I'm excited to share this week's Minimalist Challenge update! It's crazy to realize all the random crap that I'm been mindlessly accumulating. Oh my word… It's kind of sickening but awesome at the same time to be taking action to end the problem!
Turns out, ACTION = RESULTS = FEEL GREAT.
Since I didn't realize how much junk we've I've been “collecting” I think I want to try to do this Challenge every year. It's turned out to be such a great opportunity to clear out all the un-needed crap, and I love the idea of lightning up our load in the springtime.
So, I started the challenge with just pulling all the obvious items that were just hanging around out in the open and got a pretty good amount of stuff to get rid of by using that method. Soon though I'm going to have to tackle the more densely populated junk areas if I'm going to be able to make it through The Challenge.
Oh! And Aaron is participating too but he's not taking pictures of the things he's getting rid of so at the end of the 30 days we'll have a big ol' garage sale to try to make some cash off this stuff! So for most of the items when it says SELL that's what I mean, that I'm going to try to sell the items at the yard sale first and then if it doesn't sell, depending on what it is, I'll either try to sell it elsewhere or I will donate it.
Today I'm going to give you the Day 3 through Day 12 progress report so with these items the total number of things I've been able to get rid of has risen to: 78!
Day 3, Get rid of 3 things:
- SELL – Name badges with lanyard
- SELL – Empty capsules. From that one time when our doula encapsulated my placenta in our kitchen and then I ate it. Lol. TMI, much?
- TRASH – Paint color swatches
Day 4, Get rid of 4 things:
- DONATE – Bag of soaps, shampoos, and conditioners. We'll be donating these to a women's domestic violence shelter.
- TRASH – Empty yogurt container with a lid. I usually save these things for random projects or leftovers but they seem to breed like rabbits. We constantly have 5 or so on hand so, yeah don't need it.
- TRASH – Party hat print out. If/when I ever need to make a party hat I'll just Google it and print it out at the time I need it.
- TRASH – Print out of questions to ask kids as they grow throughout the years. Yeah, too much clutter to keep for 18 years!
Day 5, Get rid of 5 things: (I can't count apparently;) so there are 6 items in the picture)
- DONATE – Salmon fillets. We were generously given these after Henry's birth in November and I think that if we were going to eat them we would've done so by now. They've been frozen the whole time so we're going to see if our friends or neighbors want them.
- SELL – Tea boxes x 3. I really like the idea of tea but I don't like drinking it, turns out. I do know, for sure, that I like the idea of drinking coffee since I do that everyday so I'm gonna go ahead and stick with coffee and let my tea drinking dreams drift away.
- TRASH – Large bag of used powdered sugar and large bag of used cinnamon and sugar. From that one time I made biscuit donuts (they were amazing and so easy! I used this donut-making tutorial in case you're interested in getting in on that donut-y goodness).
Day 6, Get rid of 6 things:
- TRASH – Dark chocolate bar with almonds. Again, this is one of those things that I like the idea of more than the reality of. Just give me the milk chocolate! I'm not eating that dark chocolate (I like it in certain situations just not this one;)! I bought that chocolate bar for $2 from a girl doing a fundraiser and I've been struggling through trying to eat that dang thing for the last 6 months now.
- SELL – Bandana. Never wear it. Don't need it.
- TRASH – Rotten banana. Aaron doesn't think I should be able to count this towards my items total but I'm doing it anyway. (Actually, I ended up not throwing it away but freezing it to make a banana smoothie.)
- SELL – Travel coffee mug. Got this from my old job's Lost and Found box. It's served me well but I just don't need it anymore.
- SELL – Water bottle x 2. These breed like rabbits too. Coloradoans are ALL ABOUT their water but we really don't need as many water bottles as we have so these two are outta here!
Day 7, Get rid of 7 things:
- SELL – Boots. These are actually the boots that I bought right after the Spending Fast ended. I dreamed about getting new boots and then I got them and they were disappointing. I actually don't think I've even worn them but once or twice since I've owned them. I can tell you that I got way more joy out of doing the Spending Fast and paying off my debt than I EVER got out of those (or any other) boots! Lesson learned!
- SELL – Books x 6. These awesome books should be loved by a new family.
Day 8, Get rid of 8 things:
- SELL – Clothes x 7. Ill-fitting or don't feel good in these.
- DONATE – Sweater poncho. Have never worn it.
Day 9, Get rid of 9 things:
- SELL – Vintage blanket. I LOVE this blanket — the color, the vibe, all of it! — but we have never even used it! Not even once! 🙁
- GIVE TO FRIEND – Large mirror
- DONATE – Shampoo, conditioner, gel, makeup remover pads, and travel-size toiletries x 3. Giving these to the women's shelter too.
Day 10, Get rid of 10 things:
- SELL – Baseball hat, fuzzy socks x 2, sneakers, heel boots, belts x 4, scarf. Don't use these things anymore.
Day 11, Get rid of 11 things:
- SELL – Magnetic clips, foam foundation, nail polish, sunglasses, hair pick, nail-polish remover
- RETURN – Eyeshadow set. I got this set from Sephora when I was feeling splurge-y and like I wanted to be adventurous with my makeup. I've only used it about one time so I'm going to try to return it. They seem to have a good (read: lenient) return policy so might as well give it a try!
- TRASH – Bar of used soap, probiotic tablets, receipts
- DONATE – Travel-sized shampoo
Day 12, Get rid of 12 things:
- TRASH – Disposable shower cap, broken Ban.do pin
- SELL – Teasing comb, top knot “donut”, travel-size hand cream, perfume, bag of hair ties, face cream, hair styling creams x 3, sunglasses
My SELL and DONATE bins are already filling up fast and it feels so good!
Read the other posts about The Minimalist Challenge intro and the last update.
Are you doing the Minimalist Challenge too? If so, how has it been going for you?
P.S. Looking to declutter and minimize? CLICK HERE to learn about the Fearless Minimalist Guide