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:

Pleased other people are carrying on. It’s nice to have some company.

I did the cupboard under the stairs today. Yoga ball and sheepskin liner for the pushchair in the out pile (will put on Olio as loads of life left in both).

I have also deleted about 10 photos on my phone. I could do more but just a quick digital declutter.

Charity collection bag came through the door today. Has a label on to include books and bric a brac to be collected on Thursday. I actually cheered! So nice to get the stuff out of the house without too much effort.

Was in the office today so did a bit of decluttering of my desk

Lovely that people are continuing into November. I'll make a start again tomorrow!

I'm really enjoying the new mindset I have that it's OK to get rid of stuff that could potentially be useful... finally realised that if i send it all off to the charity shops, there is a much greater chance that someone will get some ACTUAL use out of it rather than just the potential version

I like that @Declutterclogs.

You lot are inspiring me. I'm not officially decluttering in Nov (and haven't done my DIY task today) but I have found 50 items today. If I can get to 361 items this month, that'll be 1000 items over the 2 months.

@MissCreeAnt 50 is a pretty amazing start!! Well done. I'm sure you'll get there!

I have finished the living room by giving the bookcase a proper clean and decluttering 3 more books. I have a short list of jobs and things I’d like to buy for in there but will leave it until I have been round the whole house. I’d given myself the whole of this week to do the living room so pleased to finish early. I am going to crack on with the kitchen tomorrow.

For digital declutter I have deleted 20 photos from my phone.

Day 3 :

• 3 kids sweaters

Day 4:

• a couple of broken paper Halloween decorations ( more might go once I’ll pack them away properly )
• 1 more old bath towel
• 1 more old hand towel ( I decided to get rid of the cheapest type of the towels we have when I was organising the linen cupboard and these were still in use then but now washed so they can go too )
• 1 pair of my pyjama bottoms with holes

Day 2 and 3, 5 pairs of holey tights (DW's not mine )
Today (Day 4) - a collection of 4 empty printer cartriges that had been prevuously put in a drawer under the printer rather than disposing of them at the time.

I'm trying to do a bit of sorting as I go this month (wouldn't have been possible last month so that's a sense of achievement in itself!) and today had a bag of recycling, a bag of rubbish, and various bits for charity shop.

Ooh @Grumpyoldpersonwithcats thank you! You've reminded me about our dead battery collection. I shall be raiding that today.

8 photos deleted from my phone. Could do more but it is such a boring job. Better off doing 15secs a day than none at all.

Also 3 muslins and a box of cheese side plates out.

It was charity bag collection day today so nice to have lots of previously counted items actually out of the house.

I would really like to have all rooms cleaned, decluttered, little DIY jobs done and all decluttering stuff out of the house by the end of this month. I start back at work after maternity leave at the beginning of December and just want the house to be quick and easy to clean. We have already set a 5 week rotating meal plan (I work a 5 week shift pattern) so that we don’t have to think about food or shopping, we just do what the plan says. I want more things like that to lessen all the thinking and organising involved with day to day life!

Hello, I'm on day 4. I can't remember what I outed on 2 and 3.

Old school blazer.
2 packets gluten free flour dh bought by mistake.
Out of date nuts.

Me too @Declutterclogs . I'm thinking totally differently now.

Hi, can I join in? I posted on the November declutter thread but Idk if this thread is more active.

I have decluttered
(1) dress
(2) pair of shoes
(3) unworn socks
(4-5) baby sleepsuits
(6) chipped mug
(7) magazine
(8-9) old bath toys
(10) perfume sample

I need this thread to keep my momentum going

@BeefSupreme oh I didn't know that there was a November one. I think I will stay here

Welcome @BeefSupreme! I hadn't spotted a Nov thread either. @Sandwichdistraction "Better off doing 15secs a day than none at all" - absolutely. I found little bits last month really added up. Your menu planning sounds super-organised.

51 dead batteries out to recycle today. I think this is probably cheating so I'm going to make sure I do a DIY thing today.

Running total 111/361 for Nov.

Watching sort your life out on BBC and feeling slightly smug as (thanks to this thread) I had got rid of old medicine, recycled lots etc 😂

Totally reasonable to have a bit of secret smugness @Chrysanthemum5 - we have all done a huge amount of work!! Sometimes I open my hall cupboard on the way past just to look at the spare spaces in it and feel a bit glowy.

Well earned both!

I've been catching up on my DIY. So far I've:

• washed the car (very rare here!!)
• cleaned the glass panels above our internal doors
• fixed DS's curtains
• 1 coat of varnish on windowsill. Needs another still.

I’d love to empty the whole house out like Sort Your Life Out and then have an interior designer put all the stuff I want back in and decorate it for me.

I have deleted loads of old notes from my phone and also decluttered 5 more physical things (baby door bouncer, sushi rice, roller and seaweed wrap things, couple of bits of Tupperware).

I only have two kitchen cupboards left to clean plus the fridge. Then I am going to take everything off the surfaces and try to put back minimum amount of stuff. We have a tiny kitchen so it isn’t a very big job. I really hate the little food waste bin being on the side but there is nowhere else to put it.

I only threw out 3 things today instead of 5 and then I bought 4 books in the charity shop. I’m so annoyed at myself. I’ll have to get rid of an extra 4 things tomorrow to make up for it. Or do I subtract 4 from my total? Should I say I’ve only gotten rid of 9 things now?

Out today:
(11-12) perfume samples
(13) hand cream

@BeefSupreme it’s up to you how you would like to count. I guess it depends what you would like to achieve. Personally I did extra to account for new things coming in because I also wanted to slow/stop the influx of new stuff. But you don’t have to, to begin with just the getting rid of the daily amount can be difficult enough.

Will you keep the books or will they be read and then given back to the charity shop?

Day 6:

• 2 of my long sleeved t-shirts I sleep in I found holes in
• 1 bunch of my pants also holey when I Iooked through them ( 9)
• 1 puzzle DS finished
• 1 big Halloween pumpkin decoration made of branches or something I don’t like the colour of in hindsight and have never put out since I got it a few y back so out it goes
• 1 toucan craft box DD has grown out of I spotted in a unsorted box from the move before last ( really need to look through this and hopefully there’s more that can go in it !)