Combining & Consolidating My Stuff

 

I've been doing a ton of decluttering and reorganizing my stuff lately because I want to live with less.  I know longer wish to be surrounded with loads of items in my home that are no longer beneficial to my quality of life.  As I was going through this process for the third time in February I realized that a lot of the things I had decided to keep were scattered about.  I began to collect those things and gather them all together in one spot.  Once I had done that I realized something else.

Now instead of two separate very full bins I now have my first aid kit and medicines all in one
Both of the Curad boxes are stuffed with band-aids and I have room to spare inside the bin

There was a lot of packaging in many areas of my home that needed to be addressed.  Not just in the pantry and refrigerator, but everywhere.  My linen closet, the bathrooms, my sewing and craft supplies, home office supplies, even out in the garage.  So much packaging!

 

After getting rid of extra packaging and combining lots of stuff I have space on the shelves for actual food

When I began to get rid of packaging I quickly realized my stuff didn't take up nearly as much room as it used too.  Then I also realized that if I combined things together where there was room I could eliminate even more.  I combined two bottles of aspirin with the same expiration dates as well as few other medications.  In the first aid kit I was able to combine lots of things and got rid of a pile of little boxes.  I found I had two of the same types of lotion going so I combined those into one bottle.  I transferred half a jar of mayonnaise into a pint size canning jar and got rid of the much larger plastic jar.  I removed and melted down the last of a tub of shortening, transferred it to a pint size jar and tossed the larger container which was taking up a lot of space in the pantry.

 

This was a huge win!

In the garage I combined nails and screws, sheets of sandpaper, plant food and pet food.  Simply by removing the cans of cat food and stacking them on the shelf I was able to get rid of a large cardboard box and the cans took up a lot less space.  I had two open bottles of lamp oil that I was able to combine and get rid of one of the bottles.  I took home improvement items out of their packages, combined and organized them in a couple of extra plastic bins I had and by the time I was done I had one shelf completely empty.

 

More empty containers

The end result left me with empty shelves in my garage, empty space in my pantry and linen closet, a couple empty storage bins and something else amazing.  I had to fill my big blue recycle bin twice with all that empty packaging.  I could not believe how much useless packaging I had been making room for and storing inside my home.  In the past I had even purchase storage containers and shelving to accommodate it!

 

Ridiculous amounts of recycling heading to the curb

I now look at the things I am buying and bringing into my home with new eyes.  A lot of packaging is larger than needed for the product inside.  I found this true with the tubs of oatmeal I had in my pantry, which when you open them are only two thirds full.  I was able to pour them into smaller containers which I think are more airtight anyway and get rid of the larger bulkier packages.

 

Plastics waiting to be recycled

Need more space in an area of your home?  Try getting rid of all that packaging and combine stuff where you can.  You will be amazed at the transformation.  And you will be shocked at how much stuff you will be putting into your recycle bin.