With settlement just over 6 weeks away the race is on to declutter our house and get out of it. If you know me then I’m a bit of a hoarder. I wouldn’t get my own show or anything but we have a lot of stuff. And it’s mine. Retro daddy doesn’t really keep stuff except his footy and basketball trophies and the odd Mentone footy jumper from his youth. Me……..I’ve got everything. School yearbooks, diaries, craft, more craft stuff, vintage patterns, fabric I’ll never use, wool I’ll never use and the kids wardrobes are overflowing. Getting this house ready to sell meant putting everything in the garage…………as you can see.
In my defence every now and then I have a big clear out and go crazy……..like when I donated all of my maternity clothes including my favourite jeans to vinnies. Really regretting that decision since I can’t remember the size, DJs don’t sell them any more and I’m not sure where to find them now.
Anyway 40 bags in 40 days is something I did a few years back. The idea being that over Lent you fill a bag – any size – grocery to garbage and you do one bag a day to get the stuff out of the house. Could be going to charity, a friend, the garbage bin or the tip. Just get it out. Cleaning and getting ready for easter or in our case to leave this house.
So that’s what I’m starting today………..once I’ve dealt with mount washmore.
Got a clutter problem like me or are you amazingly good at decluttering…….
Hi, just what I needed to see, we are moving in 6 weeks also and our garage must have been your twin, while we were selling. We did a bit of decluttering prior to putting house on market, but love the bag a day idea. Good luck with it all.
good luck! it’s like the big white elephant in the room at the moment,….when will I start getting ready to move!
My husband throws out everything, he has to be watched closely or he gets a little too enthusiastic
I keep everything & then when my husband has mentioned (for the 100th time) that we need to clear out I tend to get a bit too carried away & don’t look closely enough at what I am throwing into the bin bags. This is why we recently spent a day taking everything out of our cupboards looking for the box of paperwork that has disappeared……I can virtually guarantee that I got carried away & picked the whole lot up & accidentally threw it with the rubbish !
I am scared that I will throw out something valuable!!!!!!!!!
Was it the Mavi Maternity jeans which were your favourite? (I seem to have a vague recollection they may have been…) I found some in Birthdaze Maternity Neutral Bay (On Military Road) They also had a great selection of other maternity jeans there when I was looking. Hope you find a pair- a good pair of jeans is essential! So versatile, comfy and easy to wear.
oh thank you yes! dj’s only have black super skinny ones and I’m not one for super skinny jeans even when not pregnant! thank you, will check out! I only need one good pair to last the pregnancy and my wardrobe is sorted! thanks:)
Corrie, what size are you? I’ve got a pair of blue denim maternity mavi’s that I was going to sell in perfect pre-loved condition. Let me know if you would like them x
I am much bigger than you:) thank you for the offer:) those cheeseburgers aren’t helping me either:)
Oh no you’re not! They’re a size 27….and they’re yours if you want them x
I love this idea…even one thing a day would make me happpy…. it is so easy to accumulate and buy more because you can’t fine the one thing that matters!!!! And Mt Washmore – very funny. I know exactly where the Twin Peak is – in my house.
I am so bad with folding washing and putting away plus we’ve had some crazy rain
Corrie;)
Hi Corrie! I noticed new baby and kitchen pins on pinterest and decided I better get over here and find out what’s going on! I’m so excited for you — a new baby! Boy, what an exciting and busy life you lead — you’re amazing. Congratulations!!!
oh thank you:)
always something going on here:) lovely to hear from you:)
Great Idea – I pinned it last night!! I can’t believe how much stuff we accumulate in such a small amt of time!! We’ve live in our current house for 5 years and before we moved in our entire household could fit on about 4 pallets! Now we’d need two semis! Oh well that’s what extra babies do for you hey!! Congratulations by the way! I feel slightly envious….. Hope you find a “forever” home soon.
ooh, I am a hoarder too. I sometimes watch the show just to kick start me into throwing things out – I don’t ever want to get that bad! Not sure I could fill a bag every day for 40 days but maybe I could at least try to throw something out every day for 40 days (or clean out a different drawer/cupboard/box every day! Good luck with the move!
What a great idea the 40 bags in 40 days is! Thank you for sharing. I set myself a goal of just doing one cupboard at a time when I get a day at home. I started with our ensuite cupboard and good lord didn’t I find some treasures in there! Next is the kitchen linen cupboard, site of further treasures not doubt.
Congratulations on the new babe and new house news, I am in awe of your energy and enthusiasm
Hi Corrie, love this idea, I regularly declutter but there always seems more to get rid of! Congrats on baby no 6, I had my suspicions you weren’t done way back when you shared some Megan Neilssen patterns
And Retrodaddy must have grown up in the same parts as me, I was just a few suburbs away & dated some Mentone boys 
Jeans West maternity jeans are pretty great for a more budget option to save investing in the Mavi’s again. Can get two pair for just over a $100 and loads of colours too.
Good luck with the move!
I have a clutter problem and a hoarding problem but also a storage problem nothing foods right. I don’t have good storage for the stuff I do need to keep somewhere I Luke the idea of 40 bags it would be a good way to sort all the stuff I just moved and never really found a place for.
Oh yes, I’m a hoarder too. But my husband is a chucker. When we moved last year he would throw things in the skip and I would climb in and get stuff out! I think I need an intervention because at the moment I’m not even interested in getting rid of my ‘stuff’..that I may use, wear, fit into again one day. Great idea though.
What a wonderful idea for Lent! My kids have started talking about what they plan on giving up. Last year they decided to give up lollies – and managed to do it.
Thanks, I was looking for something to do for Lent and this is perfect! Great idea.
Well done Corrie. Lately I’ve been enjoying Jenny’s blog http://noreadingatthebreakfasttable.blogspot.com.au/
and her posts on ‘My Year of Less is More’ and decluttering her life as well as her stuff.
We moved to our new place last year and my hubs threw away so many things!!! And some of the things are things that I was using!! So I had to buy new ones. What a waste!!!
I do this every time I move (which in the past 4 years seems to be every 12 months). It gives me a chance to go through everything, get rid of things that I don’t need anymore or just don’t fit and not make me feel like such a hoarder when I move to my new job. Unfortunately there is a mountain of stuff like this at my parent’s place that I need to go through and I’m not looking forward to it!
Sophie xxx
Wow Corrie! Congratulations!! Life has been so busy here and I’ve missed reading some of my favourite blogs lately. So catching up on your last 3 posts and I see new house and new baby.
We’ve just moved into an old 1920’s house and will take us a little longer to get the renovations done. It has a big studio out the back and right now it’s full of all the boxes I’m yet to unpack. I like the idea of 40 in 40. I might do it the opposite way using it to unpack a box or put away something in 40 days
Congrats again. I don’t know how you do it!
The best hint I’ve ever been given in relation to decluttering/tidying is to set a timer for 15 minutes and go your hardest for that short, manageable timeframe. I use it to declutter drawers, the craft room, the filing cabinet, wardrobes, everything! Good luck, there’s a lot of stuff in that garage to deal with!!
Great idea! We are moving in 2 months, so I’m definitely going to start now.
Bettina
http://www.littleoldsouls.com