40 Days to Kill Clutter {before it kills me}

Linda & Harriett Letterpress Calendar marked up in red by me.

40 Days to Change Your Life


I've never got into religion on this blog and before you click away...I'm not! However, I totally love the Catholic tradition of Lent. I'm Catholic but I've had enough friends that participate in Lent that I gave it a try a few years ago. The idea is that for 40 days you give something up. Okay there are deeper levels going on here, but that is beyond the scope of this blog and frankly me. Since I started a 40 day purge, corresponding to the same days as Lent, it has been nothing short of a total miracle in my life! Sit down and relax for a moment. What in your life would you like to change? What habit controls you? What do you need to release as Spring comes saunter your way?

Sit down and relax. What do you need to release? Image

My Confessions
Allow me to inspire you to tackle a troublesome habit and kill it within 40 days. I'll admit I had the worse habit that I was ashamed to mention. It 2007, although I was an obsessed yogi, I had terrible addiction. I was addicted to caffeine-free diet coke. The gold can and I had to have at least one a day. I was worse than a lab rat on crack. I had to have it or my world was over! Suffice it to say, I made that my object of a 40 days purge in 2007. I kicked the habit and I've never gone back. I will add that a few years later all the reports came out about diet soda drinks and that the regular stuff is better for you. That's a different story! Over the years, I have been able to run marathons, cut junk food, and get my health back. 40 Days is all it takes, but when you identify a bad habit, it can be a killer to purge. Hence, my 2011 resolution....

doodle by Pacific Citrus

Clutter is a Killer!

Top 6 Excuses for Clutter via Real Simple.

In 2010, we moved into a beautiful two-floor loft. It took a few months to get things organized from the boxes, but now the real battle is understanding that there is no storage in our beautiful new home. At the start of 2011, it looked as if we'd forever just complain, or my husband would daily, about the clutter. The books, the closets, the linens, the yad-yad! I made it my goal at the start of March 9, 2011 to release the things I don't use. By miracle, I came across Simple Mom and Project: Simplify.

Project: Simplify

The heavens were talking to me! I signed up to the Flickr group and started on the first task to organize my wardrobe. My entire sunday was spent pulling out the clutter in my closet and getting rid of everything that I didn't need. It really wasn't so hard when I got down to it. I was heartless. I tossed out my favorite set of Ralph Lauren queen-sized sheets because we now have a king-sized bed. I admitted that I wasn't ever going to look good in a lumpy beige sweater. I let go of my favorite shirt I wore in Italy. Heartless, baby, heartless!

BEFORE: MY CLOSET

A couple of hours spent listening to Billie Holiday and classic jazz...presto!

AFTER: MY CLOSET

I can't tell you how much better it was to wake up and select an outfit. I know I can still refine this area and I will over the next 40 Days. I don't want to kill my mojo during the first week. I'll be posting more adventures of my 40 Day Attempt to Kill Clutter. Next week is paper clutter! Please check out the source of my inspiration, Project Simplify at Simple Mom. 

One day, baby! Real Simple Closet Makeover.

Want a beautiful March calendar for your desktop as inspiration? Linda & Harriet, a beautiful husband and wife Brooklyn-based stationary & custom design company, have posted their March calendar for free at their blog. If you want the real thing, you simply must check out their letterpress calendars and goods for sale too! XOXO!