Good Idea #13: Get Rid of 50 Things -or- Use It or Lose It

This is a great idea for anyone trying to declutter, organize or simplify (and who isn't?).  It's kind of like doing a detox to jump start a diet.  Just getting rid of a couple things here and there might help, but it's not going to make a major difference.  Getting rid of a full 50 things on the other hand, you will notice.  Yes, I'm saying if you detox your belongings and your home will get skinny.  It's not as easy as it sounds, either.  Does it sound easy?  If it does, just wait.  Start making that list and you start running out of things to get rid of real fast.  And no cheating.  The trash from the back seat of your car doesn't count.  You have to get rid of 50 real things.  And I'm making it even harder for myself by grouping similar items.  It would be a lot easier if I counted all of the old magazines I want to get rid of individually.

 

So here's my personal twist on the Get Rid of 50 Things idea. I may want to live clutter free and I may be restricted on storage space, but I am also budget conscious and environment conscious.  Going around just throwing things out left and right doesn't necessarily mix well with saving money or saving the earth.  For example, if I get rid of all my old t-shirts that I wear to bed, I'm just going to have to buy new pajamas sooner, right?  And what a waste if I throw out magazines that I've never read.  Professional organizers around the world just cringed.  But I came up with a solution to this dilemma and I'm calling it the Use It or Lose It plan.  All those old magazines?  If I can't get rid of them without reading them first - read them!  Then I can toss them in the recycling bin in peace.

I'll get to work on those magazines, but my first Use It or Lose It project is the bathroom.  My bathroom has a pretty decent amount of storage compared to a lot of city apartments and apparently this has turned me into a hoarder.  I'm a pretty minimalistic beauty product using / makeup wearing kind of girl.  I don't need a vanity full of lotions, sprays, perfumes, lipsticks and hair products.  But somehow I acquire these things; things I needed for a certain occasion, was given, or got as sample.  Ohh the samples.  I absolutely can not turn down free stuff and I'm not afraid to admit it.  The problem is, I'm always saving this stuff for a special occasion so I never end up using up any of it.  So here's my plan:  I put out a little organizer right on the counter top in my bathroom and I put all the stuff I want to get rid of in it.  Right where I can see it all.  And I'm going to use it.

So I can make any day a special occasion and try out that little lipstick sample.  And next time I go out to dinner I won't forget to spray on some of that old perfume that's only about 10 sprays away from being empty.  And next time I get out of the shower I can use the lotion out of that little hotel bottle I swiped instead of the lotion that I just bought.  And soon enough those little things will be gone and I won't have any moral dilemma about getting rid of them.  Anything that I can't use when it's sitting right in front of me gets chucked, too.  Use it or lose it, sister.  Good idea.