Today is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calender. Lent is a time of prayer, renewal, self-reflection, sacrifice, self-control, repentance and almsgiving. People give up things for Lent such as Facebook, twitter, chocolate, coffee, etc. This year, I am doing the 40 bags 40 days Challenge for Lent. (Christine is doing it with me, so I will have help.)
The gist of the challenge: During Lent (40 days) rid your house of 40 bags of stuff. The bags can be things you don’t love, don’t use, junk, accumulated stuff, clutter, garbage. (Also, they don’t need to be bags if you are already fairly organized.) Just start with a section of a room and tackle the mess a little at a time.
For me, a disorganized space means that I feel emotionally off center as well. The challenge will require me to self reflect. (Do I really need to hang on to that old summer job shirt or an old dance costume piece? Is it a sentimental hold or do I really need it? Do those pants still fit? Oh, they do, but I haven’t worn them since I graduated with my bachelors.)
I started with the bedroom since it will take the longest and gradually lightened the organizing load for my 40 days list. I even added in a day for donating all the stuff I get rid of from going through the bedroom and closet. You can check out my list below:
- Bedroom
- Bedroom
- Bedroom
- Christine’s Bureau
- Extra Bureau
- Nightstand 1
- Nightstand 2
- Walk-in Closet Floor
- Walk-in Closet Drawers
- Walk-in Closet: My Side
- Walk-in Closet: My Side
- Shoes
- Walk-in Closet: Christine’s Side (I’ve taken this side of the closet over, so technically, I’m emptying it of my stuff and giving her closet space again.)
- Bedroom Bookcase
- Donation of Clothes
- Bookcase 1
- Bookcase 2
- Shelf next to my desk
- My Desk
- My Desk
- Bedroom/Office
- Bedroom/Office closet
- Christine’s Desk
- Filing Cabinet
- Bathroom Crates
- Bathroom
- Linen Closet
- Hall Closet/Pantry
- TV Stand
- DVD/Gaming cabinet
- Living Room Bookcase
- Living Room AC Corner
- Kitchen Cabinets
- Kitchen Under Sink
- Dining Room Hutch
- The Fridge
- Storage at Parents’
- Storage at Parents’
- Storage at Parents’
- Storage at Parents’
Eventually, while my office may not look like this-
\Source: housetohome.co.uk via Jose on Pinterest
and, my closet, may not look like this:
Source: houzz.com via Jose on Pinterest
….Christine and I will have a much cleaner space both physically and spiritually.
Expect updates near the end of the Challenge. I might even include some before and after pictures.
Hey, Megan McGee is doing the exact same project! Good luck to you and Christine.
Hey, Jamie! Hope things have been well. I am glad to hear other people are doing it. I hope that in the end, Christine and I are both up to the challenge.