What do you do after a cleaning purge? How to reduce the cycle of buying and purging.
Photo Credit – Unsplash, Hivebox
The secret to successful decluttering is this: You will never get organized if you don’t have a vision for the life you want. – Peter Walsh
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Have you done the big purge like the “The 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge”?
The concept is simple…. during the Lenten season donate a bag a day of unused items.
Or maybe you have tidied up with Marie Kondo.
We are all for donating stuff to the thrift store!!! We love good thrift store finds and seeing items donated to help others…..a big WOOT…WOOT for that!
But all those items use to be our money which we had to, most likely, work at a job for.
Table of Contents
AFTER THE PURGE
Now there are 700 gazillion posts, we counted, on how and what to purge, but what do you do AFTER the purge?
SIDE NOTE -Even if you didn’t participate in any challenge or book trend, this post is still relevant to anyone who spends an afternoon cleaning out their home of unwanted items.
A TIME TO REFLECT
We all have those purchases that bite us in the rear end~
- A sweater that looked better in the store than at home.
- Items purchased to sell for profit but it’s not selling.
- A kitchen gadget that ….turns out doesn’t save any time in the kitchen whatsoever.
- Or what about those shoes that were 75% off but couldn’t wear for more than 30 minutes without pure agony?
Not everything we donate is a mistake or should have never been purchased, but there are a lot of purchases/habits that we maybe we could learn from.
Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.
Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)
Cause let’s face it, many people feel ~
- Overwhelmed by all their belongings
- Are in financial debt
- Don’t feel like they have the freedom to do things they want
Let’s SALVAGE this situation since we just spent a lot of time going through all of that stuff that we purchased with money we worked hard for, right?
After the purge, here’s what we can do going forward-
- When purchasing an item, do the research. We advocate purposeful spending. Yes, you are going to buy things so do it wisely.
- Ask, how many hours did I work for this item?
- Reuse as many items as possible. Can those old shirts be used as cleaning cloths? Our site, Facebook page, Pinterest, and other social media accounts, are filled with ideas on how to reuse items.
This is just a start~
- If you would like to spend less time working for items you are just going to donate
- If you feel lots of regret for items you purchase
- Your home feels overwhelming
- If you want more time for doing things you want and less time purging
- You want to reduce your spending and/or reduce debt
We invite you to continue on this journey:
What to do after a big purge? How to eliminate unnecessary junk in your home. A simple 30-day guide.After a Cleaning Purge Challenge
For the next month will you join us?
“AFTER THE 40 BAGS IN 40 DAY CHALLENGE”: A 30-DAY GUIDE
It’s a short daily prompt to explore new ways to think about purchases and items for your home. You can receive this guide by signing up for our weekly email.
We hope you will take the challenge to move toward your goals, less debt, and/or spend time managing fewer items in your life…
CREATING YOUR BEST LIFE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
MORE SALVAGE MOMENTS
Here are a few more posts we think you will enjoy:
- Investing in Your Marriage Before the Empty Nest
- Our Story: Paying Off Debt on a Modest Income; Tips
- The Art of the Sunday Drive
Thanks for stopping by today. Our goal is to help make the most with whatever you have by sharing budget-friendly, time-saving, and reusing/DIY ideas for all parts of your home AND life. If you enjoyed learning what to do after a cleaning purge, we would appreciate a share on any social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Plus, don’t forget to follow us as we share even more ideas on each account.
Why do I love to purge so much, the twice a year is such a project but I enjoy it so much, nice take!
Julie, I so agree. It’s freeing. This is just to make sure we are using our resources to it’s fullest so we can use what we have in the best ways possible. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great Advice! I can’t wait to try my first challenge!
Robin, I’ll be on FB live going through some of the guide too! Thanks for stopping by!
I love purging, it feels so good. Love the idea of thinking things through before buying anything uneccessary
Jessica recently posted…Upstairs Hallway And Interior Trim: One Room Challenge Week 1
I agree with you Jessica. Hope you’ll follow along on the 30 day challenge.
We are trying this now, so sick of living in a dustbin. 30 bags gone to the tip so far & feels like we have hardly scratched the surface…. I think we are gonna have to do the 100 bag challenge instead! Thanks for this post, it’s not everyday you go searching online for how to declutter & find a bit of inspiration. Got to keep it up!
Michelle Smith recently posted…Best Wireless Earbuds 2017
Michelle, Hopefully you were able to grab the guide and follow along.