40 Bags in 40 Days {Lent 2013}

Tomorrow is the first day of Lent, which mean starting tomorrow, I will be doing a 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, like I did last year.

 The idea of 40 Bags in 40 Days is that during Lent (40 days) rid your house of 40 bags of "stuff".
This "stuff" can be things you don't use... junk, clothes you don't need/wear, clutter, old toys, garbage, etc.

To me, Lent is a time of prayer, self-reflection, sacrifice, self-control and renewal.
To me, a good home de-cluttering can go hand in hand with the Lenten season, just like our houses/blogs may look put together on the outside, on the inside we are a mess and need an intervention & de-cluttering ourselves.

Last year, when I did 40 Bags in 40 Days for Lent,
I gave AWAY 24 bags of stuff to Goodwill.
I threw AWAY 28 bags of stuff.
That is 52 bags of stuff we didn't use, need or wasted.

EWWWW.

I am SOOOO glad I finished everything on my list last year (even though it took longer than 40 days)
It took me over 5 months, but that is because I had morning sickness 24/7 with Luke my entire pregnancy and I was tired from being pregnant, having 2 other kids & teaching.
 But, I finished my 40 Bags 5 days before he was born :)
And, that's what counts....I finished!
To see my other 40 bags in 40 days updates from last year, click HERE. 

I learned a lot last year doing this project.
 I realized how much CRAP we have.
I realized how MUCH we have.
It has made me think about what I buy & what I bring into our house.
I ask myself, "Do we need this?" or
"Is there room for this?"
It has drastically changed my thinking, and for that I am thankful.
But, I am still a work in progress and I still buy too much stuff.

And, YES....I am doing this project again this year. Because there is STILL more stuff I know I can clean out & get rid of.

Here is my 2013 List:

32 Areas of my house waiting to be cleaned out....again.

 Just like last year, I will post updates and post Before & After pics.
The good news is that the areas are not as nasty as they were when I started last year, but the bad news is that I haven't kept them as clean as they were when I finished them last year.

I highly recommend doing a major clean out like this.
It was a great, yet painful experience.
And, it kinda grosses me out that less than a year later, I still have enough CRAP to fill up another 40+ Bags of stuff.

Let me know if you are doing this also, we can help keep each other accountable.
I will also try and post some tips & tricks that I have learned & that I am learning while doing this. 
I am REALLY going to try and finish it by Easter, but I am giving myself grace if it takes me longer.

I've got my list,  I've got my trash bags.
Lent 2013.........Let's do this!!!!
 And remember,
LESS IS MORE.
"LESS of me & my stuff and MORE of JESUS"