SPRING CLEANING WITH PURPOSE

I came across a similar picture to this on Pinterest and was intrigued. I did a little digging and came up with Jess Lively's 100 Things challenge. I'm a collector and a hoarder by nature, but to combat this tendency I like to do a big clear out a few times a year because a) I don't need/want/use nearly half of the things I squirrel away and b) mess and clutter drive me crazy! It's not just about throwing things away, but making thoughtful changes so that everything in our home is either functional, looks good or means something to us.

In the spirit of spring cleaning, here are the areas I plan to strip and streamline to get rid of 100 things.

Bedroom - I like my bedroom to feel clear and calm, but that's not always the case. When I wrote a post about creating a boutique look on a budget, I celebrated the basket as a catch-call for clutter. While they've helped me keep our bedroom look a little bit neater, they have just become stuffed with things I don't need. In the bedroom, I will: Throw away any beauty products I haven't used in the last month, including sample size testers and old make-up; Stop hoarding magazines and make a dedicated space for the ones I want to keep; Donate any clothes that don't fit me - or my taste - anymore and make an effort to replace them with good quality, timeless pieces. 

Bathroom - our bathroom is pretty small, which helps me keep on top of things we don't need or use. In the bathroom, I will: Stop forgetting to throw away empty loo roll tubes (!!); Use up soaps, shampoos and body lotions before buying new ones; Get rid of the red hand towels I hardly ever wash because I don't have any other reds to put them in the wash with.

Kitchen - we renovated our kitchen a year ago now and it's holding up pretty well, but it's definitely a lot more cluttered than I intended, which looks terrible with our open shelving! In the kitchen, I will: Give away appliances we don't use regularly that take up precious cupboard space; Throw away anything out of date and put grains, rice, pasta into jars; Put up a new shelf for extra glasses and get rid of the ugly mugs I seem to hang onto; Replace sponges, dish cloths, etc. 

Hallway storage - we are lucky to have a big hallway cupboard which I reorganised a year ago, but it still seems to be full of junk! In the cupboard I will: Dump the old tins of paint that are definitely unusable by now; Replace empty rolls of sellotape and stock up on new wrapping paper; Get rid of the shoes I put in there 'just in case' I still wanted to wear them...and haven't in over a year!

Living room - I think most things in this room are functional, and this is the only room where most of the stuff probably belongs to my boyfriend - he's surprisingly good at not accumulating 'stuff'. In the living room I will: Sort out 'the drawer' - you know the one, everyone has one, where you dump letters, bills and all sorts of other things; Put all the DVDs back in their correct cases and weed out the ones we don't watch to give to the charity shop; find a use for/get rid of the mass of cables we seem to have accumulated.

After all of that, I'm pretty confident there'll be more than 100 things to throw away! I'll let you know how I get on and let me know in the comments if you're going to join in for a big spring clean too. Good luck!