The minimalism game Jan 2022

[ImFree2doasiwant]

The idea is to get rid of 1 item on the 1st of the month, 2 on the 2nd, 3 on the 3rd etc. I hopped on the way of a thread in December but am here to start afresh if anyone want to join in. I might do this in reverse though, starting with 31 today and working back to 1, only because DC are going to their dad's tomorrow 2 fir days so I will have the time to maje a good start at it.

I aim to post updates daily!

@Nordicmom

WONDERFUL idea op! I am pretty decluttered anyway but the kids toys are out of control. So is it a cumulative thing that will mean that you throw out almost 500 individual things by the end of January? Will leave the kids craft boxes until later on in the month I think

I am here

Yes, exactly that! I had a big declutter the first half of last year but still got a way to go, and yes the kids toys,craft stuff, general paper detritus (artwork...) the kitchen drawer and the area on the side where I dump stuff is also shocking.

We also threw away a lot from the beginning of last year before our Sep move to this house and to be honest I was doing it for years since DD was about 3 ( she’s now 9) after the initial baby years when I was too busy or tired to keep on top of it but there’s always more that can go !
Since i finally managed to finish the Nov decluttering challenge very late in December after doing the Oct one on time I haven’t been actively decluttering ( in the middle of the Christmas prep ) until I went to the attic the other day but just been putting things aside and jotting them down as I noticed them so I am now way ahead at about 90 on my list but I always run into a bit of trouble end of the month with the big numbers so I will start from the low end and keep on at it daily and hopefully this time I can finish on time since it’s not Christmas coming like when I did it in November !

Day 1:

• X-Box 360 has gone to the electronics recycling at the dump after being well used for years by both kids and DH even me back in the day , we finally managed to get DS his last years Christmas present of a PS5 and I said we were not keeping 2 PlayStations a Wii an X-box 2 Switches and a Nintendo DS so out it went with minimal crumbling from the kids there was only one skateboarding game DS was playing on it rarely we can’t get on the other consoles

Ok I’m going to start with a bit of a cheat
day 1: the old toys I’ve stashed on the wardrobe that haven’t been played with for over a year.
Including Minnie Mouse till, various old Christmas type things and a mini supermarket - all in the charity bag waiting to go!

I've just had a quick blitz of the kitchen pile and drawer.

31 items gone, including broken kilner jar, butlins wristband, broken fitbit strap, numerous bits of post and kids art.

I might go and do my kitchen drawer now. Thanks for the heads up.

Its amazing the difference that 10 minutes has made to the kitchen!

@TheGirlWhoLived I have a dumping ground in my bedroom that i will be going through. Most of it is pre sorted to go its just deciding on sell/charity/tip etc. I'm still counting it!

@Nordicmom glad you are carrying on, you did well to do 2 months at the end of the year abd it only gets harder doesn't it? I still have plenty to go but it's the stuff that's not necessarily as easy to discard.

I have a bit of a problem with those kids clothes . I went through absolute hell trying to have my DD and then wanted a third child for years so I’ve only recently been strong enough to start going through them and to let go but I can only face them when I’m in the right mood and for a short while at a time . They cause me real anxiety at times but I don’t want to store them all for no reason so they’ve got to go except a few I’ve kept for myself / grandkids .

That sounds tough @Nordicmom do you have a baby bank/domestic violence or womens refuge near you that you could donate to? They are always desperate for baby/toddler clothes and I felt it was helpful that those clothes were going to some other mum that really needed them than just any old person!

I’m in a new area so I don’t know , I will look into it but if not we like to donate to cancer research and to the British heart foundation for family reasons.
I’ve managed to add a few more to my list this morning so I’m now at 108. Hopefully more from the attic later !

I might join you but working backwards too

Hello, I’d like to join you for January. I had a good clear out today as the Christmas things were put away and DS filled two bags with clothes. But item 1 I will officially record as:

1 very small straw basket

Can I join? I joined the item a day thread but then saw yours and wanted to see what I could manage in reverse as I had a quiet day. I did well, doing bathroom and my wardrobe/drawers so 31 items. 9 items out the door to recycling/freecycling and 21 at the door for the charity shop (which was closed today) and 1 in the bin. Tomorrow going to be much more difficult and I still have to move items to the charity shop which can be a stumbling block!

I'm in! Downsizing massively this year so I need to get rid of a lot of stuff!
But I'm terribly sentimental...

I'm in! We definitely need to declutter. We moved 4 years ago but didn't get much decluttering done during the packing. Then we had 2 babies

1 bundle of baby vests left over from my online sales, put in the charity bag.

Love this! Today I blitzed the kitchen & DC bedroom. 3 bin bags gone into a recycling skip I hired last week! I think I’m going to hire one every year.

I didn’t count the items but haven’t stopped all day. I have a huge pile of lovely toys which I’m going to clean and donate.

I have been RUTHLESS- if I just didn’t like something, it went. Going to see if I can carry on tomorrow - under our bed is next on my list.

I mentioned this to DH the other day and not only was he up for doing it, he suggested doing it backwards so as we are both doing it, by the end of today (our day 3) we have got rid of 174 items so far. We have decided we might get a skip (we needed one anyway) so I am totally in. It is incredibly liberating being ruthless and giving myself permission to chuck stuff (those horrid GF bourbons my mum bought me years ago cos they're vegan despite actual bourbons being vegan - gone!). Highlights include taking our excess Christmas treats to the village food bank, finally drinking the J20 that's been sat in the fridge for 12 months and selling my cross trainer that has just been gathering dust for 6 months.

Love seeing all of your updates!

@SuperDiaperBaby well done on today's 31. I put the charity bag in the car so I can't forget it! I also live quite close to a clothing bank and use that if its just clothes.

Top tip - I've given away LOADS on Olio app!! Plenty of kids clothes, food items, boxes of old crayons, toys etc. It's really easy to list stuff abd people will collect (although I have been known to deliver so I can get rid!)

@oohmama

I can be sentimental too, but also get hung up on the waste aspect, abd things being "worth" something (I'm rather penniless atm!).

Glad to see more joining in!

Some of today's haul!

Ooh can I join please. Badly need to get house under control, won't be able to start properly until kids back to school but I like the idea of this as I can build up slowly.

1st- Christmas Tree. We've wanted a bigger Xmas tree for the last few years so decided to get rid of our old one so that we're forced to buy new next year. My parents tree was v old so they were delighted to take our old one. Win win.

I'm in! I tried this in October and November and managed about 3 days each month before becoming overwhelmed. I think I was overthinking it and worrying about doing it 'wrong'.
Few questions -
Where are you all keeping track? Do you have an app or just using paper?
Does the item have to be GONE or just pending? Eg if it's listed on eBay or marketplace, or in a charity bag, is that enough?
Do stupid things like old receipts/biros/pen lids count?