I’m pleased to announce that I’ve completed the 30 day minimalism game and now I have 465 less items in my posession.
Was it worth it? Definitely! My home feels lighter and I learned some unexpected lessons along the way.
Is it over? No, not quite, but more on that later.
When I decided to take on the minimlaism game as part of my Year of Letting Go, I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. I wandered into the challenge with rose-tinted spactacles, thinking how easy it would be to get rid of a bunch of items every day. But my thinking didn’t go beyond that.
It never occurred to me how I’d get rid of my pre-loved items, the random attachments I’d have to the most bizarre things, or the brick wall I’d hit half way through the challenge when I arrived home feeling drained from a day at work, yet needing to meet my decluttering quota.
The 30 day minimalism game has certainly been a journey which has evolved beyond decluttering. Here are a few unexpected lessons I’ve learned along the way.
1. Creating space in my external world also created internal space
As I removed items from my external world, I found my internal world simultaneously opening up. Instead of rushing round and ticking items off my to-do list, I found myself craving silence and stillness.
At times this was at odds with completing the challenge. After work, I’d find myself craving the space to curl up with a book or do some yoga, but instead I had to meet my daily item quota… And on the days I was tired, it took forever – decision fatigue is very real!
But there was a certain calming effect in paring my items down and creating more space within my home. And my mind became much quieter during the process.
2. Increased self-awareness
Another unexpected result of the minimalism game arrived in the form of me becoming more self-aware. I like to think that I’m a pretty self-aware person, but this was different. It arose in the form of ‘noticing’. I started to notice when I was mindlessly filling the void. This took many forms, such as scrolling through social media, searching for podcasts, finding snacks or looking for something to watch on tv.
It was fascinating to notice how I was looking for ‘something’ (anything!) to fill the space. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we live in a world where we’re rarely bored. But just imagine if we gave in to that boredom and allowed ourselves to welcome it – I wonder what we could create if we let it guide us?
3. Sustainable decluttering isn’t easy (especially in a lockdown!)
So without considering the implications, I decided to embark upon the minimalism game during lockdown. This created an extra challenge, especially as I wanted to send as few items to landfill as possible. So I had to get creative.
My solutions involved giving items away to friends, family or local people; filling charity collection bags; recycling, repurposing and selling some items. I wrote a post about my ventures into sustainable decluttering, so I won’t rewrite it here. In summary, it wasn’t as easy as it would have been pre-lockdown but I did manage to get around it.
4. A realisation of what is enough
I’m not sure if it’s a realisation or more of a recalibration, but the challenge has made me realise how much I have. One Sunday evening, I started to write my weekly shopping list and as I looked through the cupboards I realised that I still had plenty of food, so I decided to leave it for another week.
It’s something I would never have done previously, the scarcity mindset would have kicked in (or perhaps FOMO on Aldi’s middle-aisle deals!) but I actually enjoyed having the extra hour to myself. And to be honest, I didn’t feel like I was depriving myself of food at all that week. I still had plenty of vegetables, both fresh and frozen and I baked cakes and biscuits on the weekends as I had no chocolate stash.
So who knows, maybe fortnightly shopping trips are on the cards for the future.
Similarly, I’ve not found myself wanting to buy books. Because I’m more aware of what I have, I know I’ve got plenty to read to keep me going and I have a strange feeling of contentment with what I already own (and believe me, it is strange as I’m a bit of a book hoarder!).
Minimalism game review
So I’ve learned a few unexpected lessons from the minimalism game. It was a very grounding experience and had as much impact internally as it did externally. Moving forward, I’ll be more mindful about what I bring into my life and will continue to consciously let go of what I don’t need.
I’ve also decided that for February’s Year of Letting Go challenge, I’m going to do a digital declutter, so watch out for more on that in a future post.
If you’re feeling inspired to play the minimalism game yourself, here are a few suggested adaptations that you may find helpful…
- Don’t do it in chronological order – give yourself the option of mixing it up a bit. For example, on your busy days get rid of the lower number of items and on your quieter days tackle the larger amounts. A grid labelled 0-30 would be useful for this and you can tick them off as you go along.
- Allow yourself 30 days to get the items out of your home. This idea came from fellow blogger, Kat, at A Chat with Kat who attempted her own version of the minimalism game where she aimed to declutter 100 items in just 1 day. I like this idea as it allows more ‘wriggle room’ to get rid of items sustainably, either through donating or re-homing them.
- Work through one area at a time. I found it easier to focus on one room or area at a time. It made the process much quicker too.
- Struggling to let go? Set yourself a target amount of money you’d like to make from the challenge, either for yourself or to donate to charity. Sometimes we need that extra incentive.
- Make your challenge public. If I hadn’t posted my progress on my social media accounts then it would have been so much easier to give up. If you don’t do social media, then find yourself an accountability partner.
Handing over the baton
So I’ve finished my part of the 30 day minimalism challenge and I’m handing over the baton to the lovely Sarah of BirdByBird, give her a follow on Instagram or check out her Etsy store. Sarah, it’s over to you.
Image courtesy of Dave Hoefler on Unsplash.