Five for Friday....my decluttering journey has begun.

It has been a VERY busy week for me.  I started.  I started cleaning out my stuff.  Lots and lots of stuff.....house stuff, school stuff, things I bought for others but haven't given them stuff, stuff that belonged to my children, and books. 

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and Five for Friday to share my journey with you.

I know I said last week that I was going to start at school....but I decided to start at home first.  I pulled all my tubs out and sorted them between house stuff, school stuff, and books.

Then I ignored house and books and got busy on my school stuff because that is where I wanted to focus first.

I lined up tubs for each month...August through May.  Then as I was sorting I discovered I needed some tubs for topics as well as months.  So I grabbed some more tubs for reading, math, Dr. Seuss, farm and cowboy (they will be separated later), and then odds and ends (I was sorting at home and this was stuff that belonged in the classroom in different places).

I also know I said my first sort would be yes or no.  Turned out it was easier to sort by month or topic first.  However, I did keep that question in mind....Did I use it, Yes or No?  If I knew I didn't use it (and wouldn't use it) I tossed it right there.  I did start a stack of things that belonged to other grade levels.

I found some treasures while I was sorting.....

This is my prom dress from my junior year (1973), you do the math.  It will become Little Boo Peep at Halloween!  So glad I found it again.

Lots of old pictures in my house stuff.  I was missing some of this and wondered what happened to them.

See the package from Oriental Trading??  Those are the penguin thermometers I wanted to make in January.  Now they are in the right place and I will be able to find them.

Here are the stamps I wanted to use with my 100 Valentines book.  Now they are also in the right spot and I will not be panicking trying to come up with a plan B.

Yesterday I took all my school tubs to school and now the emotional work begins.  What to keep, what to toss, and where to best store things.  This is where it really will get worse before it gets better.  I have my monthly tubs and I am determined to stick to that plan.  But topics and files are going to be trickier.

Stay tuned...I still have my storage unit (that is where my file boxes are stored right now).  And don't forget my books!