It’s day 10 of my 60/30 challenge and CHALLENGE it is.
Challenge 1: Find all the things. As I mentioned, we’re not minimalists but we’re also not hoarders. Our home is likely average using ratios like: things:people, things:square-footage, useful things: total things. I wondered if we had 930 things to get rid of. We don’t have a lot of closet space or storage-type furniture. If there were 930 items to discard, where would they be?
Some days felt like things jumped into my line of sight, ready to hit the road. My closet, the kids’ closet, and my office were easy targets where I had carte blanch. In communal spaces, I stuck mostly to my things. I don’t believe in the “toss it now, apologize later” method. Shared items like thermometers, expired toiletries, and broken objects were set aside and discussed at the end of each session. These days were pretty easy.
Other days, I really had to dig into “hidden” places: the basement closet, the garage, and the side of the house (a.k.a. the flowerpot graveyard). I started planning: weekdays are for deep digging in closets and the garage, and weekends are for spaces like the living room bookshelves and the art cabinet.
Challenge 2: Find time to find all the things. School schedules, work, and family priorities intensified this daily challenge immensely. The weekends were especially difficult; kids snooped and asked questions, even when it wasn’t their things I was looking through. And I didn’t want to take up whole weekends purging.
Despite the challenges, I’ve enjoyed the experience. It feels good to purge and streamline. More importantly, it hasn’t negatively impacted my kids or husband, which means I’ve made good decisions about what to discard: things that are not used or loved – which means they won’t be missed. At least not yet…
My progress so far:
DAY 1: my clothes (60)
DAY 2: 2 pairs boots, 2 baby outfits, 2 pairs goggles, 1 bunch of business cards, 10 books, 22 kids’ clothes, 20 my clothes (59) 
DAY 3: 2 trophies, 1 phone case, 1 flashing light, 1 glasses case, 4 old lipsticks, 1 pile receipts, 4 random crap (from craft/project box), 3 grocery bags, 4 puzzles, 5 hairspray caps, 1 set bobby pins, 1 oil lamp, 7 empty cosmetic bottles, 1 empty toothpaste tube, 1 empty soap dispenser, 4 nail polish bottles, 2 kids’ thermometers, 1 thermometer case, 1 kids Seahawks ring, 1 can hairspray, 1 broken hair clip, 1 bottle bronzing lotion, 1 sewing kit, 2 tubes tooth bleach, 2 toothbrush travel holders, 1 storage tin, 1 pair scissors, 1 lint roller (broken), 1 bunch old band aids, 1 toiletry bag (58)
DAY 4: 2 dolls, 1 pair goggles, 2 flower pots, 2 perfume bottles, 2 broken toys, 2 flower pots, 11 treasures from kids, 1 picture frame, 1 broken wine stopper, 1 birdhouse craft box, 1 leprechaun catcher, 4 decorative bins, 3 CDs, 24 magazines (57)
DAY 5: 1 candle holder, 1 photo album set, 2 kids clothes, 6 keychains, 46 greeting cards (56)
DAY 6: 55 greeting cards (55)
DAY 7: 41 broken hair clips/ponytail holders, 12 play dough tools, 1 paint bottle (54)
DAY 8: 1 float toy, 1 terra cotta yard decoration, 1 candle holder, 5 play dough cans, 1 silly putty egg, 7 birthday balloons, 1 jingle bell, 2 noodle crafts, 2 paper puppets, 1 flag, 1 broken phone cover, 6 Shopkins lists, 1 torn play dollar, 2 paper name tags, 1 lanyard, 1 glow stick, 1 tiny pencil, 1 acorn, 1 band aid holder, 2 sticker pages, 1 broken purse, 4 Hot Wheels cars, 1 space guy, 1 decapitated Barbie, 1 zoo map, 1 broken bow tie, 2 bibs, 1 pompom (53)
DAY 9: 8 glitter glues, 6 paint pallets, 12 paintbrushes, 1 coffee charm, 1 bag, 1 super straw, 1 tube glitter, 22 school papers/artwork (52)
DAY 10: 51 school papers/artwork (51)
504 items gone…426 to go!