Day 22
This was the 3rd pass through the girl's closet and I think we are finally rid of everything that doesn't fit, isn't liked or is stained. (And probably a few more after that..)  I think their closets are in great shape for the new year. And I am confident there is plenty of room for anything new that they might get for Christmas. (Assuming they stay on the "Nice" list of course. ;-)

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Day 23 - Toy Bins
We took one last look through the toy bins in Neely's room.  There are so many toys that she has out grown or that missing of broken pieces. But not anymore.. ;-)

Day 24 and 25
We decided to go all out on the last 2 days.  These bags contain about 75 items.  Toys and games with missing pieces, stuffed animals, coats that we;ve outgrown and more....
I never would have dreamed on Dec 1 that we actually had this much stuff to give, trash, or sale.  We keep a really tidy house. I would have considered us organized and efficient in almost every aspect of our home. (We have too - to keep things moving and make sure everything gets done.) But I was completely amazed at how much clutter we were able to eliminate by letting go of things.  It feels great to have a clutter free house - and a clutter free life.  But I think this may just be the beginning. 

Sorry for the delay in the post!  As Christmas grows closer it seems that the days are going by a little faster than usual.  Here is a peek at what Day 15-18 looked like.

Day 15 and 16
You'll have to trust me on this one.  I decided to go through the toy chests in each of the girls rooms.  I did not take any pictures because I can't afford to have any evidence of what is missing.  You parents know exactly what I mean.  The second you decide to give something away it becomes their "favorite toy in the world."  We eliminated 50 toys. Most were good enough to donate to the local church. And there were quite a few stuffed animals. (I think those things multiply when you aren't looking.)

Day - 17
Ok, We actually delivered all of these yesterday (16th) - but I'm counting them as our 25 things for the 17th. Pictured are are 25 gifts that were delivered to school and work for all of the lovely folks who make our days brighter.  A special Thanks to all of our teachers - We appreciate you for all that you do! Merry Christmas.

Day 18
Odds and Ends.  Alright folks, this is starting to get a little difficult - Which can only mean we are getting to those tough, important decisions.  There aren't a lot of "easy" give-trash-sale-aways left at this point.  I think the next few days are really going to test our commitment to this project.
Day 18's 25 items was just a bunch of odds and ends.  Some coats, hats, purses, and a few torn tu-tus. Several Bent Christmas tins and a few more pairs of shoes.

25 Days to Give it, Trash it, or Sale it - Magazines!

I'm not sure why printed phone books even exist anymore?

Doesn't everyone just hop on line or call information when they need a number?  

So the phone book, along with 24 other outdated magazines found the way to the trash on Day 11.

Day 12
Let's pretend that we don't see that box of soap called "Persistent Determined" - I really can't explain it.

And the "time on my hands" did NOT give me time on my hands, FYI.

The 25 items on day 13 came out of frustration.  I was looking for a certain pair of shoes (which ended up being found under Neely's bed - she likes them too!) and decided that I would throw away shoes until every pair would fit onto the shelves in my closet. It worked.
I also found a few old wallets and games along the way.

I finally finished wrapping every last birthday and Christmas gift that will be delivered this month, and decided it would be a great time to get rid of some of those gift bags that I'm never going to use.

I think getting to tear the paper off of a pretty wrapped package is a lot more fun than opening a bag. So I'll only be wrapping  gifts from this point forward - No More gift bags.

Day 8
Over 40 items donated to our local Food Bank We were invited to a Christmas Party and requested to bring a canned good to donate to a local food pantry that is in desperate need. (So many of them seem to be this year.)  We'll we could hardly show up with just one little can of beans, so we decided to go through the pantry and see what we could find.

We ended up with a big bag of canned goods and other dry-good items that would be perfect to donate to the food pantry.  All of them were items for which we had duplicates. (I usually take advantage or sales and coupons to stock up on our favorites.)  It was great share those with folks that need them.

And now, finding something for dinner is lot easier. I can actually see what we have in the cabinets. I'm pretty sure that just shaved off about 10 minutes from our daily meal preparation time. Meaning we have more time to spend together as a family. Doing those things that are most important to us.

Day 9
Everybody has one somewhere.  That cabinet that exists to cram those things that don't seem to fit anywhere else.  You just hope no one else ever opens the door.  I just eliminated mine. Yay!  And we played for over an hour with all of the "thought-they-were-lost" barbie shoes and accessories that we found.

This particular cabinet was in our kitchen, so there were quite a few kitchen items as well.

Salt and Pepper Shakers, cookie cutters, candle holders, outlet extenders, an ironing board cover, a mirror, 2 picture frames and more.  Plus more Barbie shoes than I care to count.

Day 10
Back in the Kitchen Today, eliminating all kinds of things that are getting in our way. (Please do not mention the Decorative, Easter deviled egg  tray that you see pictured here.) Enough said.

Kitchen....Check!

It's Day 3....And we tackled the toys!  Which was a little bit painful for Ava and Neely.  They had lots of fun playing with the toys as we stacked them and they got lots of practice on their negotiation skills.

I have to admit, there were quite a few things that went immediately to the donate pile, only to be later removed because of a well thought out and brilliantly delivered case for keeping it.  To quote Ava after one such victory, "Neely, at least we saved that one!"

We eliminated 2 gaming systems, 6 games, a Weeble tree-house, stuffed animals and much, much more.  And in the process, we took time to organize the things that we were keeping.

So now we get a lot more enjoyment form the things that we have and we spend less time looking for "that pink Barbie shoe."  I even parted with the crib bedding set that Neely used. (Can you believe it still looked like new!)

Stop back in tomorrow to see what we tackle next.

Day 1

Do spices expire?  I'm not sure. But I can promise I am never going to rummage through a cabinet of half used, perhaps outdated canisters again.  I condensed, trashed, and reorganized. (And then I seasoned the roast.)

It took less than 10 minutes, but I know it will save me a lot more than that in the days ahead.

Are you taking this challenge?  Would love to hear how you are doing....

That's 25 Days and 625 items that we are going to give, Trash, or sale.

So much of what we have learned the last two years is about prioritizing and time.  Of course, we have always known the value of family time and special moments with our children.  But Neely's illness gave us an entirely new perspective on the importance of living every day to its fullest and not sacrificing those things that you deem most important for the sake of things that you just feel obligated to do.

So we began to look for ways to simplify our life.  Learning to say "No" without feeling guilty, setting priorities that help us meet our family goals, and eliminating the clutter in our lives.  I've become fascinated by the idea of the minimalist.  Now don't think I've gone overboard, I'm not on the brink of selling everything we own to go and live in the Rain Forest.  But I do believe that we spend way to much time collecting, caring for, and managing things.

So we are trying to stop.  Being that this is the Holiday Season, interwoven with family time and the spirit of giving, it seemed like a great time to take our minimalist approach to a new level.  And we decided to take a challenge.

For each of the 25 Days leading up to Christmas, we are going to find 25 things in our house that we can give away, throw away, or sale.  That's a total of 25 days and 625 things!   I wish I could put a number on the space that we will un-clutter and the time that we will reclaim.

This challenge is a little different from the typical posts that you find on NeelysMiracle.  (Don't worry - there will be plenty of Neely-isms and health updates as well.)  But because this challenge is something our family is taking very seriously, I plan to give you a quick update each day to let you know how we are doing.

We're also inviting you to join us in this challenge.  Empower yourself...Take control of your time...and take back your life.  It's as easy as asking yourself 3 questions: Give it? Trash it? or Sale it?