When the wondrous Jeska from Lobster and Swan posted on Facebook a link to the Minimalism Game at the end of February and put a call out for friends to join in I got overly excited.
As you may have read here I started a really big clear out last year that ended with our vintage jumble sale. I got rid of masses at the time but I needed a push to finish the job off, especially as we’ve just re-done our kitchen and living room so it seemed like the perfect time to get all our cupboards and drawers organised at the same time. Well, the minimalism game was the ideal prompt to finally get the flat in order.
Basically, I had to get rid of one thing on the 1st March, two things on the 2nd, three things on the 3rd and so on until tomorrow, March 30th, when I will get rid of 30 things. I’ve never come across this type of structured decluttering that stretches across a period of time; I’ve always been the type of person who likes to do the whole lot over a couple of days. However, this month long challenge worked really well because not only was it far more manageable in terms of time but I could also give far more thought to how to get rid of the ‘stuff’. I was able to make considered donations to the charity shop and drop off an item or two there when I was passing rather than needing a car for the chore, I had the time to list stuff on eBay or my instagram sale page, I was able to return items that I had borrowed and could gift items to friends who wanted them. In short, nothing got thrown away that could otherwise have been donated, repurposed or recycled.
I now have space in my drawers and cupboards – actual space. I now have colour-coded bookshelves. I now have very little stored under my bed and light can shine all the way across the room instead of being blocked by under bed storage boxes. My kitchen cupboards are a dream come true. We no longer have a cable trunk (ok, not quite true, we have fewer cables and they are stored in their own cupboard). My bathroom cabinets are no longer filled with out of date grossness. I now have an extra £375 from selling some of my clutter to spend on lots of new stuff – ha!!!
Here is what I shed this month…
There is still a bit of work to do in my hallway cupboard and a little more organisation in my office but otherwise I may have a decluttering break for a while. And breath!
Katy x
P.S. Join in with the game and get a friend/s to join you – I found posting a pic on my Facebook page every day really helped to keep me focused.
Oh I love the idea of this. Well done, I’m sure your place looks and “feels” great. I usually gather my stuff up in a big heap then do a huge charity shop drop off but sometimes the pile sits for ages in the spare room, this way I’d be forced to clear out daily.
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Yes, I found it loads easier doing it this way because I didn’t have the enormous chore of figuring out with all of it at once. And yes, I totally recognise the ‘pile for charity’ that sits around for months afterwards 😉 x
Love this idea! I love sorting and organising! Makes me feel SO much better afterwards. Also have the charity pile bags! xx