With all the things I'm getting rid of, I would expect the house to feel empty! Of course, lots of the items are small enough to fit in my hand, so the impact is gradual. Even so, this minimalism game is motivating me to keep purging junk, which will make it easier to find the things we need and keep the house clean.
My husband and I stood together in the garage the other day and considered some purging that we'll be doing in there this weekend. Days 21 and 22 should be a cinch since I'll have a team working with me! My husband will make sure that all of the children pitch in for the garage project!. Once the garage is purged and reorganized (and the ceiling and one wall painted), it will make getting in and out of the vehicle more comfortable and will make the tools, bicycles, and lawn mower much more accessible. In addition, it will look nicer and will be a welcoming place to drive into when I come home.
So, here are my decluttering accounts for days 13 to 17.
Day 13:
(1-12, trash!)
1-10 Pile of threadbare, holey cloth napkins that actually were
in the washing machine. As I was moving things to the dryer, I thought,
"Why are we keeping these? I have new ones with no holes!"
11-12 Facecloths that were threadbare, too.
13 A skort that I never wear (going to a friend)
Day 14:
(1-9 are in a bag to donate to Goodwill)
1-3 Skirts
4-6 Dresses
7-9 Sweaters
10-14 plant trays (3) and a bunch of empty "six
packs" from plants, recycled
Day 15
1-3. Two water bottles and a belt for running--given to a
friend who will use them!
4. Work ID from former employer, 2005
5. Refrigerator magnet
6. "Hallmark" book (basically an extended
greeting card)
7-9. Cubic zirconia necklace and two pairs of earrings
10-15.
Other costume jewelry (pin and several pairs of earrings).
Day 16
1-16 Medicine cabinet and linen closet purge of
"lotions and potions"! Samples
of hair product that I'll never use, old nail polish (some that my daughter contributed to the cause!), multiple packets of mineral oil and a packet of
oatmeal bath stuff from the 1990s.
Day 17
1-3 rags that have seen better days
4-7 several of my youngest son's 3rd grade workbooks
8-12 more HBA stuff
13 Dried up Mod Podge
14-17 T-shirts of mine that were so old, floppy, and ugly
that I wouldn't even wear them to garden or paint.
Almost everything I've purged the last few days is trash that I've been ignoring. The game is making it so much easier to toss, toss, toss!
As I write, I'm noticing that my office holds many items that we never use and that my tiny desk is a big mess. The office will be my decluttering focus for the next few days. Purging and then organizing this space is essential if I'm going to conquer my distracted nature when I am working!
In addition to being a homeschooling mom and a blogger, I teach a college composition class and am a freelance writer. I've written articles mostly for Catholic websites, but my personal goal is to write a novel. In fact, I hope to write many novels, but the trick is to finally finish one! I have started and quit NaNoWriMo several times (November is always too busy for me), so I'm hoping to finally write my first complete novel during Camp NaNoWriMo this July.
Who knows, the Minimalism Game may just inspire the focus I need to stick with the writing project for the entire month!
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