Sarah Babcock

the last day! I'm still struggling to find stuff to give away, but this challenge was a great eye opener. 

I feel like at this point I've gone through all that I already own, but now I need to focus on not buying more. And if I am buying something it's for the right reasons. Not to fill a void, or want to look cool, but because I truly need it. 

Today, I decluttered my social media. I use social media for my job but also waste a lot of time on it. I found an app that monitors, and then shuts off my phone use per day. I also rearranged my home page with the apps that I need for school. This app told me that I was on my phone for 4 hours a day usually. That's WAY TOO MUCH!!! I am making efforts to not go on my phone before bed either. 

On Thursday I simplified my life because my mom is visiting so she brought a lot of my winter clothes. While going through them it was hard not to think about all of the memories I had while wearing those garments. A lot of them were handed down to me from my siblings, but I have now since replaced them with items that I like, and fit me. It was hard to go through the stuff and decide what to give away, but I remembered that I still have the memories and photos using the clothes. This helped in the process of giving them away. Once I did put them in the give away pile I felt lighter and like I could move on.

On Friday, I found that I really don't know where else I can really minimize the things that I own. I know there are a ton of objects that I could go without. I am starting to realize now that a lot of the stuff I have and really enjoy using. So I also know that the different things that I collect like coffee mugs bring me joy when I'm using them. I know this is okay as well. It's like using your favorite stuff everyday.

Today, I spent the day with my mom, and rather than going through stuff I got to talk with my mom about this eco challenge and what I was doing. She is interested herself in decluttering and minimalism. It was really cool to be able to share this topic with my mom. She was really interested because she has a lot of decorations and tons of random things because of having a large family. Even though I did not organize my own stuff I liked being able to start this conversation with someone in my life. 

I cleaned off my coffee table so it looks less cluttered. 

Today I made my bed, and cleaned all of my clothes from random places in my room. The clean space made me feel more productive and accomplished. 

Today my goal was to tidy up my junk drawer. I gave away some school supplies to a drive thats happening and organized all of my cords. 

Today I let go of some different products that I don't use/haven't used in a while. I had a ton of lotions and extra beauty products that I donated.

Now that I have gotten rid of a lot of clothes that I do not need anymore I need to start tackling my other possessions. I own a ton of coffee mugs because I collect them. They all have a story to me, but a have way too many for one person at this point. It is hard to part with them just to a goodwill or second hand store, so I decided to give them to the people I love. I worked as a camp counselor in California so I met a lot of people across the world from that job. I decided to send a mug that I don't use that often, but still love to a person at camp, and asked them that when they are done with it, to send it on to someone else. I found this to be a great alternative to thowing it out, but still making people happy with it. 

I kind of started over this last weekend, but I went through my closet and got rid of a bunch of shirts and pants that I haven't worn in a long time. I got rid of it if today I wouldn't buy it in a store. I gave it away to the people who live near me.