Monday, November 18, 2013

Declutter challenge update and house reconfigure

My month of decluttering in October went pretty well. I took one load of stuff to the good will and have another load ready to go this week. The amazing thing is that it seems like I could do this forever - there is just that much stuff in this house! Every time I think I am making progress, I notice a new area or corner that has a pile of homeless stuff.
I did make enough progress to start rearranging my house (which is pretty darn exciting!). I am turning the basement (our entry level) into a family room that opens into a big kids play room. It used to be a sports room and an office. That space has been under utilized since Ryan finished school.
The area of Ryan's office is mostly going away as we turn it into the kid area. We are leaving the desk down there for Audrey to use for homework, but the files and other office type things are being added to the library upstairs. I am moving the toys that Audrey likes to play with the most from her room into the kids room.  Eventually we are moving Meredith's toys from the living room too. I am moving my craft stuff upstairs into what has been the toy area of the living room. I am trying to declutter as I move things about and Meredith is still too little to play on her own, so it is a slow transition.
The sports room just got rearranged to make it into the family room. The sports decor may end up staying since we don't really have anywhere better to put that stuff.
Clearly that is a lot of moving about and it is giving me ample opportunity for decluttering. Even though this is a slow process it feels nice to have a plan.