The Minimalist Challenge

I participated in a minimalist challenge in September. Every month, The Minimalists invite their followers to play the 30-Day Minimalism Game. On the first day of the month, you get rid of one thing. On the second day, two things. This continues day after day, and becomes more difficult when you’re releasing 15 items, then 16, then 17…you get the idea. The goal is to remove 465 items from your home in 30 days.

I’ve considered accepting this challenge in the past, but I didn’t think I could do it. “This is for hard-core minimalists,” I thought, “not someone like me.” But then I saw The Minimalists on the Rachel Cruze Show back in August. (Rachel Cruze is Dave Ramsey’s daughter and the author of Love Your Life, Not Theirs.) They challenged Rachel and she agreed to play the game. I thought, “Rachel Cruze isn’t a minimalist. If she can do it, so can I!”

Was I successful? Not entirely. Was it beneficial? Absolutely! When I take on a project, I tend to do as much work as possible all at once. I’m not one to do a little bit each day. Knowing this about myself, I decided to do a weekly purge rather than a daily one. Purged items went into donation boxes in my garage. I kept a running count and met weekly milestones: 28 items in the first week, 77 in the second, 126 in the third. At the end of week two, Hurricane Florence blew through South Carolina, giving me plenty of time to purge while I was stuck in the house for four days. Then life got back to normal, and my priorities shifted a bit.

I ran out of steam on September 23rd. I didn’t run out of items to remove, I just ran out of stamina. The game becomes very challenging when you’re eliminating more than 20 items daily. Still, I did remove 260 items from my home, so I’ll count that as a victory! About 60 (small) items went in the trash/recycling. I sold two pieces of furniture. I donated a few home decor items to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore and gave 30 pieces of kids’ clothing to a local charity called Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Surprisingly, the rest of the stuff fit in five medium-sized boxes that I donated to the National Kidney Foundation’s local thrift store. When you imagine 260 items, it seems like a lot, but when you fit those things into a few boxes, it doesn’t look like much at all.

If you’re thinking about playing the 30-Day Minimalism Game, give it a go! Don’t worry about whether or not you’ll continue through the entire month. Be content with whatever progress you make. Slow progress is better than no progress!

For anyone who is curious about what I purged, here is the list:

• 1 red ball
• 1 slap bracelet
• 17 Pokemon cards (They accidentally went through the wash. Oops!)
• 1 acne cream sample
• 1 Spot-it game
• 4 glass Coke bottles
• 2 packs non-slip pads
• 1 “J” cookie cutter
• 4 notebooks
• 2 folders
• 6 workbooks
• 1 foam dinosaur
• 1 pair flip-flops
• 1 license plate holder
• 1 water table
• 12 magazines
• 2 plastic container covers
• 2 soap dishes
• 1 jar bath salts
• 1 pencil holder
• 1 VHS movie
• 8 DVDs
• 2 CDs
• 1 piece wall decor
• 5 ceramic elephants
• 10 Christmas tins
• 8 kitchen items
• 50 books
• 30 pieces kids’ clothing
• 2 towel bars
• 1 toilet paper holder
• 3 valances
• 2 beach towels
• 3 tote bags
• 1 hat
• 1 table
• 1 desk
• 1 chair
• 2 pairs shoes
• 6 card games
• 1 water bottle
• 2 mugs
• 1 place mat
• 1 keyboard
• 30 toy cars/trucks
• 21 miscellaneous toys
• 4 bath toys

Total = 260 items

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