Cluttered Life = Less Money!

We have been in our new home for 8 weeks now and I am STILL going through boxes of priceless heirlooms JUNK!  
There is so much stuff it is too overwhelming.  We moved from a 1300 sq ft 2 story condo. We had roughly 650 sq ft devoted upstairs to 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and 650 sq ft for the downstairs living/dining rooms and kitchen. With 4 people and a dog space was tight.  I was constantly buying things to help us organize our junk, buying furniture to help hide our junk, and using the already limited space in the coveted closets to store our junk.  It didn't occur to me until we moved into the new house and I realized I didn't want the junk there that the best thing to do with old junk is to throw it away or donate it.

This is the item I found in a box while unpacking that brought this post to mind. We found this kid's junk hanging thing at IKEA on clearance for $4 a few years ago when our oldest was a baby and decided we had to have it! He had so much cute baby stuff and this would help keep it off of the floor.  What ended up happening was the stuffed animals and toys that went into this never came out to get played with. When we moved I took stuff out of here that we had forgotten about, it was dusty, and Will had outgrown it without ever even seeing it.  It made me angry. It wasn't the "wasted" $4; it was the fact that this helped contribute to a lifestyle we don't want to promote to our kids. I really don't want to buy things to help us in our journey to acquire more things. I want to try to teach our kids to be grateful and satisfied with what we have, and to really save for and think through their purchases.

I don't think it is wrong to buy something new for your home; I'm right now on the lookout for a specific size and style table for my entryway. I'm thinking I'm going to try to make it myself because I'm not sure what I'm looking for is out there.  Anyways, what I am saying is that I have spent far too much time and money buying things I don't love to help me store things I don't need.  I have spent too many nights and days off that should have been all about family time rearranging, reorganizing, and cleaning this stuff. I'm not doing it anymore!

Right now we are excitedly waiting for some furniture pieces (2 couches, 2 hutches, and 2 bookshelves) being given to us from generous family members to get delivered but I'm still going to start this challenge. I'm going home today and taking some pictures of my formal living room (unpacked boxes and all) and am going to get as much unpacked as possible. I want to fill up at least one box to go to goodwill and get everything else I can put away.  I will share the before, in progress, and after pictures (when my furniture gets here) with all of you.

Maybe you'd like to join the challenge too.  Does your living room and life need decluttering?  I would love for you to post your before and after pics in the comments for us to see. I plan to do a part of my house every 2-3 weeks until it is all organized. I will share the progress with you as I go and would love some company in this plan to help keep me motivated.

NO MORE JUNK IN! Only bring in the things I LOVE! Anything that isn't getting use or isn't LOVED goes out!