!

Today, I took out some boxes that I thought I would use, but after 3 months, I decide it was time to go. I then went through the tv cabinet & removed a bunch of movies my kids & I don't watch any more. I cleaned out a few books & broken toys that also call the cabinet home.

Here is my first post about 40 bags in 40 days if you're interested in joining in our fun, go HERE.

Did you get rid of anything today? Let us know how you did today!!!

40 Bags in 40 Days

I wrote the post below last year and I got pretty close to 40 bags of "stuff" out of my house in the 40 days.  Since it's been a year, I'm trying it again!  Check back frequently & if you're up for it, try the 40 bags in 40 day challenge.  I can't wait to get started----there is always something that needs to go!

I found this great blog post called 40 Bags in 40 Days Are you up for a Lenten challenge? "It’s a pretty simple concept: Just commit to ridding your home of 40 bags of “stuff” during the 40 days of Lent." So I am committed!

I feel like I live my life in a constant state of unorganization, so this is great. It also challenges me to get rid of meaningless things that are cluttering my life, instead of just giving up candy 40 days...this could be life changing (at least I hope!). I'll try to post often and if you're taking part, please comment and let us know what you're getting rid of, we'll cheer each other on...I'm sure I'll need some help around bag 20 or so!

40 bags in 40 days

So here is my update to 40 bags in 40 days. I'm really not sure how many bags I got rid of, but I feel good about the progresss I made. I know I was able to purge many bags of "stuff" from my home that I don't even miss and in-fact, unless I look back at previous posts, I can't really remember what I gave up.

This weekend we were able to get rid of a tricyle and we talked our neighbors about taking a giant double jogging stroller and I have a large playhouse that is going to go as well.

I am most happy that I was able to clean out my car! It always looked terrible and while its not perfect today, its not filled with sweatshirts, toys & old food. I am certain I will take the 40 bags in 40 days challenge again next year, clearing the things from my home that clutter it, was so much more rewarding than giving up chocolate!

If you were participating, how do you think you did & how do you feel? Jess

40 Bags in 40 Days

(FYI, this post was written on Friday!)

I haven't written a post about my 40 bags in 40 days lately and since it will be ending soon, I thought I should give an update!

So we've established that I lost track of the number of bags. Last count, I would be at around 20. Since I last posted, I took my real estate exam, passed, drove to Harrisburg to pick up my license & then started my real estate gig. So, to say I haven't been cleaning is an understatement!!! I feel like my house dipping back into total crazy and I was not sure how to regain control.

Today, for the first time in a while, I felt like I had a some time that I could devote to my 40 bags and to be honest, I feel like I'm getting back on track already. I only managed another 4 bags, this time from car, but it was a start. I had 1 bag of total trash, 1 bag of recycling, 1 bag of (FREAKING) clothes that my kids discard and a bag full of dishes (water bottles, etc) left over from soccer practice. I even had a few minutes to vacuum my car and I'm not sure when that happened previously. I'm going to work on a few more bags now. Hopefully I can get 5-6 more this weekend and that can put me back on track for my 40 bags.

How is everyone else doing with the 40 bags? Good luck, our 40 days s almost over!!!

Don't know about my journey with 40 bags?  I read this post 40 Bags in 40 Days and decided this was what I need to give up for Lent this year!

40 bags in 40 days

Ok, so here is my super honest confession...I've lost track of the number of bags!  I can't believe it, I can estimate it but unlike the first few days, I'm not 100% sure where I am.  So I'm going to try and keep a rough count but I think the idea behind the 40 bags in 40 days is to get rid of my clutter & organize my life...which I feel like is happening very slowly, but it is happening!

This week I had a few bags of recycling & trash after cleaning out the kids craft area.  There are a lot of craft projects at the recycling center now.  I also cleaned out 2 cabinets in my kitchen. I threw out some old Chinese take-out condiments and old, expired food.  I also decided that moving my seasonal plates (which I don't think I even used this past year) to the attic would free up some much needed space in my kitchen.  If I don't use it in the next year, the pile will be gone in next years purge!

How is everyone else doing?

40 bags in 40 days update

I still can not believe the amount of junk that I am getting out of my house!  I'm getting almost 1 bag of trash and 1 bag of recycling every day.  Yesterday, I went through my pantry to find any food that my family doesn't like that I can donate and I found a pile of toothpaste & deodrant that I'll be donating as well.

I also found a bag of curtains in my attic that I haven't used in years so my brother was the recipient of yesterdays bag of goodies, because he recently movd into his own apartment! 

My home is feeling clean & more organized with every passing day and I feel clean, more organized and less stressed!  I'm thinking 40 bags in 40 days might just have to be an annual event. 

How are you doing so far?

40 Bags in 40 days

So I decided that telling everyone exactly what I was getting rid of might be a little boring...and no one would read it...and I wouldn't even want to write about it. So today is just a "check-in" to let you know I'm still at it and a few bags ahead of schedule!!!

Because I'm a few bags ahead, I did not really do much this weekend. I spend time studying (don't know why I'm studying? Click  Here ) and hung out with the kids. Overall it was a pretty low-key weekend.

I was back at it today and have 1 big trash bag of crib sheets and children's books to donate to Cradles to Crayons at my Mom's Night Out event in April.

I've also gotten rid of a ton of recycling & trash. I'm so annoyed we had all this junk just laying around our house....but I'm trying to focus more on getting it out, not on how much my house keeping skills suck.

So my total count so far is 10 bags to leave my house!!! How are you doing?!

40 bags in 40 days, day 2

So the room I tackled today was my bedroom.  I picked it for one reason...of all the rooms  I clean, it will stay cleaner longer!  My bedroom is also usually the last room I clean, so it doesn't happen often enough. 

So what did I get rid of, I'm sure you want to know! 

• 3 bags of clothing (all mine) and a few books which I will donate.
• 1 bag of trash (including the Lanolin cream from 3.5 years ago & make up that is so old only God knows when I got it)
• 1 bag of paper recycling

There is still more to do in that room but I feel so much better about it!  I just wish it would stop raining so I could get some of the stuff out of my house forever.  So my 2 day count is at 6 bags.  I'm starting to think the 40 might not be so hard! (knocking on wood!)  What did you do?

40 Bags in 40 Days

I found this great blog post called 40 Bags in 40 Days Are you up for a Lenten challenge? "It’s a pretty simple concept: Just commit to ridding your home of 40 bags of “stuff” during the 40 days of Lent." So I am committed!

I feel like I live my life in a constant state of unorganization, so this is great. It also challenges me to get rid of meaningless things that are cluttering my life, instead of just giving up candy 40 days...this could be life changing (at least I hope!). I'll try to post often and if you're taking part, please comment and let us know what you're getting rid of, we'll cheer each other on...I'm sure I'll need some help around bag 20 or so!

Without furth ado. My first bag is a bag of shoes. My daughter's school is collecting shoes to send to Liberia, where they learned that many children are so poor they run around barefoot. Olivia & I both found a few (6!)pairs of shoes that we could donate and I'm happy to know they're going to someone who can really use them!