In the last few weeks I have:
- Been through all our cosmetics/medications and thrown out (via chemist) some expired medications/creams, passed on a few unneeded things to grateful others and used up the last little bit of some shampoos and hand creams. Made up several mini-medication kits for our bags and cars so we have things like bandaids and panadol to hand when we need them. For the next little while will check expiry dates before taking tablets and use the ones closest to expiry.
- Sorted through the cleaning supplies under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Very little thrown away here as it will all get used eventually, but everything is dusted and organised neatly, sponges and rags freshly washed and folded, a few duplicate products combined. My husband and I combined households almost four years ago and I am shocked by the amount of excess cleaning products we still have. I guess I don't clean a lot haha. And also prefer some vinegar/bicarb/tea tree oil when I do. Many of these will not be rebought when used up. I don't believe we need so many specific products.
- Brought home about 8 boxes from my parents' home (think I've already mentioned this somewhere on the forum). All the things I own in the world are now officially under my roof.
- Gone through two of the boxes that had my sewing things in them. Decided there are so many other things I'm more passionate about right now and I don't have room for these in my life. Passed on everything usable to a friend who teaches a beginners sewing class and will rehome.
Next step is to:
- Go through my shoes. I don't have many, and as a result most are looking pretty worn out. I need to take them to the cobbler to fix what he can, bin anything unsalvageable, and work out what I really need to replace.
- Finish unpacking from our kitchen renovation. This is nearly done but there is at least one more box in the garage we forgot and a few boxes to go awaiting my husband's blessing. We also need to go through the cutlery together as we both have strong preferences about this and there is about 3x what we need for day to day. Some may get stored for larger gatherings though.
- Go through the rest of the boxes from my parents. These seem to be books/toys from my childhood and sentimental items such as yearbooks etc. I think most of this can probably go but I need to be in the right headspace to look through it. I lost a pregnancy recently so the childhood stuff is still a bit raw.
I'm also thinking about doing the whole Marie Kondo process from start to finish next week while I have the house to myself. I've downloaded the audio book from the library and will think about it a bit more. I've always lent towards minimalism (daughter of a hoarder, apartment dweller moving countries a bit, love a good declutter) but since moving into this house and the chaos of renovating things have definitely built up. I'm also curious if I'll learn anything about myself.