31 Days of Decluttering - Day #11 - CD's or DVD's

For this exercise, you can focus on one (CD's OR DVD's) or you can do both.  I chose to focus on my DVD's (and VHS tapes). 

Here's the "before" photo:

Here are the action steps for this decluttering exercise according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized":

• Return any that don't belong to you
• Purge any that you haven't listened to or watched in over a year (or whatever time period you think is reasonable)
• Purge any that you don't enjoy
• Purge any that you don't anticipate watching or listening to again
• Purge any that you forgot you even had (they obviously aren't very important to you and you won't miss them if they're gone
• Purge any that you only watch occasionally and you know you can borrow from someone else or get from the library
• Give away any that you know someone else will enjoy more than you

As you can see, I personally didn't have that many DVD's to begin with.  I debated on throwing away all my VHS tapes just because they're such a thing of the past.  However, there's nothing wrong with them and my VHS player still works just fine.  In the end, I only got rid of one VHS tape of an Ohio State Rose Bowl game from 1997 that I know I'll never watch again.  This was still a good exercise though because I came across 2 DVD's that I forgot I had purchased that I do want to watch.  They're perfect for cold, gloomy days like we've been having lately.

Next Up:  Day #12 - Hanging Clothes

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #10 - Expired Medication

Expired medication is definitely something I'm bad about throwing away.  I get it honest though.  My mom has had the same metal tin of salve since I was little and she still uses it and it still works to pull infection out of a cut/scrape.  Personally, I tend to stick by the 5-year rule (if it's more than 5 years past the expiration date, I'll toss it) versus adhering to the actual expiration date.  (Yes, I've already been lectured about this by my Charge Nurse at work). 

Regardless of my upbringing/own theories, here's the steps to declutter your expired medication according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized":

• Gather all the medications in your home (medicine cabinet, first aid kits, purse, car, bedside table, etc.)
• Check each bottle or package for the expiry date {Note: sometimes it's hard to find or read but it should be on there somewhere}
• Dispose all expired medications properly (see below for details)
• If you're unsure of how old a medication is, it's probably old.  Otherwise you'd remember!  This is someplace you can apply the principle, "When in doubt, toss it out."

The Senior List

Here are some links with important information about disposing medications:

• In the U.S., here is the FDA Safe Disposal of Unused Medicines info.  

In the end (sticking to my 5-year rule), all of these items got thrown away:

That Neosporin expired in 2003.  Whoopsie!!  Off to the trash you go!  (Side Note:  I did already throw away a lot of expired Rx when I cleaned out the "toiletries" on Day 2 of this challenge).  There were a few other things I found in the First Aid kit that I tossed also.  

How is your decluttering going?  Are you letting go of your stockpiles of clutter?

Next Up:  Day #11 - CD's or DVD's

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #9 - Night Table

Since the cups/travel mug decluttering didn't take too long, I ended up going ahead and doing Day #9 right after.  This one was pretty easy since my night table doesn't have any drawers and I generally keep it pretty clean since it's glass.  

Here's the "before" photo:

Yes, I do sleep with a baseball bat beside my bed - don't you?!  The sock was leftover from the Sock Drawer exercise (Day #1) and hair bands always come out of my hair right before bed (along with the bobby pins that are stored in the shot glass on the left).  And the upside down tissue box - well - the youngest cat likes to lick tissues (don't ask me why - he's a cat!), so I have to keep the box upside down at all times.

Here's the steps "From Overwhelmed to Organized" said to take for this exercise:

• Throw out any garbage that has accumulated on or in your bedside table
• Relocate items that don't belong in or on your night table (keeping in mind the purpose you determined in step one above)
• Only store items that you really need easy access to during the night or first thing in the morning
• Keep as little as possible on top of the night table so you have lots of "white space" on the surface (I'd suggest just a lamp, clock, and maybe a book you're currently reading)

The "after" photo:

Much better!  I used the lint roller to clean off the lampshade that the cats like to rub on.  I also went ahead and got the glass cleaner out and cleaned the table itself.  Everything else got put away where it belongs.  As you can see from the time on the clock, this declutter took a total of 6 minutes.  Not bad and it looks so much better!

Next Up:  Day #10 - Expired Medications

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #8 - Travel Mugs and Water Bottles

Moving right along on this little exercise....  Day #8 focuses on travel mugs and water bottles.

Here's what my cupboard looked like before:

Who doesn't keep light bulbs and cat treats in with their coffee mugs?!  (Ha!)  As much as I'd like to blame hubs for this mess, I'm pretty sure I stuffed all that in there.  :(

Here's the action steps according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized":

• First gather all your travel mugs and / or water bottles in one place so you know how many you're dealing with.
• Toss any travel mugs or water bottles that leak or smell
• Determine how many travel mugs and water bottles you need for the number of people in your family, based on the activities you participate in, and how often you use them
• Keep in mind how often you clean travel mugs and water bottles when you calculate how many you need
• Consider how much space you have to store travel mugs and water bottles
• Based on your answers to these points, donate or give away travel mugs and water bottles until you are left with a number that fits your requirements (use the ideas below to help you)
• Give away or donate any travel mugs or water bottles you have not used in the last 6 months
• Purge duplicates (e.g. 4 of the same water bottle because 4 family members participated in the same charity race)
• Get rid of travel mugs or water bottles that are poor quality
• Keep travel mugs and water bottles that are favorites

I'm not a big collector of travel mugs (I only have a few) and I sold most of my random coffee cups at a garage sale two years ago, so I used this exercise as an excuse to clean out my entire cupboard where my cups are stored.  Here's the after shot:

Much more organized and no more light bulbs or cat treats in with the cups!  In the end, this was all that needed to be thrown away:

The cats are now batting around the cat treats that were in that container like little hockey pucks.  Not sure what the blue thing is or what the white thing went to.  The white coffee mug just won't come clean (and it's too small).  And the lid won't come off the silver shaker top, so in the trash it goes!  

All in all, this was a good exercise!  My kitchen cupboard is now much cleaner.  :)  

Next Up:  Day #9 - Night Table

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #7 - Magazines

Another "uh-oh" category for me!  I love magazines!!  Every Thursday after work I head straight to Kroger's to get the latest People and US Weekly issues that come out.  I then pass them off to my mom, co-workers, staff, and clients I work with after I'm done with them.  The ones that I haven't gotten to read yet are stashed in my home office.  

Here's the "before" photo of my stash:

I actually had a lot less magazines than I thought I would.  Still, if there's an entire cubby in the office devoted to magazines, that's too many in my opinion!  Some of these have to go!

Decluttering steps according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized":

• Recycle any magazines that are significantly ripped or torn up
• Give away all magazines that you have not read in the last 2 months
• Quickly pull out any pages with ideas you want to keep, unless you think you can find similar ideas online when you need them
• Give away magazines you have already read or that you've read enough of what you wanted to read from them
• Give away all magazines that no longer interest you (or another family member)
• Give away all magazines you don't think you'll read
• If you have stashes of old editions of magazines, put a plan together to go through them to decide what you want to keep or purge.  You may find you've been holding onto many of magazines that no longer interest you.  And if you haven't looked at them in a long time, you probably don't really need to keep them.   

To help keep magazine clutter under control in the future, follow these tips:

• Unsubscribe from all magazines that you no longer read {this prevents future magazine clutter and saves you money!}
• Unsubscribe from any magazines that you now read online or that contain similar ideas as blogs or websites you follow
• Consider how much time you have available to read magazines and only keep subscriptions to the number you've decided you have time to read {choose your absolute favorites and unsubscribe to the rest}
• If you subscribe to a new magazine in the future, unsubscribe from another one so your net magazine intake remains the same {like the one-in-one-out rule for household items}

Here's the "after" photo:

The ones in the red container are magazines I want to keep (such as ones from 9/11, the Royal Wedding, GQ with Tim Tebow on the cover (he's a hottie!!), etc.).  The ones in the left container are ones I still want to read.  And everything in the center went straight to the recycling bin.  Now that cubby is free to put other things in.  Who-hoo!!

Next Up:  Day #8 - Travel Mugs and Water Bottles

MARCH 2014 STITCH FIX REVIEW - My 3rd One!!

I was so excited to get another Stitch Fix (and in need of Spring clothes) that I actually scheduled a second Fix for late March.  In case you missed my first two Fixes, you can see them here (#1 - February 2014) and here (#2 - March 2014 - First Fix).  Both of these posts explain the process and how to sign up.  

For this "Fix", I requested some dressy Capri pants that I can wear to work and some springy blouses.  I specifically asked for something similar to a sold-out peach top I pinned on Pinterest from Forever21 .  

Here's what was in my "Fix":

1.  41 HAWTHORNE Natasha Front Pocket Sleeveless Blouse - $54

2.  41 HAWTHORNE Moni Horseshoe Print Stud Detail Top - $58

3.  POMELO Aleah V-Neck Heathered Dolman Sleeve Shirt - $48

4.  MARGARET M Emer Geo Print High Waisted Crop Pant - $98

5.  RENEE C Huebert Space Dye Open Cardigan - $58

A closer look:

1.  Natasha Front Pocket Sleeveless Blouse - $54

Let me start off by saying I LOVE this color!!  It's a beautiful wild orchid color (that is right on trend).  I also love the purple buttons with gold detailing.  As you can see though, this top just didn't fit!  The buttons were straining, which isn't a good look, and the top was too low cut overall.  The material was a nice texture, but it was wrinkled when I pulled it out of the box and it seemed like a top I'd have to iron (and I HATE ironing)!

VERDICT:  SENT BACK   

2.  Moni Horseshoe Print Stud Detail Top - $58

This is actually a top I had pinned on my Pinterest board that a fellow Stitch Fixer had received months ago.  Naturally, I was really excited to see my stylist chose this for me!  I had pinned several styles of this stud detail top too.  Thank you Erica (AKA - "fabulous stylist") for noticing that!  :).

Much to my dismay though, this top didn't fit either.  Even the sleeve didn't fit right (it was doing some weird gathering thing).  Plus, it made me look really washed out and the material was a bit more sheer than I expected.

VERDICT:  SENT BACK  (Major bummer!)

3.  Aleah V-Neck Heathered Dolman Sleeve Shirt - $48

The fabric of this shirt is sooooo soft!  The color is a beautiful mint green with grey in it which I love.  Plus, it matches my new Lia Sophia necklace perfectly!  

I went back and forth so many times on whether or not to keep this top though!  My dilemma was the fit.  It was a bit big overall and there was too much fabric under the arms.  (At one point when trying it on, I actually started swinging my arms and saying "I'm a raptor!"  - Not the look I'm going for).

I actually marked that I was returning it, but then kept thinking about the color and how soft the fabric was.  I knew I would kick myself for sending it back!  The day after I said I was returning it, I ended up e-mailing Stitch Fix customer service and asking if I could still keep it.  They quickly responded and said it wasn't a problem and charged account for it.  (So easy)!  I ended up wearing it to work the following day along with the grey cardigan in this fix and felt comfortably stylish!

VERDICT:  KEPT

4.  Emer Geo Print High Waisted Crop Pant - $98

These pants are definitely my style.  However, they ended up being wrong for me on so many levels!  First off, they were too small.  Second, the print was not flattering on me at all.  Third, I received a pair of oxblood Emer High Waisted Crop trousers in my first Fix that I ended up shrinking and that I'm always pulling up when I wear them.  In my notes to my stylist this time, I made sure to add that I need any/all pants they send me to have belt loops.  It's exhausting and frustrating to wrestle with your pants all day long!  (In her defense, she didn't know that before sending me these though).  The pants themselves are actually really cute (check out the pattern below), just not on my body.  Lastly, the price is just too high.  After I bought the red pair, I vowed not to spend $98 on another pair of pants.  

VERDICT:  SENT BACK

5.  Huebert Space Dye Open Cardigan - $58

Last but not least, this little beauty!  I have been wanting/requesting this top ever since I first discovered Stitch Fix!  In fact, it's the cover photo of my "My Style" board on Pinterest.  It's lightweight and so comfortable!

  
I am so happy my stylist finally sent this to me and will definitely wear this all the time!  Who-hoo!!  Thank you Erica/Stitch Fix!!

VERDICT:  KEPT

So, as you can see, the the total price for this fix was $316.00 (yikes)!!  If I decided to keep all 5 pieces, I would've received a 25% discount (which in this case, would've been $74).  $316 minus the $20 pre-paid styling fee and the $74 discount = $222.00. 

In the end, I decided to keep the Huebert Space Dye Open Cardigan that I've wanted for so long.  I also kept the light green Dolman shirt.  My total was $106 minus the $20 prepaid styling fee = $86.  After keeping everything in my first two Fixes, I'm a little bummed to be sending three pieces back.  At the same time though, I'm very proud of myself for only keeping the pieces that I'll wear a lot versus getting wrapped up in the novelty and excitement of the stylist/pieces being sent to my house.

For my next fix, I specifically requested some colored denim jeans/Capri pants (with belt loops) and some Spring tops.  I also requested that they send me items with lower price points (no more $98 pants please).  I have to get back on my budget!!  I was actually able to schedule another Fix for next week (can't believe there was one available that soon), so hopefully the items in that Fix will fit better.

If you'd like to sign up for your own Fix, feel you can do so by clicking here.  I'll get a referral credit for anyone who signs up using this link.  (It would be greatly appreciated!  Please and thank you in advance).  :)  

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #6 - Sheets

This is one I was dreading for the simple fact that I know how many sheet sets I have and it's ridiculous!  I have them for 3 sizes of beds:  twin (college), full (the old spare bedroom bed), and queen.  They're in plastic tubs, in the bottom of the spare bedroom closet, and in a storage ottoman downstairs.  This one is going to take a minute to complete!

Here's the "before" photo once I got them all together:

These are the steps to take according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized":

• Normally I'd start with throwing out any garbage, but with sheets, you can always use torn sheets as rags or donate them to an animal shelter.  So unless you've got some other kinds of garbage that have found their way into your sheet piles, let's move on to donating and giving away.
• Donate or give away any worn out or torn sheets
• Donate or give away any sets that are missing parts {unless you're going for the mismatched look}
• Donate or give away any sheets that you have not used in the last 3 months {except for any seasonal sheets - like extra warm flannel sheets for winter}
• Donate or give away any sized sheets that you don't own beds for {e.g. crib/toddler size sheets when your kids have moved into twin sized beds, full size sheets for a pull-out couch you no longer own, etc.}
• Of the sheets you have left, choose the 2 sets you love the most, for each bed in your home, and then give away all the rest.

Here's also a photo from Martha Stewart that shows a great way to store your sheet sets:

What a great idea!  No more sheet sets haphazardly piled up.  

Here's the "after" photo:

I'm not sure how Martha Stewart got her sheet/pillow cases in a perfect rectangle like she did.  I did get mine all grouped together and put into the pillow case so at least I won't have to search for the fitted sheet that goes with the flat sheet, etc.

Here's what is going either to AmVets or the animal shelter (I never would've thought of that, but LOVE the idea):

The twin and full sheets are now grouped together in a crate too.  All in all, all the sheets are much more organized and together, which makes me feel better.  And some shelter animals will now get to be warm too :).  

Next up:  Day #7 - Magazines  (Uh-oh)!

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #5 - Shoes

For some reason, I was excited to do this one (maybe because I love shoes).  I also do not have enough space for my shoes, so anything that might rectify this would be helpful!

Here's my current situation:

I basically have shoes wherever I can fit them:

Here's the steps for today's project according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized".

• Throw out any shoes that are worn out or broken
• Store shoes that you want to hand down to a younger child in your family
• Store off-season shoes that you know will still fit and be worn next season
• Give away or donate all shoes that don't fit anyone in the family
• Donate or give away any regular shoes that have not been worn in the last few months
• Consider the amount of space you have for your shoes.  If you still need to purge further, give away or donate shoes that you have multiple, similar versions of.

The challenge for me for this project is that I LOVE beautiful heels!  The brighter, the shinier, and the more textured, the better.  They're like little works of art to me!  The problem is that whenever I wear them, I have horrible neck and back pain for the next 4 days minimum.  This turns my lovely heels into "sitting shoes" - shoes I can only wear when I'm going somewhere that I'll be sitting down versus walking.  So I basically had to determine how many pairs of "sitting shoes" I have room for.  In the end, there were 4 pairs of them that I was on the fence about getting rid of, but for now, they're safe.  (I promised myself if I don't wear them this Spring/Summer, they have to go).

What didn't make the cut:

I finally tried on the red Candie's pumps (left) and realized they're too big, so they're going back (I just ordered them online a few weeks ago).  3 other pairs of flats are headed to AmVets, as well as those pretty, silver wedges that killed my back when I wore them!  (Kitty is safe of course).  I also moved 3 pairs of boots out of my bedroom closet and into the spare room closet since I (hopefully) won't be needing them for a while.

Is anyone else doing this along with me?  If so, how's your decluttering going?

Next Up:  Day #6 - Sheets

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #4 - Coffee Table

Day's #1 (Sock Drawer), #2 (Toiletries), and #3 (Junk Drawer) are in the books.  Now it's time for Day #4 - the Coffee Table.

(From Overwhelmed to Organized)

This one was actually really easy for me since I don't have a coffee table in my living room right now.  Instead, I have this table and it's already cleaned off:

I did go thru the little drawers though and threw away trash/junk I found inside (like broken Christmas ornaments).  For those of you who have a coffee table, here are the steps for today's mission (according to "From Overwhelmed to Organized"):

• Throw out any garbage that was left on the table - things like granola bar wrappers and used tissues (if you've got kids you know it happens!)
• Recycle all papers that you no longer need (newspapers, flyers, old mail, outdated school newsletters, etc.)
• Relocate items that don't belong on your coffee table (toys, books, magazines, games, electronics, etc.)
• Gather all your remotes and put them in a basket so you always know where they are and they aren't visual clutter on your table
• If you have items you want to keep in the living/family room that don't have a designated place, then create one.  For example, put a basket under your coffee table or beside your sofa for magazines or current newspapers.  Make sure you tell your family members about the new homes you've established so they can help keep your table clutter free.

Now that you've decluttered your coffee table, the key is to keep it that way!  Make it part of your daily routine (or someone else in your family's daily routine!) to clear off anything that has been left on the table, so you never have more than a day's worth of items accumulating.  Change your mindset about flat surfaces.  Empty space is good!

Next Up:  Day 5 - Shoes

31 Days of Decluttering: Day #3 - Junk Drawer

Ugh!  "Junk Drawer" - the name says it all!  It's basically the drawer of crap you don't know what to do with/where to put.  I actually have 1 drawer in the kitchen and a tray in another kitchen drawer.

(From Overwhelmed to Organized)

Here is what my kitchen drawer looked like:

What, you don't keep Kenny G's Greatest Hits in with the cat's old antibiotics and the Gorilla Glue?!  (Ha!)

Here's the "before" of the tray I mentioned:

A fly catcher, catnip/a cat collar, and a harmonica.  Makes perfect sense why they're all in a drawer together, right?  (Not!!).

Here are the steps "From Overwhelmed to Organized" recommends for cleaning out your junk drawer:

• Throw away anything that is garbage (broken items, doo-dads that you can't remember what they're for, etc.)
• Recycle papers you no longer need (old receipts, expired coupons/menus, etc.)
• Relocate anything that doesn't belong in this drawer {Make sure you've defined the purpose of this drawer (step #1) so you can decide what belongs and what doesn't!}
• Just doing those 2 things will likely already get rid of a lot of things from this drawer!
• Get rid of chargers for electronics you no longer have
• Dispose all expired batteries
• Reduce the quantity of some items to an amount that will realistically be used or needed (e.g. do you really need 48 elastic bands or 76 paper clips in this drawer?)
• If you choose to keep tools in this drawer, only keep the bare minimum, so you can quickly grab them for a small project (e.g. store a multi-bit screwdriver here rather than several screwdrivers)
• Keep in mind the location of this drawer when deciding what to keep in it.  Typically junk drawers take up prime real estate in our kitchens, so they should contain items we need quick access to on a regular basis.

After completing these steps, this is what the drawer looks like:

I decided to take Hilda's advice and decide the purpose of this drawer.  Since it's by the dishwasher and in the middle of the kitchen, I decided to make it the drawer for the old silverware (that we still use).  I threw away the silverware that had messed up handles, etc. and this was what was left.  

Here's what the tray/drawer it was in now looks like:

All the batteries are in a baggie together, the decks of cards are stacked together, etc.  And now hubs can have the left half of the drawer to throw whatever he wants to in.  No more "junk drawer".  Only a "junk tray" now.  That was worth it :).

Next Up:  Day #4 - Coffee Table

**Check out the Prior 2 Days Here:

Day #1 (Sock Drawer) 

Day #2 (Toiletries) 

Happy decluttering!!

XOXO,

Stephanie

31 Days of Decluttering - Day #2 - Toiletries

For those of you who missed my first post in this series, check it out here.  

(From Overwhelmed to Organized)

I actually started this after I finished Day #1 (the sock drawer) because I knew this one would take me a while and it did - over 3 hours!  After all, I didn't name this blog "Product Junkie in the City" for no reason!

First, let's define "toiletries".  We're talking about toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, mouthwash, hairspray, mousse, gel, feminine products, etc.  

Here's the "before" photos:

Here's today's game plan:

• Gather all your toiletries in one place (this includes those from all bathtubs/showers as well as any cupboards, drawers, and closets they may be in throughout your house)

For me, Step #1 (gathering everything together) took a bit!  There were products all over the bedroom, spare bedroom, office, etc.  I had recently cleaned out (or so I thought) the hall closet, so I just left what was in there where it was and began the purging process.

• Throw away any products that are expired or old - Did that!  All of this (see below) ended up in the trash!

• Throw away (or re-package) any items that are leaking - Did that!
• Relocate everything that doesn't belong with your toiletries - For me, meant cleaning out the vanity drawers.  I created a "ladies drawer" of feminine products (you would be impressed with how organized it is, but I'll spare you the photo).  Here's the 2nd drawer though that became home for my curling irons, flat iron, random samples, glasses cases, etc.

• Combine partially used bottles of products that you want to keep using - Did that!
• Give away items that you have not used in over 6 months (or whatever time period is reasonable to you) - I earmarked items for people who I know would enjoy them and put the rest of the items into an eBay pile.
• Donate items that you know you don't like (e.g. lotions that were gifts but you prefer a different brand).  By the way, shelters are great places to donate toiletries!  - Did that too!
• Give away products that you no longer need (e.g. leftover baby shampoo that your kids are too big for now)  NOTE:  I have baby shampoo that I've used to give the cats baths (yep, visualize that disaster) and wouldn't throw it away if I didn't have them anymore.  I'd use it on my own hair.  (And probably cause my hair stylist to freak out, but that's OK).  :)
• After all that, consider how much space you have in your home to keep your toiletries in.  Based on the available space, decide if you still need to purge further.  I cut it as close as I could, then started pitching things.  See how tight these bottles are in my hall closet?

Now the hall closet is organized as follows:

Top Shelf - lotions on the left, perfume/sprays on the right

Middle Shelf - shower scrubs on the left, shower gels on the right and in the middle (and they're all grouped by scent)

Bottom shelf - hair products on the left, contact solution and hubby's products on the right

Here are a few additional notes from the website/blog (check out fromoverwhelmedtoorganized's Day #2 Blog entry here):

1. Everything has a cost associated with it, even free things!  So decide whether the cost of storing free products is worth it if you're not using them up regularly (e.g. free samples of face creams or shampoo or body wash that you get in the mail, free dental floss or toothpaste samples you get from your dentist, and all those free bottles from hotels).  If you want to use these items, then store them somewhere that you'll actually use them and don't buy new products until you've used them up.  Otherwise you never will.
2. If you're not sure if you've used some items recently or not, put them in a basket and mark today's date on it (just write on a piece of tape or a sticker or even on the label of one of the products).  If you use an item, take it out of the basket and put it back with the rest of your toiletries.  If you haven't used the items in the basket by a certain date (a month, 3 months, etc.), then give them away.  
3. If you think you still want to keep something but you know you haven't used it in quite awhile, ask yourself why you haven't used it.  Did you not like the scent?  Did it not work as well as another product?  Let the answers to these questions guide your decision to keep it or give it away.

Last but not least - the bathroom vanity (and yes, the sink is cleaned off):

I put everything we actively use (or I want myself to use up) in there.  I even got my make-up bag to fit in the vanity!  (It's the small things that impress me).  

The best part of doing this - now I know what I have and what I don't need to buy (like the bottle of conditioner I just bought b/c I didn't realize I already had some in the hall closet).  I'm also putting a ban on buying any shower gel until at least January of next year.  What I have takes up almost the entire 2nd shelf of the hall closet.  And 2 EOS balls (those orange and pink things in the vanity) are enough!  I love them, but I have more chapsticks/lip glosses than I know what to do with!  No more until I use some of what I have up (which reminds me that I need to cancel my IPSY subscription until I use some of the make-up I have up too).  This little exercise will save me money in the long run because I won't be buying duplicates.  Who-hoo!!

How did your toiletries clean out go (and how long is it taking everyone else)?  I'd love to hear how it's going for you!

Side Note:  On Day #3, Hilda (the blogger) posted the following - "Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don't get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you're doing this step, but don't get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We're focused on decluttering!"

Oops!  Turns out, each one of these exercises is only supposed to take 10-15 minutes. But, I figure while I'm going thru the stuff, I might as well organize it.  That's just my preference though.  Please do whatever you feel comfortable with/have time for.

XOXO,

Stephanie

PS - Next up for Day #3 - Junk Drawer

DREAM WATER - My Review

While cleaning out my "toiletries" closet last night (my Day #2 decluttering post will be up in a few hours), I came across this box of Dream Water.  

I think this came in one of my Conscious Boxes a few months back (while I was on blogging hiatus).  Since I struggle with sleeping at night (I actually take 50 mg of a prescription medication each night to make me fall asleep), I thought I would give this a try.

Here's the ingredients:

And the directions:

So, I drank one of the bottles and went to sleep about 20 minutes later.  Easy enough!

I really wanted this to work!  I hate that I have to take medication to sleep each night!  I've taken it for years though and it works great.  (Take the Rx, fall asleep within 30-60 minutes, sleep for 7-8 hours, and wake up feeling great).  I was really hoping this would work for me, but unfortunately, it didn't.

I did fall asleep about 20 minutes after drinking the Dream Water (and it did taste like berries by the way - yum!).  Problem is, I didn't stay asleep.  I woke up all thru the night thinking about work, how the living room light was still on (hubs fell asleep watching TV out there), how I was irritated I couldn't sleep, etc.  (You get the picture).  This morning I'm exhausted and in desperate need of a nap!  This might work for someone who doesn't have regular sleep issues and take Rx for it, but it didn't work for me.

Has anyone else tried this product?  Did it work for you?

Sleepy XOXO's,
Stephanie