What do you know, the Minsgame is at the halfway point! Not sure what I'm talking about? Check out my introduction to the minimalism challenge here.
Day Ten: 10 Target stuffed dogs and a mini Target basket
Day Eleven: 11 old nail polishes
Day Twelve: 12 x 2 = 24 hair accessories
Day Thirteen: 13 kid items from linen closet
Day Fourteen: 14 pieces of kids outdoor gear
Day Fifteen: 15 kids dishes (& a blender)
Day Sixteen: 16 + 9 = 25 books
Including the first two weeks, my totals:
Official: 136
Unofficial: 397+ (including the 285+ from previous weeks)
{Oh my goodness...I've almost eliminated 400 pieces of clutter from my home. I can't tell you how good that feels.}
There were two areas that I focused on this week: our linen closet and kitchen.
Linen closet. Might as well call it what it really was: our junk closet. I always prided myself on the fact that we didn't have a "junk drawer"...but that was a little misleading because we had an entire junk closet. Our linen closet housed our towels but also medicine and odds and ends. This week I went through it. A couple of observations:
We had a lot of medicine in there. A lot of expired medicine. Going through your medicine cabinet, or wherever you house meds, on a regular basis is a good idea.
- If you're not using something, decide its future right away. Garbage? Recycle? Donate? Sell? Decide AND take action. In every closet/box/space I go through I'm amazed at the stuff that I just stuck someplace and promptly forgot. One example (amongst many) from my linen closet: crib rail protectors. That is something that should have been tossed as soon as the crib was taken down. Because if I don't have a crib, do I need crib rail protectors? I am starting to see this is the source of my clutter: laziness. I simply don't take the time to think about what I'm doing with my stuff. Lesson: be purposeful with what I keep and where I put it.
Kitchen. I knew the kitchen would be big for me. I've gone through my kitchen a couple times in the past five years--once prior to having our first baby in order to make room for bottles and once a few years ago as I cleared out bottles and made room for other baby dishes. But both times were concentrated on one cabinet and not the entire kitchen. Well, that changed last week. A few observations on this space:
In some ways I wish I was getting married now instead of eleven years ago. I would be so much smarter with what I would (and would NOT) register for and with what we would keep. I still have countless wedding gifts that we either haven't used or have barely used since getting married. Up to this point so many of those have been stored for use "someday" or to be displayed once we "get a bigger house." Which made me realize: I can't live in clutter now in the hopes that in the future it won't be clutter.
Vases. How many vases does one need? I figure a small one and a bigger one. So, two. Not the 10+ I was storing.
Tupperware. Do I need a cabinet full or a few?
Glassware. Is it necessary to have a different type of glass depending on the beverage? I'm going with no (hence the martini and margarita glassware donation last week). But of course I kept my wine glasses because...Wine.
Coffee Cups: do I need a dozen (or more) sitting in my cabinet when I basically use the same one or two each day?
Small kitchen appliances. An old foreman grill, a small blender, a pancake maker--unnecessary. I will disclose: the blender is small for what I need, I'm currently looking for a bigger one to make smoothies. So, while I am decluttering some things I no longer use, I'm also making room for one thing I want to add to my kitchen. I figure that ratio, 3 to 1, is pretty good.
Teapot. I rarely drink tea and when I do it's by the cup, which I heat up in the microwave. The teapot is pretty but I just don't use it enough to justify keeping it around.
Decluttering has helped clear more than just physical space, it's clearing my mind, as well. The more stuff I purposefully evaluate the calmer I feel. Because I'm not just getting rid of stuff to meet a quota, I'm looking at my possessions and determining their usage. I'm rediscovering things I had forgotten about. And, yes, I'm releasing a very large amount of stuff...and getting lighter with each item that leaves my home.
The four organizers were at a blogging conference together this weekend. We needed to take a pic to commemorate the moment! #minsgameBOSS
A few reminders:
We have an official donation partner for our items! The hosts for this challenge, Laura, Heather, Anthony and I, will all be donating our items to Arc's Value Village. For more than 30 years Arc's has helped make life better for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. You can read more about them here. With five locations around the twin cities there's bound to be one by you. We are so happy to be partnering with such a wonderful organization!
Also, the North Nabe, a newer website devoted to showcasing the best of Minnesota, is featuring us on their site. So, if you have a minutes, go check them out!
Finally--join us! Don't get caught up in the "it's too late to start" way of thinking--there really is no time like the present. Any amount of decluttering is bound to make you feel good. And don't forget, join our Facebook group for motivation, support and lots of ideas!
Don't forget to go check out what your other hosts have to say about their journey so far:
Anthony (Break the Twitch)
Laura (One Girl, Two Cities)
Heather (Simply Save)
xo Sara
P.S. Wanna see where my minimalism journey all began? Here you go. Also, here's week one of this challenge and here's week two.