40 Bags in 40 Days

As I wrote (back at the end of February) Monday's post about Hallie's bedroom, I started thinking about what I wanted to do in observance of Lent. During my college years, 20s, and early 30s, I gave up chocolate, candy, coffee, soda, or the like, but in recent years I have gravitated away from "giving up" in favor of "adding in". I have also looked for opportunities to broaden our horizons, simplify our lives, and/or improve the lives of those in our community. Along these lines, this year I have decided to take on the "40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge".

The Challenge coincides with the 40 days of Lent, and involves cleaning out the clutter that keeps us from being able to truly enjoy and appreciate our lives. The focus is on letting go of stuff, but also on making small sacrifices. According to the Simply Catholic blog, "it should hurt - not a lot, but a bit. There should be some small sense of having to sacrifice or maybe some small bit of contrition at how much we hold onto things when we could give that time and energy to God." An added benefit to the Challenge is that at the end of the 40 days you should have 40 bags (or so) of clothing, toys, books, and household items to donate.

Thus far I've tackled Will's, Hallie's, and my clothes and shoes, a few kitchen
drawers and cabinets, the linen closet, and two sections of the garage. Anyone
need a crib mattress or balance bike? (Both were loved but are still functional...)

Yes, we're already a week into March, but there's still time to take up the challenge. If you aren't sure where to start, check out the printables and instructions shared on White House Black Shutters. Organizing Moms also shared a few great links for those who would like more information about decluttering in general and/or a simpler, smaller-scale version of this challenge called "40 Items in 40 Days".

I purge reguarly, so when all is said and done I probably won't have 40 full bags of donations. I will, however, have spent the 40 days of Lent making small sacrifices and making 40 spaces in my home that look and feel simpler.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." ~ William Morris