And by the material of some of my past posts, people do not like inviting me over to their houses because I come over wearing a white glove, ya know.
I am a minimalist at heart. That wasn't always the case. I did go through a phase as a kid where I hoarded every Teen Beat magazine with Taylor Hanson inside.
But something happened when I had Haven. Chris and I had each moved three times in three years. And after packing up the same junk over and over, I thought to myself, "I can light a match to this," Thus starting the new minimalist Holly, who has only three things on the wall in the entire house.
Unless you're talking about french fries or money... Then, to me, less is more.
In addition to that, I have a pretty rigorous cleaning schedule, which includes things that Chris has never heard of to clean before... like baseboards and the inside of the refrigerator.
The reason I bring this all up is because this is the annual kickoff of 40 Bags in 40 Days for Lent. Sarah from Clover Lane does this every year. You can read about it HERE. And here is her Tips & Tricks post HERE. Basically you make a list of every room/closet in your house and try to fill up 40 bags worth "clutter." Some bags might be donated or sold... Others might end up in the trash.
The bags don't have to be trash size bags... Little plastic bags work too. It's just depends on what area of the house you're cleaning.
If you join in on the fun (yes, this is as exciting to me as going out to eat without children), then tag me on instagram (@hollystanfield) or use the hashtag #40bags. I will be doing a a recap of all my stuff I pitched after Lent.
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Now that I have scared the beejeezus outta ya, go check out these fab ladies...
Trista from Stewart Street is one of my favorite bloggers. She is an Alabama fan and posts some of the best little recipes around. Her blog has a little bit of everything from working mom posts to celebrity fashion. Click over to Trista's blog HERE.
Kadi from Sheer Serendipity is one of my new favorite bloggers. Her and I are both wanna be runners, but I would be content with my chubbiness if I had her blonde hair. Kadi has gone from a size 16 to a size 8! Go check out her progression pictures on her page HERE.
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And the giveaway ends Friday... if you haven't entered, then click HERE!
40 bags in 40 days sounds like a brilliant idea. Not sure I have enough stuff (who am I kidding...I definitely have enough stuff) I wouldn't mind attempting it!
ReplyDeleteI'm in although I think I've done 40 bins already since January. No joke! Ha! But I'm up for the challenge! Clean freaks unite!
ReplyDeleteAhh you're a woman after my own heart. I LOVE cleaning! I just may have to join in on the 40 bags fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I like to throw stuff out so I can make room for the trinkets the grandparents buy my children. They play with them for a day, I throw it away and then they get new trinkets...a lovely cycle if you ask me! Off to throw away our taxes and marriage certificate...jk I'm not THAT OCD :)
ReplyDeleteWhat is this "rigorous cleaning schedule" that you speak of? I think I need to hear more about this. Ya know, so I can cleanse my body, mind and soul... ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I want to hear more!
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo doing this and starting tonight! OMG I literally just got excited.... ps people hate when I come over but I swear I am only nuts about my house... well for the most part! Can you imagine you and I together... oh gawd our poor Husby's!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were moving 500 miles away, I actually got rid of a lot of stuff so to have room on the moving truck. & then unloading into our new house was better bc I didn't have trash. I do still have stuff that I need to go through to get rid of but that is mostly in the basement. I'd love to take on this challenge, but I don't think I will be able to get bags worth out of some of the rooms... Since I do the bare minimum now. I agree that less is more. I now shop with purpose instead of junking my house up. I don't have many things on my walls either.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought I was a clean freak! I organize my house using my label maker, haha.
ReplyDeleteSheree
The Hartungs Blog
thehartungs.blogspot.ca
I love this. I'm totally doing this. I love being organized and clean, but I also hate being wasteful. Will make better choices in the future and redefine 'need'. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteYep, yep...now that I'm baby free on Tue/Wed I plan to make a lot of junk disappear in the basement. It'll feel sooooo good. And now with the new Goodwill right down the road, I won't have to wait for a pick up. I'll fill the van and take that crap directly to GoodWill and they can deal with it. I'll see you 40 bags and raise you................another 40 perhaps. Our basement is that of disgust.
ReplyDeleteAnd in roughly an hour I was able to bag up 5 BIG bags to donate to Goodwill plus 2 items too big awkward in size to put in a bag.. I'll leave for that trip in roughly 15 minutes. I also bagged up 2 bags of junk to put in the trash and it is already in the dumpster. DONE for this week. Watch out next week!
DeleteNot sure if that would be considered 'nine bags' or if because I used the ginormous bags if I'm even up from that. Nonetheless, I'm going for the gold. The basement will look so pretty when I'm done.
You should really take a few zanax before you ever come to my house. You can definitely tell children live here with the sticky walls and toys strewn all around my living room that hardly ever get picked up because, why? The same thing is just going to happen the next day and the next and the next...
ReplyDeleteNo but seriously, I clean my fridge every week. Inside and out. My FOOD goes in there and you dont mess with my food.
That's a good idea. I just moved and cut back but always have more I can get rid of. I am a perfectionist, neat freak, minimalist. People probably hate me. = )
ReplyDeleteOooh! This sounds like fun. I just did a post about doing the 100 Things Challenge... I might have to try this.
ReplyDeleteI just did a post the other night about cleaning out your clutter, too! I'm not sure I have 40 bags of stuff I could clean out, but I'm definitely going through the whole house and purging. It's my "spring cleaning" time of year! :)
ReplyDeleteI so badly want to do this!
ReplyDeleteWell more like I know I probably NEED to do this!
I def need to up myckranung gama and purge, but I get lazy when ut comes to that!
HELP ME, Holly!!!
Im gonna take a look at the link to Sarah's page and I MIGHT join in on the "fun"!!
Ugh!! If only my motivated running self would rub off on my lazy cleaning self
I saw this posted somewhere about a week ago and planned on doing it as well. I started yesterday actually! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good idea! I am in definite NEED To do this! It might just be better if you came over and through out everything I don't need so I don't keep hanging on to stupid things for years and years!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time at Mardis Gras!
Thanks for the shout out!! yay! Have a good day girly!
I love this! I am quite the purger and make monthly trips to goodwill to drop off "junk"....only to pick up other junk! We moved into our house less than a year ago and I already feel like our office room is turning into a catch-all for random stuff...I need to organize and get rid of things we haven't used! And I have an empty weekend ahead of me to empty out the house....great timing :)
ReplyDeleteHashtag ya later!
I'm definitely going to do this! Or attempt to do this anyway. We are going to be remodeling this summer so I might as well do it now instead of later! Great idea! You're on a cleansing kick this week :)
ReplyDeleteI have seen Sarah's posts on this 40 bags stuff a few times and I just cannot make myself do it. I know I could get 5 bags out of my closet/room alone. I really NEED to do this too, our house is too small and we'll have 5 people living in it again this summer. AHHH! Thanks for giving me motivation - hopefully I'll start this soon. Good luck to you - I cannot wait to see how your purge goes!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, soul sisters. Period. The end. Seriously, there is nothing more cleansing and relaxing to me than purging and getting rid of STUFF!
ReplyDeleteAnother clean freak - be still my heart. I really like this idea.
ReplyDeleteI am totally making j do this. He has stuff from high school like his entire wardrop. And he's easily 100lbs heavier and wants to keep every damn thing to nostalgia. We are going to change that shit to remember when I bagged your shit up for 40 days!?
ReplyDeleteI totally need you to live closer to me. I'd love to have a friend who would feel the need to clean when she comes over. Not that I don't clean, but I MAY clean my baseboards once a year. If that.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about this but I think I'm ahead of the game -- took a major haul to Goodwill last week and it felt so good to get it out of the house (and garage). P.S. I love Clover Lane! And now I have the church song "These 40 Days and 40 Nights" in my head, so thanks for that - ha! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! Does the fact that i alreaady have 3-4 bags sitting in my trunk count toward my 40 bags? I do a consignment sale two times a year for all my kid's crap. I have about 15 rubbermaid totes that I need to go through and get together. I am totally using that for my total too. Can you tell I am Catholic? Always looking for the easy way out!
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW -- You are never invited to my house, because you wouldn't want to be my friend any longer.
Oh I love this! I was throwing all kinds of junk away when we moved. Then we got to crunch time/are still in crunch time so a lot of junk has just ended up being boxed up. I need to clean it all out though. Unfortunately I'm not the hoarder in my house so this involves me getting rid of man stuff. I have to do that slowly so he doesn't notice it all at once, lol
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for sharing this idea. It's exactly what we need to do!
ReplyDeleteYep, this could not even happen and I feel like you would have a minor, OK, major heart attack if you ever came over to my house. My Hubs thinks I could be on Hoarders with all the crap I have. I have random stuff saved from highschool and our first date and the band-aids from the boy's first shots. Everything is sentimental and I could not even do this I would go into cardiac arrest - for real! Haha! Props to you though and I can't wait to see all the bags!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea...now if I only knew what a hashtag was? Seriously, what is it?
ReplyDeletePretty sure i could get 40 damn bags just out of the playroom. ugh.
ReplyDeleteI think I just had a mini-blogasm! FINALLY someone who understands that one can live life without nicknacks, used jars as cups, and more home decor than there is room for! My father is a grade A hoarder. When I moved out of my parents' house I swore I would never allow mine to look like their's. I have the bare neccassaties for a home. I think there maybe a clock and a pic of my wedding day, and even those items are pushing it!
ReplyDeleteThe hubs has a tendency to try and keep items that we don't need. I've gone Mommy Dearest on his arse about it and I think he is beginning to understand thatt homegirl don't do junk in the house.
So what if I emailed Ashley yesterday to tell her I was pretty sure my uterus was going to fall out onto my work floor at anyminute to which she responded what!? why!? to which I responded by giving her the 4th grade movie dpeil about a womans body and the shedding of the uterus. Also ending it with her homework of researching the vuvlva. And then actually sending me research OF the vulva. So what.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a good blogger you are to snap that picture before you (hopefully) had Chris clean that shit up :-)
Holly I am totally doing this! My
ReplyDeleteHouse needs it bad! The other day I got rid of two bags of stuff so I am counting those! I may not get to 40 but I will try! :)
I am so bad . . . I haven't even started my 40 Bags this year!
ReplyDeleteSoooo glad I found this post! I am totally starting tonight. I don't know if I have 40 bags worth of stuff but I definitely am going to try! I am trying so hard to de-clutter my life. I think this will be a good start!
ReplyDeleteThe material used to make these types of Celine bags is soft and flexible.
ReplyDelete