There’s nothing quite like making a public promise to get you moving—announcing that you’re going to eliminate 100 items forced us to take a hard look at everything in the house. Even though our move isn’t until mid-December, we went room by room and removed anything we don’t love, need, or use. Our guiding rule was simple: no mercy. It just doesn’t make sense to pack, move, and unpack things that aren’t worth the effort or the space they’ll occupy in the new place.
We started in the office and gathered a substantial pile of items to go.
Next up was the kitchen, where Clara was a big help.
Our kitchen purge included a variety of cookware, utensils, and extras—plus a few baskets and towels that ended up on the floor during the sorting process.
In the den we separated out several items that were easy to let go of. Don’t worry about the board games—some were duplicates, so we kept one copy of each.
The garage and basement also produced their fair share of things that needed a new home.
And the bedroom? A lot came out of there too—excluding of course the baby and the dog, who are staying put.
Below is the full, detailed list of what we removed. These are the items we decided we could either donate, sell, or otherwise pass along. The totals reflect what left the house during this purge:
- 11 pairs of shoes (10 of mine, one of John’s)
- 36 books (10 of which were cookbooks)
- 10 videotapes & DVDs
- 1 alarm clock
- 1 computer mouse
- Countless padded envelopes & mailing tubes (leftover from our online print shop days)
- 6 board games (some were duplicates, so we got rid of one of each pair)
- 2 yoga mats
- 1 radio
- 1 stocking
- 2 faux pumpkins
- 1 lamp
- 4 pillows
- 1 mirror
- 5 frames
- 54 items of clothing (coats, hats, ties, tees, jeans, shirts, socks, and similar)
- 4 plastic plates
- 6 ceramic plates
- 1 power screwdriver
- 4 outdoor chairs
- 2 welcome mats
- 1 rug
- 2 baskets of faux plants (they’d lived in our not-sunny-enough basement)
- 1 floor lamp
- 4 plant pots
- 6 garden hooks
- 1 stencil
- 1 frisbee
- 4 old quarts of paint
- 2 buckets
- 2 metal tins (we replaced their diaper and wipe system—more on that soon)
- 1 sprinkler
- 1 trash can
- 1 fabric basket
- 1 dark wicker basket
- 5 bath towels
- 1 nursing cover
- 8 baby toys & feeding supplies
- 4 glass cups
- 3 vases
- 4 pieces of faux fruit
- 8 wine glasses
- 8 mugs
- GRAND TOTAL: 222 items
Admitting we were storing so much excess felt a little embarrassing, but it’s incredibly satisfying to see everything gone. We didn’t just toss these things; we donated and sold the majority. In fact, we held an impromptu moving sale over the weekend while we still had momentum and that “no mercy” mindset. Parting with items immediately helped prevent second thoughts—if we’d left things sitting around, we might have decided to keep them later.
One surprising takeaway was how many kitchen items we’d accumulated that we never used—apparently it’s easy to collect gadgets and dishes that end up taking up valuable space. Books and clothing were also problem areas; we hung on to far more than necessary. Going room by room and asking whether an item is loved, needed, or used made decisions faster and cleaner.
If you’re preparing for a move or just want to streamline your home, try setting a clear goal, making a public commitment, and using a strict mantra like “no mercy.” Work steadily through rooms, group similar items, and make quick decisions so items don’t linger. Donating or selling things right away reduces the chance you’ll change your mind, and the result is less to pack, move, and unpack later.
How about you—what have you been purging lately? Were there any surprising categories of items you discovered you could live without? We’d love to hear about other people’s problem areas and any tips that helped them let go.