100 Less Things

Well it's been about 5 months at our new place which we both love immensely - but I'm starting to get the "I want our own house" itch. There is a neighborhood a short walk away that we want to live in one day and the houses are within our imagined budget. 2 things first though.

1. Before we embark on our own piece of real estate I would love to have all debt be poof! gone. I imagine that Sallie Mae will still be next door at that time, but then she'll be outta there fairly soon after. 

2. I will also need to get over my house commitment phobia. Growing up I had the fortunate luck to live in the same house from baby life to leaving for college. I figured growing up that once you found a home - that was The Home for Life. Obviously now I see differently (moves are unavoidable at times or you need to expand your living quarters for a few other little beings). In the back of my mind though I still think "well if we did get a house - would we be there for 5 years? 10 years? 18+ years?"

The other aspect to this (and the title of this post) is that growing up my parents had a very clean, organized and still playful living environment for me and my sister. So, what I would want to do is maintain that type of lifestyle for T and I, but also for a future family. To get to that point you have to 'clear the clutter'. My folks were very big on if we don't need/use/have 2 of that - then out the door it went. However, don't ask me how my beloved stuffed toy dog ended up in the Goodwill pile one day. Yes mom I'm aware that she only had 1 eye that wasn't scratched out and had definitely been through the washer a time or ten, but I still remember that sweet little plushy pup 19 years later. Moving on ..

When Travis moved into my old apartment with me, he had lots of comic books (I still don't know how many large tupperwares he had of comics - my last count was 5 and he had well over 2,500 comics), movies, heavy furniture and a kitty. Mixing 2 people's things together (for life never the less) who are quite different can be a little challenging. Naturally I figured none of my 'stuff' would need to be minimized or simplified. Wrong-o! 

I had read an article about a guy who went to live with just 100 Things. Feeling ambitious and inspired, I let Travis know that I would be getting rid of 100 things (Lord knows I cannot just be with only 100 items.) So I started going through my closet, the kitchen, the den, kitty toys, movies, books, etc. Before we moved out of that apartment to our current spot I had already gotten rid of 82 things. Then once we moved here, we went through all our dvds and got rid of the cases to condense them all in this cute little guy. Go below and click on the Page Break to see the itemized list of what we got rid of! Clearing out things that aren't used anymore or worn anymore or just don't need anymore is something I love to do. I love a simple, clean and relaxing place to have as our home. =]

An update on the September Freeze Out.. I have been doing great on my Starbucks limit. I have improved on eating more lunches packed from home than going out to grab something fast and easy. Wait for this one.. wait .. wait .. This whole week we have eaten IN for dinner! That is huge for the Waltzes. By this point in the week we would typically have felt 'deserving' of a fun meal out. We have been able to put a little bit more money towards a few debts and the routine established is one that I feel we could maintain. One thing that would make this better for us is to plan out our week of dinners, grocery shop regularly (I'm thinking once a week) and get the debt monkey off our back. It is great seeing the numbers go down. I know I will be jumping for joy everywhere once my students loans are dunzo (remember that line from early Laguna Beach?).

I'm excited for a few blogs that are hanging out in the hopper waiting to be updated and posted.

One celebrating my Dad's birthday. (miss him so much everyday.)

One about friendship. And one that will be a video of me showing you a play by play on how to make this gorgeous wreath for fall time.

Want a break down of our 100+ things we were able to get rid of  ...??

12 tops

10 mugs/drinking glasses

4 sweaters

4 pink/blue party bowls

4 miscellaneous kitchen items

4 miscellaneous craft items.

4 cds

4 dvds

3 pots/pans

3 hoodies

3 dresses

3 candle stands

3 pairs of heels

3 pairs of boots

2 pairs of slippers

2 sets of golf balls

2 puzzles

2 peacoats

2 purses

2 head bands

2 pop corn bowls

2 vases

2  towels

2 bath rugs

2 back packs

2 pairs of jeans

2 pairs of flip flops

1 necklace

1 make up bag

1 curling iron

1 vacuum

1 yellow decanter

1 toaster

1 microwave

1 spa set

1 set of Christmas lights

1 jumper

1 caboodle (yes a caboodle!)

1 guitar how to video

1 dry erase board

1 eye mask

1 robe

Many dishes

Dozens of dvd cases