Lighten the Load ~ Update

I knew that if I joined a challenge, the hardest part would be posting about it. This is an update for the past few weeks. Hopefully, I'll remember to update on Mondays.

Our first recycle pickup was almost 2 weeks ago. We have been hoarding stockpiling several months worth of material. According to the trash company, if your bin is full and you have more stuff, the driver should weigh the bin, empty it and then re-load it with the excess. Well, I happened to be home at the time of pick up. I watched the collector weigh the bin and just toss all the extra into the trash truck without weighing it. Meaning, we didn't get credit for the extra stuff. I was a little annoyed! He must have felt me glaring at him because he turned and grinned when he saw me in the window. Hmph. My husband works for the same company so I asked him later if it was worth pursuing. He said to let it go, so we did. ANYWAY, it was 72.5 pounds of items in that one pick up. So, that's awesome! I did see on the website, they limit you to a maximum point value you can earn in each month. With as much as we've been saving, we may have gone over the limit had he weighed it.

Here's the update:

• 72.5 pounds into the recycle bin
• 15 pounds to Goodwill & Paperback Swap dot com
• 500 units of debt paid off
• 3 pounds of weight loss for me
• 350 pounds of stuff sold thru Craigslist (fireplace insert plus fencing)

So, drumroll please: 940.5 units gone!

The next project to tackle is to convert last year's office files from paper to pdf and save to Flash Memory stick. In prior years, I've saved copies to disk, but I'd prefer having 1 stick per year than the 35+ disks. I've been told I need to keep copies of the files for at least 7 years, maybe even 10. That's a LOT of paperwork taking up space in my basement. Every time I go into the storage room, I feel claustrophobic. I think I'll do a box at a time - each box is approx 25 pounds and there's over 15 boxes there, plus more at the office. Yikes!