by Hope
We have done two challenges this year: #NoSpendJanuary and Eat at Home February. And this week, I started thinking about March.
These challenges have really helped keep me focused on my goal of becoming debt free! So I turned to Google. And found several interesting ideas. But this is the one that really struck a cord for me.
#MarchDeclutter Challenge
Over the last few years as we downsized and became quite minimalist, I have gotten rid of alot of “extra” stuff including kids art projects and such. I still have alot of it around. Here’s one of my favorite displays with Gymnast art. We were given this antique “plate” display cabinet for free and I love it for displaying art.
But there is always room for change. So for the month of March, I am going to do a general de-clutter…room to room, closet to closet and cabinet to cabinet. Here are the steps I plan to take:
- Divide the rooms, closets and cabinets across the month of March. So that I have a couple of days to tackle each location.
- For my paper de-cluttering, I have already become a whiz at digitizing and storing it in my Dropbox account. I scan it using my iPad and then rename and organize it in my Dropbox folders.
- For the kids’ art and artifacts, if it’s something I am ready to part with, I take a picture of it, again storing it in Dropbox. And then I will either gift it to someone else who might enjoy it or dispose of it.
- For everything else, we will do regular runs to the local thrift store or create a listing on ebay to see if we can make some money.
I don’t anticipate a big change with this for us. But it will be a psychological lift to declutter just in time for spring cleaning.
What about you, are you up for a March Declutter challenge? Where will you start? What will you focus on?
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
This is a good one, in particular with books. If you have a Half Price Books store near you, you can sell them books you no longer want for a little bit of cash. Whenever I’ve brought 8-10 books, I’ve gotten $5-7 or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Good luck.
I have to declutter, but I find it gets overwhelming so I always avoid it. I should definitely Marie Kondo some of my books though. Good luck!
I think I’ll join you in declutering. I already do a one in one out policy in my closet so it isn’t too bad but I desperately need to finish filing bills in our file cabinet instead of just dropping them in the convenient little box above the cabinet. I also have a clutter drawer in the kitchen and several piles of project material bedside from after my dental surgery. Time for me to go through books and magazines to see if I have a donation bag for g oodwill. How is the bill paying going? Are you working on your spring budget yet?
We are moving almost 1000 miles this summer with 4 small children. This is our project for March also. We will only be taking one small uhaul worth of stuff with us. So, this month we start the garbage, garage sale/donation, taking with us boxes. It should be interesting since my kids are 7, 6, 4 (and a baby) and already like to take everything out of the garbage I put in there.
I’m also decluttering this month! In the past, I’ve half-assed getting rid of things, so this time around I plan to remove everything from the closet, dresser, etc. that I’m cleaning out so I am forced to go through everything.
A tip for selling on eBay…take a second to look up the sold comparisons for everything. You would be surprised at some of the items that sell. If you have old lotions, perfumes and body sprays, even half-full bottles can fetch big money on discontinued items. Same with discontinued cleaning supplies, etc. I just sold 8 packets of McCormick meat marinade for $67 because they are no longer making it. I’ve seen lots of used nylons fetch a decent amount (supposedly to be used for crafts…who knows lol).