There are times where I just want to let it all go. Pack up the absolute essentials and head out on the open road with what I can carry in a backpack.
We actually did that for 4 months in 2013 and by the end of it... all I wanted to do was to settle down in a house and surround myself with the comforts of home. Sooo... selling everything and hitting the road probably isn't the answer.
Every few months though... my partner and I both go through phases where we are in massive "declutter mode". Wewant to let things go! Sometimes we let go of a fair bit... sometimes we don't. Because... as you know... there is always more stuff coming in the door.
The Minimalists
We watched a Netflix documentary the other day, The Minimalists. We'd actually seen the show before but... were in the mood for a bit of decluttering inspiration. If you've not heard of The Minimalists... it's two guys from the USA, Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Both men have embraced minimalism... the idea that stuff does not make us happy. In fact it makes us desperately unhappy. And a lot of our stuff takes energy away from the things that actually do make us happy.
Joshua tells the story of dealing with his mother's possessions after she died of cancer. Overwhelmed by the decades worth of stuff that she had accumulated, Joshua was just going to pack it all up into a U-Haul and put it in a storage locker... to be dealt with someday.
But then he had an epiphany... realizing that the memories of his mother did not live in her stuff. They lived in him. He cancelled the U-Haul and donated or gave away all of her possessions, just keeping a few sentimental items.
He took that insight and changed his life... for the better. Joshua started decluttering his possessions, one day at a time, one thing at a time.
Joshua's life-long friend, Ryan, upon seeing how happy his friend was, asked him what had happened. Joshua told him about minimalism and Ryan signed up immediately. But Ryan didn't want to do it slow and steady, he wanted to do it all at once. So Joshua and Ryan packed up all of Ryan's possessions into boxes (well-labelled boxes) and for the next 3 weeks, if Ryan needed something... bedding, a spatula, a toothbrush, a business suit... he went and looked for it in the boxes and took it out to use it. At the end of the three weeks... 80% of his possessions were still in the boxes!
The 80/20 Rule Strikes Again
It would seem that Ryan's little experiment confirms what's known as the 80/20 rule. That we use 80% of our stuff only 20% of the time... and that we use 20% of our stuff for 80% of the time. When I think about it that way... a lot of the stuff in our house makes sense.
The dehydrator that we bought from Cabela's two (maybe three) years ago and only used for a few days that first year. Or the pressure canner that we bought four (maybe five) years ago and have never used. Or how about the mitre box and saw that I bought several years ago when we needed to do mitre joints on our 4" baseboards. Used it for a few days and then... never again. There's a lot of stuff in that 80% grouping that we definitely use less than 20% of the time... like probably less than 0.1% of the time!
Ahhhh... I can hear it now... we "might" need that thing some day. A lot of these things are useful objects... true. And if we haven't used the pressure canner in the last five years... what makes me think that we will use it this year? Perhaps it's time to put an expiry date on some of these things. A sticker that would say "If you don't use this by March 31, 2024), it is going out the door!" That might work... or at least... it would be an interesting experiment.
But then there are other things that are less useful and more decorative... or things that are just handy to have around for when we do need them. Like printer labels. I do need them on occasion and it would be a real hassle if I didn't have any labels and had to run down to Staples and buy a package of them... just for a few labels. Because even then... I'd then have a package of labels left over and... well... that's what's in my office cupboard already! So there's really no point in letting them go. Unless there are labels that I know I'll never use.
Seeeee... I can easily provide reasons for keeping almost everything! But... Joshua and Ryan have a technique... even for someone like me.
30 Day Minimalism Game
The 30 Day Minimalism Game is super simple. On Day 1, you let go of one thing. And if you want to thank the thing for how it has served you in the past (or brought you joy)... then do that (a la Marie Kondo!). All you have to let go is one thing. You can list it on Marketplace... or give it away to a friend... or donate it to a thrift store... or if it's broken... toss it in the trash or recycling.
Then, on Day 2, you let go of two things. I could start splitting hairs here and ask... sooo... is a pair of socks one thing... or two things?? Hmmm... getting pretty desperate!
On Day 3, you let go of three things... and on it goes.
And if you're wondering how many things you actually will be letting go
of if you finish the game... then it is... 465. That's not too bad, is
it? But I will say this... 465 pieces of paper does NOT count! Hmph...
And a pack of labels (maybe there's 100 in there) only counts as one
thing...
Let's just be grateful the number of things goes up by 1 each day and doesn't double or something... By Day 10, you'd be looking for 512 things to give away... just on that day! And Day 11... with 1024 things to let go of... well... that might seem like an enormous amount of things. But studies have shown that the average American household has 300,000 things in it. Soooo... maybe we do have some buffer to deal with!
I've toyed with the idea of doing the 30 Day Minimalism Game before and while I could probably do the first week easy-peasy... I'm not so sure about the last three weeks. But... you know what... I'm up for a challenge or two!
Wanna Play??
Alright... so today is... Wednesday February 22, 2023. I am going to start the challenge today... and it will end on Thursday March 23, 2023. Every Wednesday, I will write a blog post with a list of all the things that I have purged over the previous seven days... with photos.
It honestly seems easy to me... but I've been reading some blogs of other fans of The Minimalists who have only made it to Day 26 or Day 20... and I do wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew. But you know what... hey... let's give it a try.
Now, Joshua and Ryan say this is WAY more fun if you do it with a friend soooo... anyone up for joining me on this game?? Leave a comment on this blog... or a comment in Facebook or Instagram... let's do this! And just so you know... I'm not competitive in the least... heh-heh...
And if you're wondering what counts...
Anything goes...
Decorations
Kitchenware
Electronics
Furniture
Bedding
Clothes
Towels
Games
Tools
Toys
Just remember... a bundle of empty envelopes counts as 1 thing... not 20! But 5 shirts or 5 cables count as 5 things. Let's keep it reasonable!
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