Breaking Down the Baby Steps

My first goal in my mission is to clean out all of our excess.  That is primarily material possessions, but extends to services we pay for as well.  I first want to address the material, though.  We'll call this "Phase 1."

Here are the Phase 1 Baby Steps I've come up with:

1. Purge Clothing
2. Sell Books
3. Arrange Furniture
4. Remove Kitchen Clutter
5. Remove Bathroom Clutter
6. Clean Out Lily's Clothes
7. Remove Miscellaneous Junk
8. Have Garage Sale

I'll go more into depth about what each step entails; some of them are very self explanatory, while others have a bit more involved.

So, Baby Step 1: Purge Clothing.  

Neither Daniel or I could be called clutter bugs, but we have held onto things we don't need for an embarrassing amount of time.  I am the worst about clothes.  I'm pretty frugal, and hate shopping for clothes, so I tend to hang onto stuff way past what is typically seen as acceptable.  I still have a few things from when we were dating... 9 years ago. Now that I've told you that dirty little secret, let's talk about my plan.  I'm referencing Project 333 as a jumping off point for myself.  Not because I am a shopaholic, but because I want to gradually improve the quality of my wardrobe.  I love tailored clothes made from really great quality materials, but I'm always too cheap to pay for them, or too overwhelmed by shopping to hunt them down.  I resolve to become a better shopper, and take time to buy clothes that I love to wear.   I want to edit my wardrobe to one casual outfit per day, 2 workout outfits, 3 dresses, and 2 sets of PJs.  Socks and undies don't count, I'm not an accessory person (but I could lose a few scarves), and I'm still trying to work out the appropriate amount of shoes. I'd like to go down to 5 pairs I think.  This is going to be a big challenge for me; I like options, but when I really think about what I wear, it's very little. Since I'm pregnant, I'll actually have 2 sets of clothes.  It feels like cheating.

My hope is to convince Daniel just to get rid of the shirts and pants that have holes or stains, and the shoes he rarely ever wears.  He has very few clothes to begin with, but he is a coat hoarder.  A sad irony living in Texas.  Call it wishful thinking.

I separated Lily's clothes from this step because it will be a HUGE undertaking. Between grandmothers and a rapidly growing older cousin who is a tiny fashionista, we are overrun. Nobody give me anymore little girl clothes, I beg you.

Once I get everything bagged up, I'll make a trip to a resale shop and hopefully make a few bucks.  Whatever they don't take will go into the garage sale at prices sure to move inventory, and whatever's left gets donated to our pregnancy center.  Normally I donate, but we are working towards financial freedom, and every little bit counts. 

I'm off to the closet while my "helper" snoozes. I want to get to Step 2 tomorrow, because we have plans to work on Step 3 on Saturday!  I have a feeling there will be a tiny bit of overlap.  

                   -Kimberly