I found enough junk in my house to fill our entire downstairs suite!

For the last two weeks I have made it my goal to search in every cupboard, drawer, closet and shelf in my house in order to clean out items that we no longer need or use.  This is necessary now that we have a son as we need to start making room for all of his things (which there is a ton of already and he’s not even a year old yet!!) Plus, we are heading back east next month so I thought we could maybe make a little extra cash selling all this stuff at a garage sale.

One important truth I have discovered is that the more places you have to store stuff, the more stuff you end up storing. The old adage “out of sight, out of mind” is very true and becomes dangerous as you end up hiding away all this useless junk that just sits there collecting dust and cluttering up your living space. I’m not saying I’m ready to be a guest star on Hoarders yet or anything but after finding some ridiculous things, I am realizing I may have some trouble letting things go.

Now in the past, I admit that I’ve been TOO lenient with these items, making excuses as to why I need to keep them. The main reasons I’ve wound up keeping things is because I’ve convinced myself that I’ll need them someday or that they hold a special memory.  Here are some of the stranger things I uncovered while searching my house, the possible reasons I kept them in the past and why I don’t need them now! (I just realized how this sounds…like something a therapist would tell a hoarder!  Lol. I promise I came up with this all on my own without any professional help!)

1.  A Giant Martini Glass: I brought this back from Vegas four years ago except when I bought it, it was filled with 10 ounces of liquor! I wound up finishing it that night, so really I can’t use the excuse that I’m keeping it because I have any memories of it!  I previously kept it because I thought that someday I may want to have a second go at trying to finish a 10 ounce drink, but now that I have a baby, that idea sounds both painful and wrong!

2. A Make Your Own Bath and Beauty Supply Kit:  This may not seem like such a strange item except that I remember my parents giving this to me as a birthday present when I was SIXTEEN years old.  With each move, I have lugged this kit along with me with the intention of one day opening it up and making myself some bath salts and lotions. The problem is, since it’s now sixteen years old, I’m guessing the all natural products are probably rotten or would burn when they touched my skin. This may just have to go in the trash rather than be donated or sold…I don’t want to harm anyone or be sued!

3. A Leopard Print Hat Box:  I believe this was given to be about 10 years ago and I thought I should keep it as it was a funky box that could be used to store more stuff!  But with my new goal in mind, obviously keeping this item defeats the purpose of trying to stop placing things in boxes and forgetting them for years! So, bye-bye funky box!

4. A Neon Unicorn:  I mean who doesn’t need one of these in their house? I recall that this was won for me at a local fair by a boy when I was around 22 and I kept it as a memento while we were dating.  Once we broke up I recall crying and cursing his name as I threw it in a box, no longer being able to look at it (But to be honest, can you even really look at it now? It’s so ugly!!!)  Another “out of sight, out of mind” discovery that needs to be sent away…I do hear that neon is back in style now so maybe someone will buy it as an accessory and carry it around like a purse!

5. Heart-Printed Toilet Paper:  Huh??? Who in their right mind would purchase such an item or keep in their house for five years? Um, that would be me!  I recall that I bought this as a stocking stuffer for my hubbie as a joke telling him that everytime he used it, he would think of his love for me…I know, I really didn’t think that one through, did I?” Anyways, I thought I should keep it just in case we ever ran out of toilet paper and this could be our reserve roll…not a bad idea except I’m guessing the dye from the hearts would transfer.  Looks like I’ll have to flush this one down the toilet too…hahahahahaha…sorry I couldn’t resist!

I challenge all of you to take a couple of hours this week and really dig deep into your homes to pull out all the junk you no longer use. Purge your house and I promise you will feel like a weight as been lifted…literally as you won’t have to lug around 100 pounds of junk next time you decide to move!  I’d love to hear what strange things you uncover!

Coupon tip of the week:  Each store has their own set of rules regarding what types of coupons they accept and if they allow stacking. I highly recommend reading up on their policies before going to the store as this will save you alot of headaches and possibly arguements. As well, it’s a good idea to print off the policies and bring them with you just in case you are dealing with a newer employee who may not know all the rules yet.