The Minimalism Game February edition!

[ImFree2doasiwant]

Time for a new thread! The aim is to declutter your home, removing 1 item on the 1st of the month, 2 on the 2nd, 3 on the 3rd, and so on up to 28 items on the 28th. By the end of the month, you will have decluttered over 400 items!

I will be posting daily.

1 ring binder and contents
4 DVDs
3 books
1 cuddly toy
3 cardboard boxes into recycling
1 Chocolate mould
1 Pair of loafers
1 Old coat
1 Old Cushion
2 Guide books

@Nordicmom do you have a plan for decluttering kids clothes? I have roughly 6 large storage boxes full between my two & I just don't know how to narrow it down any more without getting overwhelmed with the sentimental value😫

Out 14 & 13 - shoes x4, babygrow x2, T-shirt x2, hoodie, jeans x4, bib, underwear x5, hangers x2, suitcase, spices x3, jumper, vest top.

I have a 17 y old and a 9 y old and I have only been able to really try to declutter most of their clothes boxes recently since my second one was hard one . She took 5 y countless miscarriages me loosing my health ivf and surrogacy to have her then I did really want a third .that didn’t work out so these clothes and some other items like the buggy I’ve kept and some toys and books for grandkids are very emotionally charged . I’ve had a bit of a break from going through them and I feel like I could do a bit more now hopefully to make space in the attic to them empty our storage locker we need to empty . There’s a few charity shops I am happy to take some more to now . They’re not near us I can’t bear to run into their old clothes or see them in a shop window so couldn’t take them there when we lived there .

Day 16

• 1 too small old kids swimming costume to rag bank
• 1 pair of too small kids trousers to charity shop

-4 old T-shirts to clothes bank -2 old long sleeved T-shirts to rags

• 1 pair of kids tights to rags
• 2 pairs of pants to rags
• 5 pairs of old socks to rags

All from the clean laundry pile yesterday . Took me a while to fold so I didn’t yet get to the 8 kids clothes boxes DH brought down last night but I will try to crack some open later .

Long office day today. Only just walked back in the door. Going to bail on today...

Bloody half term is scuppered my plans its impossible with 2 small children in the house!

I'm going to check where I'm up to and try to do 1 day today.

I'm in shock. The children have agreed to part with a set of 15 toys!! Not left the house yet, but listed for sale and will Olio if not gone by the weekend.

So hats day 14 done, with 1 to spare

AND...... someone wants to buy them!

Seemed to have done day 14 twice instead of the 15 so adding one ;

• an old notebook to recycling ( DD got a new diary and I told her one old notebook had to go )

Day 17

• 4 pairs of pants
• 12 pairs of socks all to rags
• 1 old wooden spoon to bin

Owh @Nordicmom I really feel for you I am similar with miscarriage & the struggle is really there to hang onto everything because I find I can attach a memory to every tiny outfit!
Maybe I am trying to rush things but taking things to a further away charity shop is a great idea though, I think I'll have to do that.

Fantastic job @ImFree2doasiwant

My 11 & 12 - towels x11, ancient birthday cards x11, spare parts for long gone furniture.

tabbycat985 don’t force yourself to do the kids clothes until you feel ready if you can store them until then . I didn’t touch ours for years after the initial looking through and organising by age when I was still thinking we’ll do ivf which we did a few years later . Then they were just in our storage locker until we were in our rental waiting for our new house to be built and selling our old house . I Couldn’t deal with more than a box or two at a time I found it really exhausting emotionally even though I wanted to do it and not save everything forever . My DH said to just keep them all as long as I wanted to it didn’t matter although we were trying to empty that locker and declutter everything else in general . I do feel like I need to do them and sell the buggies etc to draw a line under that chapter now that I’m sure we’re not going back to ivf etc . I’m simply too old (46) and too sick with several health conditions and tired and I do have my two lovely kids DS 17 and DD 9 after all the misery and now also a long awaited for first fur baby our little doggo too who’s really the third baby and will keep DD company when DS soon leaves for university. I wish you strength , you are doing good work , take your time and hugs from another who’s been there !

And keep going ImFree , you are doing great too !

Looking at the kids clothes tonight and I find it soooo hard , what is wrong with me ?!!!
If we want to empty the storage locker and fit some of its contents in the attic here I can’t keep all of these clothes boxes and logically I know I don’t need them but still I struggle . If I could get rid of 4 boxes out of 8 that would be good and really I should just keep 2 at most …

Day 18

• 1 old face cream to bin
• 3 rubbery dog toys he never plays with to bin
• a couple of magazines to recycling
• 1 sofa throw a child has made a big hole in 😡 to rag bank
• 11 kids dresses
• 1 kids blazer all to charity shop

I’ve managed to go through maybe about half of the remaining kids clothes it’s been hard but I want to finish them in the near future and tomorrow DH will take a bunch to charity shop hopefully then they’re out of the house and the rest neatly boxed up and labelled in the attic …

Day 19

• 2 shirts
• 1 dress
• 1 woolly hat
• 1 woolly scarf all to clothes / rag bank
• 8 kids shirts
• 3 skirts
• 3 top &skirt sets all to charity shop

Day 20

• 8 sweaters
• 1 jacket
• 2 shorts
• 2 trousers
• 1 sweater vest
• 2 cardigans all to charity
• 3 pairs of socks
• 1 pair of pants both to rags

Day 21

• 6 travel toiletries to food bank
• 5 travel toiletries used up both from my still quite a large back stock
• 1 old frying pan to dump maybe to metal collection
• 1 pair of too small kids welly boots to bin
• 1 more of my books finished to charity
• 1 pair of old kids trainers to bin
• 5 packets of old food from the larder ( we still have some Christmas stuff left )
• 1 chewed up dog toy to bin

I am going to try to finish my kids clothes boxes today although feel pretty awful with my damn cold . At least I will finish a book if nothing else …

Day 22

• 3 masks used up from my stash
• 2 pairs of broken knitted trousers
• 1 pair of old kids pants
• 1 kids long sleeved holey T- shirt
• 1 pair of holey pyjama bottoms all to rags
• 5 shoeboxes to recycling
• 3 cardboard moving boxes unpacked from the attic to recycling
• 4 more bits of kids clothing to charity
• 1 too smelly half used travel body cream to bin
• 1 half used dry shampoo ( bottle to recycling)

Blimey @Nordicmom you're doing brilliantly!! I'm far behind but plodding away. I've just done a spring clean of my hallway and found a few things in there to go (amazing, it's just a small rectangle)

I haven't been keeping up with the thread, being off work/school is hard!

Day 15
1 toy Olio
2 pairs kids shoes Olio
Table cloth bin
2 broken plastic toys bin
1 Christmas card recycled
4 other bits to recycle
2 activity books given away
1 utensil holder charity
1 broken letter box piece bin

Day 16
6 pieces of children "crafts" (I feel a bit bad about this but you can't keep it all and we do a lot!)
1 pack cat Wipes
1 broken arrow
1 plastic pot
1 2004 Road map
1 book
1 pair socks
4 bits of paper to recycle

Being picking up things here and there towards another days worth while cleaning and tidying a bit . Also counted my running total since I finished the last monthly challenge late last y and I think it’s about 751 or so . A bit crazy to think about the number of things that could be still here if I hadn’t done this !

I meant since I finished the last years last monthly challenge , I did jan after that …

Imagine it all being dumped back in your house @Nordicmom ! I dud a huge declutter tne first 6 months of last year and ended up removing 3500 ish items. Absolute madness. There was a lot of old paperwork, kids clothes and toys abd my clothes. Baby stuff. I don't understand when I look around now, where it all went!

We did for 9 months before we moved here as well and really for the several last years but in spurts . It got bad when DD was little and I didn’t do my 6 monthly clear outs like I used to . Now I’ve promised myself to keep on top of it and always have these plastic storage charity shop boxes in the attic room on the go and similar pile for the dump in the garage and just steadily add to them. Also trying to think before bringing stuff in but with growing kids and a dog that’s inevitable . Unlike last month I don’t have a large amount already decluttered ready to go so I’m having to work harder for these last days . Not sure I’ll finish on time . Once I finish the kids clothes the rest of the attic is largely repacking in plastic boxes from cardboard and organising not decluttering . If I can get into my garage cupboard there might be some treasures from the old utility room there although I did declutter them at the last house. And there will be outs from the storage but don’t know when DH will go there next .
I will try to finish those kids clothes I didn’t yesterday today