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.

Motivation Monday- 40 Bags in 40 days

Today I'm guest posting over at a A Life in Balance.  I'm  discussing my motivations and what keeps me going when I get rid of 40 bags in 40 days.  You can read my post 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!