Moving Forward With Minimalism

[MinimalistMommi]

This is a new thread following on from the previous 'm' thread on Good Housekeeping!

All Minimalists or aspiring minimalists welcome!

Hope the cheque turns up soon.
13 kids CDs out today.

You'll get there pixie. We all will! I totally understand the frustration, but you just have to keep telling yourself that no matter how bad things seem now, you HAVE made progress!

Teacake, yes digital decluttering totally counts! I spent ages doing my emails and wishlists recently and need to do my apps and music. Not to mention photos!

pixie Agree, you will get there eventually. Sometimes it gets better, then worse, then better, especially as you keep uncovering things to do and, well, have a life outside of that! But it gets there eventually. I would say we've been sorting on and off for about 15mo, and got cracking on it more seriously over the last 9mo, there are still things to do but we've reached a point where things are a bit more normal and easier to manage.

The posts on this thread are getting minimalist!

clearsomespace

Okay, things are moving forward here. We were lent a lot of furniture (chairs/tables/boxes and boxes of stuff) to dress our flat for sale. We live in a rented house. The flat sold and this extra stuff has been in our home since the beginning of October. What's worse is it was all glass or expensive or fragile and such a bloody responsibility with 2 kids around it. My friend has collected it all and it's gone, gone, gone!

I have a bin bag of borrowed newborn baby paraphernalia, DD2 is now 10 months, that is all going back on Thursday.

Does this mean I can finally attempt to get a beautiful bedroom? All this extra stuff has been living in there.

Is it time yet to list stuff on Gumtree/Ebay? Have people got over Christmas by now?! I have some BIG baby stuff to list, walker and jumperoo and bouncy chair etc.

This link is great
I don't remember if it was already on this thread or on another one but it's deffo worth a look.

Hope you're all well and continuing with your decluttering

Oops, clear somme space

Not to worry

You must see a big difference. That must be motivating! Things are slowly dribbling out here but I feel I need a chunk of time to make a big difference again.

Your link looks good. I'll look forward to browsing that.

Hello! I have some rare time to myself today so, of course, I'm using it to declutter. It's a bit of a struggle but I have 9 things to go so far. The elusive cheque and the slipper have been found, hurrah! Dd is still missing a shoe but I thing everything else is accounted for. There is so much "sentimental" stuff here - it gets so hard when you have already got rid of all your easy wins and there is still so much left.

That link is the same woman who writes Project 333. I like her writing. (FYI I have only worn 13 of my items so far this year - Project 333 is a piece of cake! )

Argh! Got a week off and the plan was, apart from celebrating DH's birthday, to spend loads of time cracking on with decluttering.

But DS was poorly on Monday, then yesterday DD got sent home and the doctor said she has an awful virus (crying with leg pain, poor bunny :() and is not to return to school until next week, and I have my first chest infection in several months.

FFS.

Hope the rest of you are having more luck than me! I have another week off in about a month so hopefully I can make better use of that.

Oh, how miserable for you. Poor Fuzzpiglets :( How has your frugal January gone? Are you pleased with your progress?

Hi everyone - I need to come back!! Been away from thread for a couple of months now. Hope you are all marching onwards - I need some time to catch up with thread.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of child free decluttering this weekend - there has been lots of incoming these last couple of months with birthdays/Xmas etc plus all the winter layers seem to take up so much more space. I am a year on from my major epiphany and first steps on the road of a more minimalist life. I still have the fever. I'm still far from perfect but very happy with where I am at.

Phase 2 of living in a box launches tonight - XP is helping me to put together Ikea Expedit TV thingy. Once that is up and running I need to get rid of my kingsize bed and expanding bed in bedroom and replace with some lovely bunk beds. Then all toys etc go to the bedroom, I will sleep on nice sofa bed (designed for daily use) and the box expands some more :)

I'm full of renewed vigour for it all. I want to chuck stuff out, take it to charity shop, just get it out of my home!

Bring on round two - ding ding!

Hello all I think I was vaguely on the first thread possibly just lurked but need to get my bum into gear now as moving in a couple of weeks.

Can I ask you all, what are 5 things that you have got rid of that you haven't even missed once?

I need some inspiration as am surrounded and packing looks very daunting, not to mention trying to think ahead to where everything should go!

Lion I got rid of so much stuff last year. I can't tell you what as I can't even remember. It all seemed so important to hang into for so long and I've not missed one thing. I'm going through it all again over the next few weeks. More can go.

Hi Lion, yes it's hard to remember what I got rid of. I know I have passed on clothes, shoes and books and not missed any. Also towels and small bits of furniture.

Read this this morning and it seems appropriate www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/08/anais-nin-physical-spiritual/
I need to de-clutter. The game is afoot!

Oh poor you frugalfuzzpig, hope your DC are feeling better today

Lioninthesun I am sat here trying to think of what I got rid of, so I suppose that sort of answers your question about not missing it

Okay:

1. books and DVDs (I'm counting this as one choice). We got rid of boxes of them and I don't miss a single one.

2. kitchen table and chairs. We use the dining table for all table related needs!

3. Towels. I think the best advice I got on this thread was 2 towels each. It works perfectly.

4. Crockery (and other kitchen cupboard fillers). We are still working on this one but basically, if you have to dust it off before it's used you probably could get rid of it.

5. Clothes. I had so many but none were amazing. I am currently trying to lose baby weight and recently looked at my ahem skinny clothes. They were so dated, no longer my style, poor condition etc. It felt great taking them to charity.

And a bonus 6) a sleeping bag I haven't used since the 80s that I have dragged around with me since I left home. It reminded me of my childhood but just took up so much space (old fashioned so no teeny little drawstring bag to stuff it into). This took the most mental energy to go . I felt like I was throwing away my childhood. But it went and I am fine.

Well DD is actually pretty lively this morning until she starts coughing. At least the pain is under control. I feel like crap.

Hmm, things we've got rid of... like others I'm struggling to remember specifics. And I am someone who's always had huge anxiety about getting rid of things, so this is a big deal :)

BeCool sorry if I missed it earlier, but what do you mean by 'living in a box'? All I can think of is Chandler in Friends :o

"Living in a Box" - my 2 DD's and I live in a small square flat in central-ish London. No loft, no basement, no garden. And until recently it was stuffed fully of lifeluggage crap.

On the plus side, the local school is fab - we have many wonderful parks nearby to play in and explore, are close to many of London's fabulous museums etc, or friends are close by, we can bus anywhere, it's close to work.

I can't afford to move, (even out of the area) so a year ago (catalyst separating from XP) I started on the journey to make this space/box not only more livable for the 3 of us but lovely too. We are slowly getting there!

Embracing minimalist principles to guide, encourage and support me.

I have today started a facebook group (inspired by these threads and also by a slow cooker group I am a member of which is really active and encouraging and has resulted in me actually using my slow cooker).

It is very basic ATM and needs some work over the weekend but I'd like to create a group for support and where we can post photos, links, inspirations etc. I guess more visual than this thread.

Here is the link if you want to join up: www.facebook.com/groups/1396049170651569/

Or PM me your email address and I can invite you.

oops www.facebook.com/groups/1396049170651569/

Morning all. frugalfuzzpig hope you and the DCs are feeling better soon. Got a poorly DC at home too but it's always so much worse when you're ill yourself. pixiestix I feel your pain. I have lost count of the number of money related items/vouchers and cheques that we have mislaid in the spare doom - only to resurface several months later when they've expired. Really need to get on top of our paperwork but not easy finding the time at the moment.

However, managed to take a carboot full of old toys to the charity shop last week and there is a small but noticeable difference in the amount of stuff in the DCs room. One step at a time...

lioninthesun - we've got rid of loads over the past 10 months and I honestly can't think of a thing that I've missed. If DH or DC1 have asked where some of the smaller removed items are I have been able to say, quite truthfully, that I don't know. Because once they've left the house I really don't!

YYY to switching utilities. I switched last year using uswitch. It promised me savings of £1000 which I couldn't believe - yet 11.5 months in, and even including that ridiculously long cold winter we had last year, I am on target to save that grand! I plugged my numbers on the other day and they reckon I could save another £300 by switching again so I might just do that.

Oh god - wrong thread! I've never understood how people do that before but now I know that having one open in Active and one in I'm On and then confusing the two is surprisingly easy on the mobile app! Sorry... As you were...

Well if you're after saving money evertonmint then stick around on this thread.... we don't buy much stuff

Hi all.

Sorry to hear some of you/your dc are unwell. Hope you're all feeling better soon .

Another 20 things out, woohoo :) 10 things in though - a swimming costume each for the dc, 3 Tupperware containers, a pair of shoes each and a pair of jeans for dd1. I don't feel bad because they were things I needed and went shopping for them rather than impulse buys. I've also got 2 black bags of stuff in the spare doom for charity, I'll count it before I drop it off on the weekend. The dc have been invited to 3 parties in Feb so far so I'm counting on a few items leaving the present box .