Week 3 - Day 1 - Clutter Clearing

Of course, a challenge is a challenge for a reason...it's a challenge. Duh!

Week 3 of the LYM Challenge is zero garbage.  At first I thought this was going to be impossible, but between breakfast (Tim's - bagel, coffee and yogurt) and lunch (Superstore - fruit and veggie), and then supper (Chili), I realized that every single container I used was recyclable in one way or another.  Pretty sweet, especially now that Tim's recycles their cups.  The scraps from supper were composted too...so my waste today was.....nothing!!! YIPPEE!!

So that's day one...done. Unless I eat the bag of nachos in my cupboard.  But if I only eat a little at a time until next week then that would work. MMmmmmmm.......nachos...and hey, those are vegetarian (also this week's challenge!)

Sidetrack for a sec...breakfast, lunch, and supper were all vegetarian. Supper may have been vegan, I'm still so confused by it all.  Lets see...tomatoes, beans, a can of corn (shut up, I know fresh is best but I'm working on it), red and orange peppers, an onion, and a bit of flour...shit, I just wrecked it with the flour right?? I would normally use tomato paste, but didn't have any so I tried flour.  Fine, vegetarian. Considering my love for bacon and steak, I consider day 1 a roaring success!!

Okay, back to the garbage.  Turns out we are in the process of decluttering so we can list our house (YAH!), turns out that involves a lot of TRASH.  This week was going to be my get-er-done week, and now I'm freaked cause of the challenge. I must admit, that a good majority of the "clutter" would have just gone in the garbage if it wasn't for the challenge.  I'm a good recycler for cans and plastic....but for whatever reason I can't get on board with paper.  Its easy if I have a bunch but when it's just a few pieces I tend to trash it (yikes....sorry Planet Earth).   I know its wrong.  I know.  I'm working on it. I promise.

So in an effort to rock my challenge, I've dedicated this week to recycling or donating as much stuff as possible.  I always donate used clothes or toys anyway, but there's always random stuff kicking around that isn't quite garbage, but isn't suitable to donate to say the Salvation Army.  Like random arts and crafts supplies.  Normally I'd toss them, but today I decided I'm going to start a box for the local Boys and Girls club. That will save a lot of random kid stuff from hitting the landfill.

It's not like we are hoarders or anything, but I'm getting super frustrated with trying to keep the house clean so I figure the less stuff the better.  I've already emptied the cupboards so there's just the bare necessities (the simple bare necessities...so I can forget about my worries and my strife)...sorry, sidetracked.

Anyway, I'm basically at the point where I feel another strike coming on.
(2, 4, 6, 8, I Will Not Cooperate)  There is crap everywhere....literally too, cause the dog has made it his habit to crap on my bedroom floor, which is basically because the kids don't walk the dog properly...which is why the dog may be the next thing to get recycled too. (Any takers?!)....seriously...  :-( 

I have a limited amount of dishes left so the kids HAVE to reuse cups...though my son started using wine glasses instead of doing dishes, but I only have so many of those too.  I've packed up a lot of photos (less dusting), I've gone thru all the closets and dresser.  I figure less is best if I plan on keeping this place decent for a viewing. 
By the end of this week, my family will be lucky to have 6 pieces of clothing each, and maybe a toy or two.  If they can't keep it clean then it's getting packed or donated!

Yard sale soon? I think so...

So while I spend this week getting rid of "trash", it won't be going in a trash can!!