Time to Detox your Home!

I rarely do things that make me think..."that was a great thing...everyone should do that...Go Me!", but this weekend I did (when I say, I really me my husband and I).  We took a good portion of our "precious" belongings, and put them up for sale.  Ok, it was a very small portion, and they were quite well used items, but most all had some sort of sentimental value, and at times, it wasn't easy...the adorable little outfits of my babies, the dress that I wore that fabulous night in the Bahamas, the super cute coffee cups I registered for before our wedding, and those expensive pants I let myself splurge on...

But after the difficult task of bringing them out to the sale, and agreeing to the VERY small monetary exchange people were willing to give me for them, it feels pretty great!  You see, my little ones only wore that cute outfit for a week before they hit a growth spurt, I won't be going on a cruise again any time soon, those coffee cups hadn't been used in 6 years, and those pants never fit as well as I wanted them to, and especially don't fit now!

Well, the sale ended, and we felt great about what we got rid of, how our stuff might actually be getting used at this very moment, and how we have a nice little chunk of change to help us out on our next adventures in life!  We aren't done Detoxing our home yet (careful, it is a little addictive!) but this is how we started...

1. Stop seeing things as Yes-for sale, vs No-not for sale. EVERYTHING but your child is for sale, some things just might have a high price attached to them!
2. Go through your closet.  would you trade 4 of those pants for 1 great pair?  have you not had shoes to match that dress for 2 years?  is this the third season that shirt hasn't fit you?  think of how much less stressful it would be to get dressed in the A.M. if the only things that stared at you were things that fit, and that you might actually wear!
3. The burn test.  If your house burnt down, would you cry over that item? Would you even notice it was gone?  How much would it cost to replace it?
4. Advertise like crazy, and be happy salesmen.  People need to know your junks for sale, so use every free venue possible and even ones that cost a little...a $30 add is worth a couple hundred in sales!  Be helpful, be honest, and make buyers like you.  The chances of people buying something when they're ticked off isn't too high.
5. See Clean & Enjoy the free feeling of SPACE.  My basement feels so stink'n big and spacious right now, all because it doesn't have unnecessary crap cramp'n its style.   Its fun to be able to spread out, its fun to be able to pick up and see clean and not just cluttered

Well, our phase 1 of Mission Detox is over, and phase 2 has already begun.  Wish us luck as we hold on to our stuff with a Very loose grip!