40 Bags in 40 Days - Day 1 - Hall Closet/Pantry

I really wish I had seen the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge a little sooner!  The idea is to take some time every day during Lent (not counting Sundays) and focus on cleaning, decluttering, and simplifying one area of the home.  It started on Ash Wednesday so I missed the first 2 days, but I think that the first day of decrapifying our space was a heck of an effort that more than made up for it.

Today involved cleaning out the abyss that our hall closet/pantry has become in recent months. The last time anyone did anything to organize or clean this closet was nearly a year ago when I was pregnant with our now 9-month old, and it shows.   My shame is great in showing you the condition of the closet/pantry before:

We really have the shitty habit of shoving crap in closets and pretending it doesn't exist!  Compounding the problem is our habit of buying in bulk at BJ's and then chucking the big cardboard multi-pack box into the black hole that is the hall closet/pantry.

I'll also thank you to overlook the presence of our high school letter jackets (which I didn't throw away) and two college graduation robes (which I did).

90 minutes later, you can see the floor!  All the junk was disposed of, I organized the food, and I was able to use the top wire shelf for the Food Saver, Crockpot, and bread maker (which we always have a hard time storing in between the 1-2 times a week we use each appliance).  The dog food bin has been wiped down and the golf umbrellas and flag have been placed in the corner with the extra snow brushes.  You can't see it in the pictures, but the top shelf of the closet (above the clothes bar) had a truly ancient emergency kit with expired canned goods for us and cat food for our late kitty who died nearly 4 years ago (and nothing for our dog, who has been a part of our family since 2007).   M is going to re-stock the emergency kit so it's available in case the stuff hits the proverbial fan.

When I tackle the kitchen cabinets I will likely revisit some of the food storage in the pantry versus the kitchen cabinets - but for now this will do.

The after shots:

Day 1
Thrown Away: 6 (!) bags of expired food, empty cardboard boxes, and assorted junk.
To Sell/Donate: An inflatable baby pool, a desk lamp, a mini blind still in the box, two boxes of scented tea light candles, a kids' Christmas baking set, a kitschy Christmas salt and pepper set, and a food slicer/chopper.