The Minimalism Game - 30 Days to Less Stuff! [Sept. 14 - Oct. 13, 2015]

[ShadowLion]

The PVP is officially for 30 days, which will be complete on October 13th. However, anyone who wants to can keep going!

 

I am going to keep at it, though I will modify my personal game parameters a bit to suit a more sustainable pace for the long haul I've got ahead of me. 

 

Currently, I am one day behind, fighting to keep from succumbing to a cold. Still working office and kitchen areas. Have a bunch of kitchenware for Goodwill and many,many pieces of paper have been recycled, even without any scanning happening yet. (One of my end goals is to get to a "paperless" office. Long ways from that still!)

 

810/900!

[ShadowLion]

8.

 

And on day 27 I've hit the point where I really cannot think of anything more to throw out.

 

I went through files, drawers and for this cycle I have won. 

 

In a year's time I will go through this again, and maybe reduce further. I would love to tackle the garage, but most of that stuff belong to other people.

 

Congratulations, Jakkals! Woot!

 

That is a great idea to have this process be a yearly thing...

[darkfoxx]

Playing Catch Up:

 

Day 27

 

 

Random CD from my mother's things

The contents of my mother's rolodex

My recipe box

Pictures from a friend's wedding I have digital copies of

This gargoyle I've had in every single place I've lived since high school

CD sleeves

A sketchbook

A server manual from Logan's Roadhouse

Tony Hawk thing the DH won

A brochure from an apartment complex I lived at

3 9-11 newspapers

1 20th anniversary of Mt. St. Helen's newspaper

2 Transformers comics

1 stack bumper stickers I got in high school

1 empty coin box

2 brochures

1 notebook

1 stack magazine pages I was keeping for some reason

1 copy of my college paper re: the huge hurricane that hit us

2 random pieces jetsom

1 sketchbook full of crap

1 mostly empty notebook

1 price sheet from work

1 quote banner

 

The DH's feet

 

 

Day 28

 

 

1 pile leftover cut out stuff from holiday cards

1 thing wrapping paper

1 pile tissue paper

1 pile scrapbook/card making paper

2 rocks from a hike

1 "best friend" rock I made in middle school - someone's code name was Toystore and I think I was codename Crayola. I do not remember who Toystore was. I'm sure my journal from that year could shed some light. 

1 Badass Maru-ru (Bats Maru) coin purse under the dog

 

The dog - he's baaaack! He heard you may have missed him.

 

1 pile wrapping paper

1 box resume paper

1 North Face fleece I kind of hate to give up because it's practical, but I hate wearing because: fashion

1 bag cloth scraps - I'm not opening and counting, but this is well over 30 pieces in and of itself. 

[darkfoxx]

Day 29

 

 

Camel cash catalog back from when Camel Cash was a thing and I smoked

A coloring book

A freebie giveaway from a 1991 Cincinnati Reds game I attended

Proofs from my Glamour Shots - when I was 13

1 handbook from NJROTC

1 sketch book

2 mostly empty notebooks

2 more mostly empty notebooks

1 program from Disney on Ice

18 of my mom's records 

[jmk]

Day 30

It's not glamorous, but it is 30 things!

I'm going to keep going to the end! Thank you for this challenge.

[Jett]

Ahh, it's day 30 and I haven't had the time to do any purging since day 24! That's a lot of items to catch up on!

 

Not sure if I will totally finish today, but I plan to keep on going until I have reached the total number of items, even if it takes me a few extra days.

[darkfoxx]

 

Day 30

 

5 packs of paper straws I wanted for a blog photo shoot but don’t really need

1 backpack suitcase that was more awesome in concept

Curing salt

Curing sugar

Curing something else

Curing spices

The DH’s caramel sauce

1 pee pad leftover from my old man

2 plastic thingies

2 circus brochures

1 camera bag

1 magazine holder

1 bondagey skulls & anchors skirt that’s too big

1/2 a bag of polypill

2 belts

1 bikini top

1 bikini bottom that’s too big

2 rods & 2 hangers for the ikea shades I got rid of a few days ago

This damn rug no-one on Craigslist wants

[BlackTezca]

Day 29 had me finally going into the office closet.  I had been avoiding it and just gathering obvious scattered items and junk from other rooms.  I had gone here and had been bountiful with old busted lightbulbs, old busted keyboards, random boxes for said keyboards, busted headphones etc.   Just in one half of the closet.  Today I shall did into the other half for Day 30.  W00t!

[alienjenn]

between getting rid of MY stuff and oldest son's stuff.... when you talk in the living room it sounds like you're talking in an empty house... it echoes

[BlackTezca]

Yesterday was Day 30.  I made it.  The office closet is not perfect but it looks better and cleaned up and I had gotten rid of some unnecessary/broken items.  The only remaining place that could possibly need decluttering at this stage is the basement and that's currently a construction zone.

 

There is also the garage which has stuff from the basement to sell/give away, but we'll tackle that with finishing the basement.  I'm calling it done.  Very pleased

[darkfoxx]

Day 30 +1: finished the bulk of the big closet, and tackled my mother's box of stuff she kept -

2 of her trophies: 1 for bowling, 1 for softball

Someone's gall stone

The box for her wedding ring (which I wear)

The box for one of my baby's first xmas ornaments + hospital ID band

The box for her cross necklace + some charm thing from her wedding

A magazine holder

The box my mom's mementos lived in

Sent on dragon wing

[jmk]

Day 31 husband got into the game and 27 t-shirts later, I threw in four old markers and today is done!

[ShadowLion]

I'm behind on the 30 day mark by 26 things. I'm taking a few days off to finish off the last few things, regroup, and figure out a sustainable level to continue moving forward. It's really helped having the group and the support! I also want to keep momentum as I work on what's left (a lot!).

 

What are your thoughts? Those of you who have more stuff - should we keep this going?

[jmk]

I'm going to the end until I run out of stuff. I'm actually going back through some same areas to see if I can get rid of more.

I have had a little guilt in the amount of stuff I have thrown away, which really was garbage, but just adding more trash to our landfills.

[darkfoxx]

I'm definitely continuing until I'm finished, and plan on keeping posting - pics is really helping keep me on track

Sent on dragon wing

[darkfoxx]

Day +2: Tackled the front hall closet.

A free yoga mat

My NF yoga mat that's branded great, but too thin

A camp light

The hobby horse I've been carrying around to every place I've lived with a thought to pass it along to siblings when they spawn - no one wants a 30 year old horse that smells like smoke

2 bears my DH got me

The bulk of the origami hearts I made my DH for our first anniversary (paper). I'm keeping quite a few for morale-boosting purposes.

Sent on dragon wing

[darkfoxx]

Day +3: Tackled part of the other hall closet.

A second copy of the school book thing a poem of mine was published in

Some dumb senior book I never finished filling out

On top of more price lists from work

2 Brooklyn Cyclones programs

Lots of brochures

The booklet from the first new car I bought

A bag that held more (expensive) programs

A folder that held honeymoon ephemera

2 Lego Star Wars kits - we're keeping only our favorites + our collection of mini figs

Sent on dragon wing

[ShadowLion]

Got my 900 things done!

 

And I still have a lot more to go...

 

Going forward, I am plan to continue posting my ongoing efforts here.

 

My quotas will be as follows:

Purge 10 physical items per day

Spend 10 minutes per day purging, organizing and/or backing up my digital environment

 

I'm also considering awarding myself bonus points for every shelf/drawer/surface I clean, redeemable om an as yet undetermined reward. Will be doing some gamification research this weekend to figure that out. 

[skinNbones]

Wow you guys have all done so well. I dropped out of the challenge some time back. Although still intend to clear stuff out when time presents itself.

Speak softly and carry a beagle.

[WritingWeaver]

Ah, I wish I had known about this earlier! I've been trying to really condense the amount of things I have. I keep trying to do it myself, but I usually get caught up in either sentimental value or the "I'll need this later" and keep it. Will there be another of these coming up? I would like to join

[jmk]

Ah, I wish I had known about this earlier! I've been trying to really condense the amount of things I have. I keep trying to do it myself, but I usually get caught up in either sentimental value or the "I'll need this later" and keep it. Will there be another of these coming up? I would like to join

You can start a group for the next challenge! I would try to do it again.

I've been really busy at work and went out of town this weekend, so I'm going to keep plugging away this week, but not working really hard. Thanks everyone for the awesome support on this challenge!

[alienjenn]

Got rid of a giant bin of jewelery that I've not worn in a decade. Probably 50 pieces of costume crap

hmmmm... sent by magic.... or fairies.... or small woodland creatures maybe? how does this thing work?

[Heidi]

Jumping back in now.

Over this challenge I have looked at the habits I have, questioning the underlying behaviors and the stuff it takes to maintain them.

So far I have ditched shampoo and conditioner altogether, making my own baking soda and vinegar rinse instead, and have bought the base ingredients to free me from buying one-off premade items such as bread, body scrub, dish soap and dishwasher powder. (I already don't use makeup, so that was pretty simple - I'm keeping the sunscreen, though)

Sent from my KFAPWA using Tapatalk

[WritingWeaver]

If everyone has no objections, could I make the next pvp for the current challenge if no one else wants to? I wasn't planning on being a leader, but I will be if needed Let me know what you think and if there is interest for another minimalist game (I just missed the last one). 

[ShadowLion]

@WritingWieaver - Feel free to put up another round for the new challenge! That would be great!