This may be tough for those of us who participated in the 2010 challenge, but I'll bet we can find another 2011 pieces of dust-collecting clutter to rid ourselves of!!
(And yes, for those of you trying to lose weight, pounds count.)
I'm in...but I'll only post "totals" here weekly. I'm trying for 8044 in 2011, and if I get rid of all the things I should, it will not be that difficult!
However, I don't want to hijack the thread, like I did in 2010, so I'll post my daily flings to my get it/keep it current goal, and post totals here weekly.
This has been a real boon for me and mine, thanks for the challenge!
However, I don't want to hijack the thread, like I did in 2010, so I'll post my daily flings to my get it/keep it current goal, and post totals here weekly.
I also enjoyed reading your daily updates. It helped keep my motivated for a while. I got behind. I will restart this year. I have to! With a second child being born in Feb. and only 2 bedrooms that are already full, we need more room!
~I loved reading your posts all year Judi!
I'm in again. And this year I'm going to attempt subtracting things that come into the house.
I'm kinda afraid to see how much comes in. :/ ~
I can handle that. A couple days ago I tossed 7 old nail polish colors and today flung and old pair of shorts. I'm ready for 2011!! And with kids there is always constant stuff!
I am in and can't wait to start I have a heap of stuff just waiting for me to cast my eye over and assess whether they are worthy to stay in my house or not.
I will agree with Madhen on that one. I just got back into FV after an absence and I spent a good 20 mins reading the 2010 fling challenge. It was interesting to read was was being flung or being sorted or donated. Don't feel that by posting everyday you are hijacking the thread - it is more motivating to know that somewhere someone else is doing it to.
I agree that it isn't the greatest to list every piece of trash, but when I clean out a file cabinet or what not I will say "trash counts as 1-2 items flung or if I finally get around to throwing out lots of old rags I will count all of them as 1 item, etc.
I'm in again. I didn't make the goal for this year but I hope to be moving next year(crossing fingers) and will certainly not be taking all of this clutter. Judi, I love your posts, you are a dynamo when it comes to purging and a great motivator. Don't stop.
I think, when I went on a major cleaning rampage, I would give myself 50 points per large black leaf bag full of stuff. It was trash, but it still took me time to gather it all up, and it was still stuff that was leaving my house. I didn't count kitchen garbage, but if I went through my filing cabinet and got rid of a bunch of old recipes, files, etc, I'd give myself credit for that.
I'd rather give it a total point value, vs. counting each & every scrap.
so if a huge blk bag is 50, maybe a reg. kitchen bag is 25? hmm.....
but I see the point here - it should count if it's hogging space in the file cabniets. For me, those are the things I would shred to use for the guinea pig cage, so how can I count it? It's just recycled into a different form?
bumplett, I love your avatar!! I want to steal it!!
I would just try to do what you think is fair to the count. If you have a huge pile of stuff that you need to get through, and this fling gets you to do it, whether you shred it and use it for the guinea pig, or toss it outside as compost, or whatever, you should give yourself the appropriate number of fling points that will encourage you to keep going. The purpose of the fling is to fling, not to make people accountable for the number.
I count bags o' stuff by the functional unit, mostly, that is a bag of leaves is 1, but I count individual pages (inserts mostly) as I am culling those specifically. I don't count the paper we recycle every week, just the "special" stuff.
My rule of thumb about whether it gets counted as a fling or not is whether I have to find space for it, other than the pantry, to store it. So, inserts (coupons) have to have separate storage, but the newspaper, as it's read and then just discarded (and isn't stored) does not. So I count flung insert pages. (I don't count them when they come in though, although I should!)
I also count things when I find a place to store something that's out/in the way. When I bought a 1/2 case of TP, I counted all the rolls coming in. When I figured out where they could be stored out of the way, I counted them "flung," although they're mostly still here.
Everyone is different, but my idea is that I'm trying to get rid of a LOT of clutter, so my rule of thumb is that if it removes a piece of clutter, it's a fling...if it's regular garbage, it's garbage.
I'm in! I used to do a Throw-It-Away Thursdays project where I had to throw/give away three things every Thursday. That was so refreshing. If my calculations are correct (and remembering that pounds count!), we'd have to fling 5.5 things every day to make it to 2011, right?
Does junk mail count? I have to bring it into the house before I can fling it out with the trash, so I just thought I'd check!
Yep, 5.5 items per day. I would count junk mail. I have a post office box, so I try to fill THEIR trash rather than mine, but sometimes I bring home a catalogue, then decide later to toss it, and I think I would count it in that instance.
~Great thoughts on what counts as clutter Madhen and Judi!
Bumplett, I would count the shredded paper as items flung because it's no longer clutter if it being used.
I count that way when I make projects with my fabric and craft supplies. It does no one any good sitting in a plastic tub in my kitchen but as dishtowels, pillows and clothing it is no longer clutter.
I also don't count things that would normally be considered trash(mail, recyclables, spoiled food)UNLESS it's been around a while. If I've had to push around the trash for awhile and put off dealing with it then I count it as items flung when I finally get to it. I think I count that way because the items have caused mental clutter as well as actual clutter.
When I'm on a paper, toy or fabric/craft rampage I count one grocery bag as 25 items. Counting little items is a bit tedious.
That's my little contribution. ~
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