I haven't had much time this week to hunt for freebies and coupons because I've been concentrating on other things I can do to save money. Financially we're back in a good spot, but that doesn't mean I don't want to continue living frugally. The more money I can save now the better off we'll be in the long run. It would be nice to take a trip to Disney with the little one in a year or two without having to dip into our emergency savings.
I started the week off by organizing Ellie's room and pulling out things she no longer needs. I threw away a few things, and everything else was sorted into donate or sell. I did the same with all the closets in the house, and after filling the Blazer (with the rear seat folded down) completely full today with a donation load I still have 8 nice size boxes and 3 plastic containers sitting in my dining room to add to my yard sale stash. Ben won't be working tomorrow because of the rain, so we've agreed we'll spend the day going through the rest of the house getting rid of things we've held onto but don't need.
It's tough to get rid of things that have sentimental value, but if I kept every single item that connected me to some memory I would need a house many times bigger than my 800sq feet of space, and I would go insane from all the clutter. I'm practically ready to have a breakdown over the current amount of clutter we have, so this clean out is much needed.
This weekend we'll hit up the garage and attic. I'd love to haul that stuff out to sort tomorrow as well, but it will be impossible with the rain. I'm already making a list of things from both locations that can be moved to my yard sale stockpile. Why does Ben need a millermatic welder when he doesn't weld? Why do we have 2 bouncy seats in the attic that we never used? Why are we holding onto things we don't even like just because someone gave them to us?
My yard sale stockpile may actually take up more room in my attic this winter, but if I take the time to sort things now, organize the boxes, label them, and make a list of what I plan to sell it will be much easier to accomplish my yard sale goals when warm weather arrives in the Spring. I won't feel overwhelmed at the massive amount of stuff I need to sort and tag then if it's already done when it's time to setup. I can concentrate more on making money to go into our vacation savings instead of stressing over it all.
