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!

Yeah ,so looks like I can finish on time this month unlike in nov . I have just one day left the 30 th and I’ve got 5 towards it already so I’ll be on the hunt for the remaining 25 . Might not finish it today but I think I’ll be in the attic organising and folding the dry laundry . Now shutters meant to be going in there and elsewhere next week so we need to make more space for them and I want to start bringing boxes in from the locker to go through

12 more to find today then I’m done for the month 😊!

At home today and managed 2 electric shavers and a broken cable to recycling (3) gym leggings, t shirt and vest plus silver chain to charity shop (4) wash kit to bin (1) 8 total today keeps me on target for the month too.

Today...

Broken sunglasses
Doorbell
Bread sauce packets
4 raincoats
Parts of LFTs that don't match up (don't ask, I have teenagers)
An MDF board
2 tins of paint (given away)
£4 in coppers, bagged up and in the car to take to the bank/annoy a shopkeeper.

Still behind but this is what I've managed over the last 2 days -

16
1 - 3 bits of junk from behind bed
4 ripped gift bag
5 dried up bag of icing
6 candle with no smell left
7 odd sock
8 broken toy piece
9 bouncy ball from party bag
10 old eyebrow pencil
11 - 14 3 x expired national trust handbooks
15 pile of drawings from DC2's room
16 eBay parcel sent

17
1-2 eBay parcels sent
3 - 17 old loyalty cards binned or recycled

18
1-4 old loyalty cards binned or recycled
5 bundle of receipts from old purse
6 - finished sticker book in recycling
7 - pile of colouring in sheets in recycling
8 - magazine in recycling
9 - 11 3 x old food colouring bottles
10 - empty box of muffin cases
11 - baby bottle top
12 - 13 2 packs temporary tattoos
14 - 18 5 x takeaway sauce packets

19
1 - empty glostick tube
2 - pile of papers from child's desk
3 - bag of tat toys from child's room
4 - 19 - child's magazines

I have 49 items now bagged up for the school collection which is on Friday, and 29 items in the charity bag that I hope to take tomorrow, so that's 78 more which does days 20, 21, 22 and part of 23.

I still seem to have a house full of stuff though! Will definitely be able to do another month (year).

Still finding lots of things! But I took the things that were in the boot of the car to the charity shop and the tip this morning, and have also binned...

A sprig of plastic Holly
A not nice Xmas cake
A whistle from when I taught netball 15 years ago
A pen lid
A little knitted thingy
An old iPod cable
Broken headphones
A plant label
A wooden heart
A painting by DD
Another manual.

I have also done various decanting of things in the kitchen, and tidied a cupboard.

So here’s my final day !
Day 30

• 1 pair of too small new designer shoes we’ll sell
• 1 big Alice in Wonderland book to charity DD doesn’t want to keep we read the first book but she’s had enough I think she feels like she’s too old
• 2 dead houseplants we got as gifts that are now dead
• 1 glass container for a plant to charity
• 10 zip top food containers
• 1 bottle of old contact lens solution to recycling
• 1 old iPad case to bin
• 1 DS last year’s wall calendar
• 1 DS school’s yearly publication both to recycling
• 2 DD Christmas present books she’s finished to charity
• 2 pairs of old socks

-1 old T-shirt both to rags

• 1 old iPad with a broken screen to electronics recycling
• 2 manky dog toys to bin

-3 packets of dog biscuits he just doesn’t eat

I might just continue being on the other decluttering / organising threads if there’s another one of these not sure …

20
1 - 4 - child's magazines/colouring books recycled
5 Wooden worm toy to charity
6 Windchime craft kit to charity
7 - 10 4 x cookbooks to charity
10 -20 10 CDs to charity

So satisfying!

Today old shoes to recycling, 2 games and 4 story CDs to charity makes 7
Hooray @Nordicmom you have powered through!
@CherryAndAlmond I have stalled on getting the stuff out of the house which has been my undoing in the past - going to see what I can manage in breaks tomorrow
@wejammin I have enough here to do another month (or year) too.

Had forgotten about the tupperwear cupboard and for some reason assumed everything would have a lid or a base - turns out I was very wrong, 29 items later!

21
1 CD to charity
2 - 6 5 kids books to charity
7- 13 Kid's small toys x 7 to charity
14 - 21 mismatched tupperwear

22
1 - 22 mismatched tupperwear

Evening all, a quick check in from me. I've been awol a few days. I'm 6 days behind, that's 70 items!! I'm going to do some once the dc are in bed.

Good luck with the 70 items. 2 tops, joggers, shelf of tapes to charity (4) cut up large cardboard packaging that was languishing in the garden for recycling and an old candle I didn't use. Found time to get everything put aside this week to the charity shop and recycling bins. So 6 for today. But I went online and bought a new set of gym kit which is not quite in the spirit of the game - hopefully it won't arrive til February.

Well havent done the 70 but I have done 1 day...

Day 20 - 13
3 sprinkle pots
2 dungs
1 shower gel
1 hand cream
1 utensil holder
1 book
4 bits of children's art.

I'm cheating yesterday and today. I've knocked ten shelves out of my pantry as it's having a refurb. I've also deleted tons of old emails going back at least two years. I feel like they don't count, but they are all part of the plan to streamline life, so...

Cherry The shelves and old emails are probably more work so must count.
Started games cupboard. Top Trumps, playing cards, seashells with identification book and some spinning toys all to charity, old football cards binned. Today's total 5.

I've been unsubscribing to emails most days. So much junk!

A quick sort through of the DC desks has yielded 18 items of mostly recycling . I have 50 yet to do to catch up. Sunday is going to be my day!

Evening all. I’m going to blitz so much stuff when DH & DC are out the house on Saturday evening. I cannot wait.

Going to go round my living room now and find 20 things. I think I can do it.

Forgot to post yesterday but 3 boxes of unwanted toys to freecycle and an unwanted food gift on Olio. 4 items and all already gone.
Today broken pair of skates to bin and clearing some games and toys has given me 2 sets of unwanted storage boxes for freecycle. 3 today.
ImFree I read somewhere that deleting emails and unsubscribing saves massive amounts of energy. Must do more of the same here.

Day 21 - 12
1 candle used up
1 large cardboard box
1 card board tray
5 packing boxes emptied and disposed of
8 clothes pre school

So 16 done, 4 in hand for day 22.
.day to myself tomorrow so will catch up then!

I had to put a pause on the minimalising last week as there hasn’t been time to do it properly in the evenings now that the numbers are getting bigger. So, I have 220 left items to go, before I can day I am finished, which I will spread out over the next 22 days and is a more realistic target for me. I do think I have seen a difference in the amount of stuff that’s no longer lurking in drawers and gathering dust in corners. The next big thing is the loft (mainly photos and DC’s schoolwork). I think that’s going to be my focus for the next couple of months.

Still here cheering you guys on . Haven’t been actively looking through stuff but adding bits here and there as I come across them and jotting them down still .
Today DH is going back to the dump and the charity shop so more of the stuff is leaving the house . We have work to do in the attic room . We got DS a foosball table for his birthday and there’s two set of shutters going in next week so need you make space and organise there.

I think my total from the beginning of the year is now about 477

Well done everyone. Nearly the end of January! I think I'm going to carry on, but just do one thing a day. I'm almost finished with the mammoth clear out. I've slowed down the last few days but making up for it today with...

Three balls
A kite
A fishing net
A broken bucket
A swim float
A broken pair of goggles
A snorkel
Two cardboard boxes
A potty
Broken bat and ball game X2
Polystyrene

The eves of the loft make for super trash mining!