Playing the Minimalism Game

[YupIFreakilyHave]

For the month of October I am challenging myself to playing the 30 Day Minimalism Game as described by various people on their YouTube channels including The Minimalists. I prefer Jolita Bartkus' video on this. I know October has 31 days but the last day is for reflecting on how the month went.

How to Play: On the 1st you declutter one thing, on the 2nd you declutter 2 things, on the 3rd three things and so on. By the end of 30th day, 465 items should have been decluttered. Well, that's the aim.

I've been on this decluttering lark for a few years now so it'll be an interesting project. I'll try to update everyday of what was decluttered and maybe a little story of some of the items. I'm doing this online as a way to hold myself to account but I would welcome anyone who would like to join me.

It starts tomorrow. Eek!

Jolita Bartkus' video:

Day 10 8 various items from the bathroom cabinet, one toothbrush charger for a toothbrush that we no longer have and an unused, incompatible phone bank

@Trumpton thanks for the formula!! I've been adding them all together when I've wondered where I should be up to! This will help.

@Redcake wow, out of clutter! Amazing. Perhaps now the challenge is to really asses what you need / can do without... How minimalist will you go?!

@MissCreeAnt @mrsjackrussell thanks for mentioning cleaning... I was trying to do the organised mum method alongside this game, but towards the end of last week felt too much pressure on myself so dropped all but essential cleaning (retuning to my own, fairly relaxed, standards). I'm glad you mentioned that the game is taking time now and is tiring, as I'll be more forgiving on myself now....

Holiday beckons. I'll keep up with the thread, but won't be decluttering.

@freezerdinners the organised mum method is so good isn't it? I got the app but can't keep up with it everyday but even a couple of days a week is ok.
@Trumpton I like your pic collage thing.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats
I found these in the boot of my car!
I will count them as one item!

@redcake sounds like you are definitely winning at your decluttering game! Would you count virtual decluttering? Jolita deleted photos from her phone but there are also emails, bookmarks, old cached docs.

I also try to TOMM but I have definitely let things go a bit this month. I reckon focussing on cleaning in Nov will set me up nicely for Christmas. Maybe a deep cleaning task every day would be way too much though.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats you have the right idea with the teamwork. I have been trying to persuade my teen to let me help her tidy her bedroom (Inc Wardrobe of Woe and Trofast of Terror) but so far no luck.

@MissCreeAnt that’s a good suggestion thanks . I might have a virtual declutter and make some photo books as Christmas gifts.

Day 22 - Books. I don’t recognise half of the books so that was easy. The rest of the books were lovingly looked at and left on the bookcase.

Yesterday I tackled the cupboard of despair. Only about a third of the way through but I got rid of a box to recycling and have a pile of things for the charity shop/passing on to friends with younger children

Day 22, 9 items
Wipe clean tablecloth, old nappies I meant to sell but hadn't, 3 pillow cases, yet another sewing pattern, outgrown socks

Today was: lots of tubs of bubbles left over from a family wedding; I combined lots of part boxes of lateral flow tests into one and recycled the cardboard; tidied up some plants and put them back in DDs room (rather than the kitchen where she had left them); tidied the tubs of vitamins and put the out of date ones to go to the chemist for disposal

And as a bonus - decluttering my wardrobe identified a lovely blouse I'd forgotten about so I'm wearing it today 😃

Day 21

Day 22.
The seven sticks are incense sticks left out and smelling of nothing.

Day 19

13 batteries
1 defunct smoke detector
4 screwy things
1 wooden box

Total: 190

@Trumpton I used your formula - go me!

Day 20

1 pumpkin candle holder
1 pumpkin bucket for sweets, ds doesn't want to do trick or treat any more
6 leather cleaning cloths
1 face mask kit, had it for years, is probably full of bacteria
1 laptop battery
1 lightbulb
4 screwy things
1 random yogurt pot lid that was hiding in an awkward corner cupboard
1 number 1 candle
2 homemade hair and beauty treatments, more than half finished, not used it a while so off they go
1 scarf, to be used with hair treatment, just impractical

Total: 210 items

Previous post: face paint, not face mask.

Day 21

2 lace buddies
3 used up or out of date gift cards
1 shallow box
15 vests, pants, bras, socks, leggings (some are in shallow box)

Total: 231 items

Most of day 19 and 20 came out of the kitchen. Day 22 was mostly from the technology drawer, which I had completely forgotten to look at until now

Day 22

1 weaving, made by DS but no longer wants
4 sets of pads for chair feet, never used
2 redundant phones
1 mini camcorder, never used, don't even know where it came from or how it got here
1 charger for redundant phone
1 headphones for redundant phone, never used
1 user manual for mini camcorder
1 wireless mouse that does not entirely work properly but was a backup JIC item
4 disks
2 USB sticks (deleted 1600 files in them - can I use that as a bonus? )
1 camera case
1 takeaway carton without lid
1 hairband, another one that hurts to wear
1 part of cupboard door handle that is no longer there, had hidden in tea towel drawer

Total: 253 items

October 23rd.
We still have a drawer of cassettes that DH is refusing to get rid of “ My Precious. You will not touch my precious “
Still at least they are sorted into order.

Day 22: 34 bits of paper including child “artwork” and lots of To Do lists and shopping lists.

Mornin peeps. How are we all?

@Trumpton I do like your collages and I enjoyed your Star Trek update a while back and now LOTR. Wow those tapes are old. He needs a cassette player. That's his Christmas present sorted.

@SandwichDistraction You are doing well.

Posted too soon

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats love your teamwork.

@Chrysanthemum5 You'll get there with the cupboard of despair and make it into a cupboard of calm.

@MissCreeAnt easypeasy for you. Also, maybe you can start a cleaning for Christmas thread? (I seem determined that you start a thread 🤣 )

@RedCake yay at being out of clutter

@freezerdinners @mrsjackrussell @se22mother @Declutterclogs you've all so marvellously well. We all have.

Morning!

Day 23, 8 items
2 coats I'd been holding back to sell
1 learn to play the recorder book
1 opened, stale pack of wraps from the back of the cupboard
4 outgrown pants and socks from DS.

@YupIFreakilyHave wondering if I am being too ambitious with myself for Nov. Every day's decluttering goal doesn't take many mins really, but I am still not managing it religiously every day. Still, some sort of monthly focus thing would be good I think.

Got ahead of ourselves now.
Clearing a junk drawer in the dresser.
23rd and 24th covered by 47 non working biros & broken pencils. (This actually also yielded 5 working biros and a couple of working propelling pencils so a useful exercise)
We've also done Monday 25th in advance from the same source
2 very tired balloons.
1 knob off a long deceased barbeque.
12 spare fixings for some Ikea furniture (also long gone)
4 chistmas cards
2 small wooden toys
1 cable from a portable tv we no longer have
3 random unidentified metal fixings.

Ah well done @Grumpyoldpersonwithcats, you're storming along!

Day 23 - drum roll………. A pile of paper!

I cleared out my work bag. Do I win a prize for the most boring photo?

@MissCreeAnt I think it depends on how ambitious you are in trying be to get stuff done. I am thinking that I would deep clean my kitchen, super duper deep clean in November but I would tackle it a drawer, a cupboard, a door, a surface, a wall at a time. Mostly because I am so tired all the time and there's regular life to get on with as well but it's perfectly manageable in tiny, tiny steps. 5/10 mins a day. I can do that.

So, yes, a focus. What area of your home is your first priority?