Anyone want to join me in a minimalist journey?

[lucysnowe]

I've been reading a load of minimalist mum blogs and have been brainwashed inspired . We are undergoing some building work at the mo and the amount of stuff everywhere is absolutely doing me head in. Once it is finished I want to have a ginormous sort and throw out. We are getting a tumble dryer and I plan to start culling clothes, sheets, towels etc, with the aim of getting ALL washing done each week and not have massive full up bins cluttering up the place. Next: toys, ornaments, and random bits of paper. Anyone fancy doing the same for the New Year?

Blossombath, it's worth keeping them. You will kick yourself if you don't.

BTW, I've just posted this in the Judicious January thread, but I thought it would be worth letting people on this thread know as well. Mu Austerity Housekeeping eBook is free again until midnight on Amazon, if didn't get around to downloading it for free the other day. It's Kindle, iPhone, iPad, PC and Mac compatible, so you don't need to buy a Kindle especially (less clutter, no hard copies to dust!)

Boffin I have just finished reading your book. I really enjoyed it. I think it is the kind of book I will dip into again and again.

I was hoping people would do that.

Blossombath - I am having this same debate over a brand of nappy we have. Is it that they don't fit or that you just don't get on with them? Are they not absorbent enough? Have you stripped them? Are they in the way? If you are unsure I'd hang on to them for the next one. I felt very smug when DS2 came along and I didn't have to get any nappies at all Having said that, I need to sell on the ones I don't get on with and will need a few others in the bigger size.

Right, today I will sort the growing pile of outgrown children's clothes and I will finish touching up the baseboards in the dining room so it can be crossed off my painting list. I will also take a nap as I am seriously tired this morning!

Hello everyone, I have just caught up with the thread after not looking at it for a week or two, and it has restored my motivation.

All the posts about curtains got me thinking. I know I have a very long purple set, which are a bit faded in places from the sun, but I am planning on using the fabric to make a beanbag for DD. In fact, the beanbag is already made, I used an old, very thin duvet cover for the inner bag, as a practise, but that was about 6 months ago and I have never got round to making the outer bag. I think that will be on my list for Tuesday (child-free and theoretically my craft day - which normally ends up being spent getting on top of everything else rather than crafts). I do know that there is an old red velvet set that DP brought from a previous house - he's been in this house for four years, and the cupboard they are in had mildew-y tendencies. I have been reluctant to dig them out because I think I know what state they'll be in. I think it's time they went.

I also need to sort out our coats, there are quite a few and they don't all fit properly on the pegs. If I put away the summer stuff, and the stuff I'm not going to fit into this winter(pg) there will be enough space for them to be hung up properly.

After having lived in rented accomodation for 17 years (and moving 11 times in 10 of those years) I too got into a habit of saving things that weren't useful in this house, but might be - and often were - in the next house. I think it makes it harder when it has been proved to you that you were right to keep something. It's a hard mindset to get out of, even when you are settled and not planning to move again. The house DP and I are in now is fine, and we would have no reason to move unless this pregnancy turned out to be triplets (please god no).

Boffin I am curious about your book, is it linked upthread, or can you point me in the right direction please? Thanks.

Sorry, it's had to revert to paid again, but it's only £2.99 so not madly expensive. If you go to Amazon and search for Austerity Housekeeping you will find it.

Ok, thank you :)

And thanks to whoever linked that Katy blog earlier, will definitely have a look at that as my posture is terrible.

Morning everyone. I've caught up a bit so in case I missed it but wasn't mentioned here, it's free listing weekend on e bay if anyone's planning on getting rid of stuff. :) got 60 on yesterday and hope to get a few more things on today. Will stock some 99p things on too. Not entirely sure they are worth the hassle, but ill do it anyway.

Really getting down to the hard stuff now. Yet it's surprising me how I managed to send several car loads of stuff away and I haven't really noticed a difference.

Yesterday, on a bit of a whim, I bought the Joseph Joseph 9 PC nest set ( featured in a tiny home video linked to above, abd ive been coveting it fir ages) as it was reduced and I had a £15 voucher, making it effectively better than half price. Very sensibly though, as I got home, I carefully unwrapped and set on counter then lifted the equivalent items from my cupboards as stacked them in a similar way. The difference? About 1 inch in height. That's it! And yes, the jj set is pretty but Theres no practicsl benefit so its going back on Monday. That may seem like nothing to you all but it was a bit if an eye opener to me!

Wow, 60 items? Your post office is going to love you!

IWipe I stumbled upon him by accident through a friend's recommendation. He does the biomechanics along with various other manipulation and massage stuff depending what you need. I sent DH before Christmas and he came back 2 inches taller! His business advertises balance more than biomechanics. Brilliant though.

bluecarrot can't believe you listed sixty items! I've had enough after doing eight this evening. We've been doing really well on eBay this last month. Everything we've listed has sold and often for pretty good prices. I start everything at 99p - my view is that if I no longer want it anyway, what I get for it isn't the real issue.

The trick for stuff you've had for ages seems to be to describe it as vintage. DP put on some old Undertones badges (which I probably would have put in the recycling) and he got £11.59!

Also, more inadvertently we've been eating the contents of the freezer and cupboards. I've been amazed how long it's lasted, I hadn't realised we'd stockpiled quite so much. I go to the green grocers every week on my way back from yoga and we've nipped out for yoghurt, bread and milk but our last big shop was mid-November.

Thank-you everyone.

Well hopefully pick up keys on tomorrow (Tuesday, it's Monday morning here) so have started packing. Considering our stuff only arrived here on Christmas Eve and I did a clear out before we moved, I'm surprised at how much stuff I can still get rid of.

We had a set of 6 plastic plates/bowls/cups etc, I only have 2 children so have kept 4 of each. Even getting rid of 2 of each has made me happy.

Going to get some more packing done today and I'm aiming to get rid of at least one thing a hour between now and 8pm tonight so 12 things. If I end up getting rid of more, then it's a bonus.

Hope the move goes really well, xMinerva.

I now have a big pile of defunct electronics to take to the dump (where they sort/recycle stuff). Chucked out a whole load of falling-apart comics, just leaving the ones that are in good nick - and later found ds1 on sofa reading his way through a pile of intact Beanos.

I'm not spending so much time on decluttering at the mo as I found I was spending too much time getting rid of stuff/work-avoiding & not enough with family, ironically... But today we had a great time at the park, had a lovely lunch, built Lego, watched some TV together. I'm trying to leave my laptop upstairs and switched off because my screen-addiction is one of the biggest habits I need to change - not having the computer around meant I wasn't tempted to check email, look at MN, etc. One day at a time...

Hi there
I hope I am OK to join this thread. I have taken quite a while to read through all 32 pages of it. I am nowhere near a minimalist and I don't think I want to be but...

I have got the "Banish Clutter Forever" book as recommended on this thread. I find it a bit bossy and I don't agree with everything, but I am taken with "putting everything near to where it is needed" and I do need to declutter and get a more routine and easy way of keeping the flat clean and tidy.

I'm needing to declutter, sort and organise rather than become minimalist, but I find every time I read this thread it inspires me to do something else.

In the last week or so I have:
Thrown out quite a bit into rubbish/recycling
Sent a large bag of stuff to the charity shop including some stuff I was keeping for sentimental reasons but didn't really like!
Boxed up some books for webuybooks (only made £10 but never mind).
Worked out which books are not going to be worth trying to sell (lots listed for £1p on Amazon) and put in another bag for charity shop.
Listed one book on ebay and another on Amazon.
Decluttered my desk drawers (I'm self employed and work mostly from home).
Done a deep clean on the bathroom ( a la Banish Clutter).
Tidied and wiped kitchen
Decluttered bedside tables.

So... am I in?

Thank you for all your inspiration!

Welcome EA :) Sounds like you have made a great start!

I only managed a few listings on e bay today as Ive told DD about my trip with DP to New york next month and shes a little bit sad she isnt coming (Shes going to be with her dad) so this afternoon was lots of cuddles and trying very hard to be interested in Minecraft. :)

Anyway, all the items that are 99p will be relisted next week and every week til they are sold. I reckon I have one more potential free listing weekend before I go away, so anything £1+ listings will be relisted then and then will look at reducing prices in March. Will just keep relisting as the stuff is in one of the rooms I cleared out and have no other use for. The money is required more than the space in regards to that room.

Queen - having the ebay app on my phone means its all very straightforward. It was so much slower when I had to take the pic, plug camera into laptop, upload all the pics etc. As long as the items ready to be photographed, just takes 5-10 mins a listing. I try to list similar items in succession as you can save a listing as a template. This really speeds it up and you can do a listing from a similar template in 3 mins or less.

Hobnob - I agreed a time with the PO to come over when I have more than 5 parcels. If its more than 20 they fire up the spare machine and do mine when there no queue and I come back later to pay Once I had 65 parcels in one go! Eyewatering total (over £150!)

Hi all, I haven't posted for a while, but still getting great inspiration from this thread. We have the builders coming in on Saturday so have a physical deadline to get things cleared - but it's also giving me a huge confidence boost to let go of things we don't need.

DH and I have are trying to incorporate minimalism into our spending too - we have done a budget for the next year, to enable us to save up for house renovations, and it's been quite eye-opening. It has really made us be more mindful of our spending and to appreciate what we have, e.g. we are running down the pantry rather than doing big shops or ordering takeaways.

I've sold quite a few things on eBay - I usually just list for 99p, even for higher value items, and have rarely been disappointed. Yes the phone app is fab and makes it much quicker!

A big box has gone off to We Buy Books, and several more big bags to charity. Every time something leaves the house I feel lighter.

Inspired by the Minimalist Mom blog I've also written down my 'simple living goals' for the next year. One is to read 24 books (I've already read two, so am on the way). I haven't always made time for it, but reading helps me feel centred and calm. Also, I am not going to buy myself any clothes at all this year. This may be hard for me as I love clothes... but I have just got rid of loads and still have too much!

This thread is a bit like following the exercise threads for inspiring me to get on with it and making me feel guilty if I don't.
Today's free time was spend doing routine housework so no decluttering but I had 45 mins stuck in town while DD was at her activity and I avoided buying a nondescript top in the sales just because it fit and was cheap and was a good colour. I suppose that's the health thread of not fitting in any exercising but avoiding the unhealthy snack.

If I'd spent as long running as I have reading about the couch to 5 km I could have got a bronze medal this summer.

Yes, I keep dipping in and out of this thread for inspiration. I managed to get the boys clothes sorted out and have two bags for the charity shop. I've also been sticking to sorting out a file of papers a day. We are soon starting house renovations and I've got loads of stuff to buy, so I'm trying to get the excess out before getting the necessary in. It is going to be really chaotic for a while, hopefully this process will make it easier!

Everyone seems to be doing so well on here. Since I went back to work I have not managed very much at all. I have been doing a lot of getting on top of housework routines though and feel more on top of all of that, which is all part of making life run more smoothly for us.

I did sort out our living room cupboard to some extent, and found a couple of things in DDs room today that can be sold, this was whilst trying to find a home for the big pack of kitchen rolls from Costco.

It is small things but every little thing that leaves the house makes a difference, I need to not try and make it a race, but just make sure I continue with this long term.

BlackBag it took until November last year for the C25K threads to inspore me. Unfortunately 4 weeks in I hurt my hip. I really want to get back to it but need to wait until I see a physio. I was really starting to enjoy it too.

I seem to be in a big life change mode atm. I am doing the declutter, trying to be more organised at home, getting fitter and also making me time for relaxing.

I am in the process of starting my household file, so I have also made that progress and I have a permanent bag for filling with clothes for charity.

I'm back in the game! Two big bags to the charity shop and £30 of stuff for We Buy Books. If I am going along with the 365 fewer less things blog then I am ok up until about March!

Today I have two boxes of toys to decide what to do with - find a place or charity shop. I am also going to tackle an unpacked moving box on top of DSs drawers. I want the surface cleared. I'll stick with one file folder today and then I've got to start prepping the lounge for painting. I want to paint this weekend, so have the next 4 days to scrape the remaining paper, fill, sand and prime! Not minimalistic, but all part of the same process for me. I need this room to be nice as the only other room decorated is the dining room which will soon be filled with bathroom suites and kitchen units as the house gets renovated. I need a nice room to retreat to

ps - the giant train is still there, how long until I make an executive decision and just rehome?

Morning. Just checking in. Most impressed with all this!

Hello everyone. Inspired by the "How many bras do you own" thread I have added my too-small ones to the charity shop bag. (Pre bf bras that will never fit again.) I also packed away some clothes that I'm not going to wear this summer on account of being pg.

Child-free day today so after my driving lesson I might see what else I can clear out.