Last week, after 4 months, the minimalist game we’re playing was finally starting to get hard. That made me quite happy. It’s been a major accomplishment and it made me think back to when we started simplifying, exactly 1 year ago.
I didn’t know anything about minimalism until an interview with Joshua Becker, but immediately after hearing it, junk started getting bagged up. I posted here about it here. We had this yard sale:
That was the end of last spring. We continued to get rid of things throughout the fall, and in November, started the minimalist game. Since November alone, we have gotten rid of 1,700+ additional items.
On average, for the last 12 months, we decluttered 10 items a day. Our house (and life) has changed quite a bit because of all this. The basement is usable:
We got rid of our upper kitchen cabinets all-together (and had to bring in decorative items just to fill the shelves):
The wardrobe shrunk:
I posted some tips for simplifying a few months ago, but I have one more today: work in rounds.
Make a list of all the places you could declutter (like the bathroom drawers, a bookshelf, the dresser, etc), and go through the list. Once you’re finished with the list, start over for a second round. It’s easy to think after the first round that there is nothing more to get rid of, but by the time you come back to it, you find a lot more to toss.
We’re currently on round 3 of our whole house, and I’m still finding things. The next 10 days are going to be the biggest yet in our simplifying mission, I’ll tell you why next week.
So who’s getting ready for minimalist game in April? I’m keeping the Google+ community open. Leena did a whole month of the game with us, my mom has completed a few months, Alana is about to finish March, and my friend Maryanne is about to finish her second month. Join us!
homestilo
March 27, 2014 at 10:07 pmI find the idea fascinating.. .but scary too (I admit it, when I see the picture of yard sale I find myself thinking “oh, I wish I could’ve shopped at that sale..” lol)
Christina
March 28, 2014 at 9:31 am🙂 Yes, I had the same problem in the beginning. The first month was just my mom and I and we kept eying each others items.
Alana in Canada
March 28, 2014 at 12:24 amI am debating whether to go another month–or take a month off and make sure I get rid of the stuff I’ve put aside to sell. Still, I’ve worked ahead–March is finished–and I have this pile of stuff I want to get rid of–but no days left, (Big smile).
It is a great exercise. I feels fabulous, truly lighter. It’s not just a cliche.
Christina
March 28, 2014 at 9:28 amThat’s so good to hear, Alana! 🙂 The community is going to stay open whether I’m able to continue or not, so do whatever works better for you.
Leena
April 2, 2014 at 3:04 pmThanks for having the community open, I’ve decided to participate again. Like you said, simplifying is best done in rounds, and now is a time for another. (although I might skip days here and there, but it counts anyhow)
Christina
April 4, 2014 at 9:35 amSo glad you joined again.
Emily Metcalfe
October 12, 2015 at 10:32 amLovely post! We moved recently and decluttering was the most important part of our move. I’m so glad I managed to purge all that stuff. Like your ideas!