Hello again...and my 31 day challenge

Now that Sam's back in school, I've had a little more time to think and space to breathe. Thinking about dipping my toe back into blogging again, but I want to start kind of slow and casual. So, we're mostly going to talk about cooking, decorating, and household-y stuff for a bit.

One of the blogs I've been subscribed to for awhile now is called Living Well Spending Less. It is pretty much what it says it is. They are doing a 31 day decluttering challenge, and since I was already in the process of purging and redecorating our townhouse, I figured I'd take a stab at it. So far, it is kicking my ass. Day 2 (the first day was setting the rules) was the entryway. So here are my before and after shots:

Before: From top of stairs

Before: From basement stairs

Before: From front door

Before: Closet

After: From top of stairs

After: From basement stairs

After: From front door

After: Closet

So, in the before shots, the closet floor has been used as a dumping ground for old shoes and other random stuff that we never dealt with when it came into the house. Epiphany: Things coming into the house and not having "homes" and things lingering too long on the way out of the house are major issues for us in terms of clutter. 

I threw out a lot of old worn out shoes from the closet, and moved the board games from the top of it. We literally hadn't touched any of them aside from Cards Against Humanity since we moved in three years ago. So they are going to either find new homes or leave. There was also a banker's box full of light bulbs up there. It got moved to what I'm calling the "utility cabinet" in our laundry room.

Sam has hooks on the wall for his backpack and coat, but we didn't have a good method of dealing with shoes. The tray tended to both cover the heating vent and attract random clutter. I moved it into the closet with my winter boots and shoes and Dan's hiking boots. Other than what we currently wear (and my run-into-the-garage slippers) there are no shoes in the entryway. 

Other additions to the closet were a scarf hanger and a hanging shelf system to keep track of hats and gloves. We may add some baskets to the top shelf, but for now, I am liking the idea of leaving it empty until we discover a good use for it. I'm still not happy with the folding tray tables and the white board being in there, but as we declutter the rest of the house we will probably find better homes for them. 

Cosmetically I added two LED candles to the sconces for the first time. The rugs were still in reasonably decent shape, so I left them as-is. I still haven't figured out a good solution for my purse. Perhaps it would be better kept off the landing anyway.

Anyway. Onward! #LWSLClutterFree