The Minsgame continues! Not sure what I'm talking about? Check out my introduction to the minimalism challenge here.
Here's what I've gotten rid of so far. I discussed Days 1 and 2 here, if you are curious.
Day Three: 3 bags filled with clothing (145 pieces)
Day Four: 4 Margarita glasses
Day Five: 3 frisbees + 2 books
Day Six: Photo Theme--> 3 albums + 1 set of photo coasters + 1 photo box + 1 "sneak peek" photo frame (a frame meant for a picture of an ultrasound)
Day Seven: Kid Stuff--> 3 rattles + 1 mini chalkboard + 1 ball game + 1 booster seat + 1 dog bag
Day Eight: 8-piece Martini set
Day Nine: 3 books + 2 plastic flower bouquets + 1 candle + 1 recharging station + 1 candle + 1 Randy Foye bobblehead
Including my first couple of days, my totals:
Official Household Total: 45
Unofficial Total: 285+ (including the 145 pieces of clothing and the 100 + empty boxes from Day 2)
For day three, I donated 3 VERY full bags of clothing items from my closet. There was a total of 145 pieces in those bags. It felt so good to get stuff out of my closet that was literally just taking up space. Stuff that was unwearable (holes, stains) that I thought "maybe one day I'll fix these..."; stuff that I haven't worn in years (like since HS: 20 years!); and stuff that didn't fit anymore, but I would always think, "maybe someday." But would someday ever come? Why was I really hanging on to some of these things?
By clearing out those things, I made my closet ten times more manageable. I'm no longer sifting through things I don't want to wear in order to find the stuff I like. I can actually see (and easily access) the stuff I WANT to wear, the things that make me feel good now, not the stuff that used to make me feel good. Because you know what would happen when I would go through my closet and see all the clothing that didn't fit anymore? I would feel bad and not good enough. By those clothes hanging in my closet I was sending myself a subliminal message: "You are ok, but you'd be better if you could wear these pants again. You need to get back to this."
Decluttering my closet has resulted in so much negative energy being released and that's something I want more of. This is just one example of what I'm actually GAINING by eliminating things. I can't tell you the difference this has made on my mood as I'm deciding what to wear. I want to wear what I love and what I feel good in. Now my closet reflects that.
*****
A couple of exciting announcements regarding this challenge:
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!
We also 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!
Finally--join us! If you are already, great! If you aren't but are considering it, there's no time like the present. There are even some options for starting later in the month--start with the current day and then continue past the end of the month and into December until you've done all 30 days; double up on days (ie: do day 1 + the current day; day 2 + tomorrow; etc); or just start today and go to the end of the month. 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!
