What I Let Go of During the Last Three Days of the Minimalism Game

Right then. The last 3 days of the 30 Day Minimalism Challenge!!

If you've been following along, you can find my earlier blog posts here:

• Week 0 - Playing the 30 Day Minimalism Game
• Week 1 - What I let go of...
• Week 2 - What I let go of...
• Week 3 - What I let go of...
• Week 4 - What I let go of...

This post got a bit delayed because I came down with a nasty sinus cold and just conked out for 10 days but... it is done! I had to dive into the shed and the tool closet to find the 28, 29 and 30 things to declutter. This was brutally hard, these last few days but... it 's done!

Day 28

2 fabric planters - one of which was chewed to pieces by rats, so is not pictured

1 wand watering thing we have never used...

1 very old, very sad patio umbrella (broken)

2 broken saw horses

1 broken plastic container

4 thrashed gloves

1 bag of dead scrubbies

1 bundle of rusted wire

1 rope ladder

1 old goblet

1 broken faucet protector

2 - hammer head and ax head

2 old gloves (found the other one after this pic taken)

1 yogurt container

1 boating emergency kit

2 balls

1 broken compost bucket

1 kite

1 old patio cushion

1 thrashed entrance mat

Day 29

These last 2 days were super hard but... with the help of the tool closet... I got there...

2 broken zero-gravity chairs

3 packages electrical and light switch weather-proofing bits

3 baggies with screw cap thingies

3 bits of bike helmet padding and clips

3 sets of closet door bits

5 thingies - bag with string, handle with string, package of wires, package of small bungy cords, 1 loose bungy cord

5 thingies - bag with closet feet bits, bag with electrical plug, package light socket thingie, baggie with curtain rod bits, baggie with piece of drywall for paint comparison

5 thingies - pile of rando bits, pile of wooden bits, some window track locks, baggie with drywall plugs, baggie with old doorbell

And that's 29!

Day 30

More things from the tool closet!

3 yellowy outlet covers

2 sets pegboard holders

5 thingies - cover, package drywall plugs, baggie curtain bits, package with hinge, over the door hook

5 thingies - weird electrical extender, old faucet cap, envelope with felt protectors that are no longer sticky, water-saving shower head, saw hole kit

5 electrical covers

5 thingies - 3 dead rags, 1 package cabinet screws, 1 package with 2 GFCA outlets

1 wall mirror

1 roll of various poster sheets

1 picture

1 bulletin board (not pictured - already in car)

1 outdoor solar light (broken - in garbage already)

CONCLUSION

Well, this has been very interesting. The first 2 weeks, into week 3 were very doable. But the final week, particularly the final 3 days were brutal! But... we did get rid of a lot of stuff. The shed and tool closet were very fruitful areas for decluttering. Some of the stuff in the tool closet... I didn't even know what that stuff was!

There is more to declutter too... I could spend a bit more time in the tool closet and let go of various old tools and other things that we have no use for. And there is the behind-the-shed space which is also very fruitful.

Oh... and we let go of a bunch of pampas grass plumes! Forgot to even mention those...

I think we will keep doing the decluttering... slowly... over time... it's the small steps that make the biggest difference.

What I Let Go of during Week 3 of the 30 Day Minimalism Game

Alright, let's be honest here. This is getting HARD!! While the first 2 weeks were moderately easy... this third week is when the pedal hit the metal. This week required both my partner and I to do some serious decluttering.

Day 15

First up... we have 1 game, 3 puzzles and 1 meat grinder. 

We also got rid of a stack of egg cartons... 4 of them (yes I am counting them individually... this was a hard week!)

A bag of cloth masks that I bought as part of an SPCA fundraiser during the first months of the pandemic. We all know how cloth masks turned out... so 6 masks.

All for a grand total of 15... I should also mention here that, as the week progressed, we got rid of a bunch of gluten stuff (vital wheat gluten, real bread crumbs, dried bread, couscous, farro, etc) none of which made the photo cut. So if this week seems a bit skimpy... add that in here!

Day 16

This was a solid day... 5 picture frames, 1 black tub, 1 candle holder, 3 binders, 2 bags beading supplies, 1 guest book, 1 sachet of weird tea, 1 set of three movie posters and 1 empty Body shop box. Seeee... coulda counted those movie posters as 3 but... didn't need that today.

Day 17

Note to self... write all this out as I am taking the pic because... this is hard from the photos!! Today we have: 1 set of mugs, 1 bath salts, 1 beading kit, 1 lunchbox, 1 stained glass hanger, 1 candy sucker, 1 empty phone box, 1 set silver boxlets, 1 gold Christmas decoration, 1 pair pic frames, 1 bundle of Christmas jewelry, 1 key ring, 1 baggie beading supplies, 1 tin, 1 bag weird lip balm, 2 yellow mystery objects, 1 incense box. (I could have broken out the jewelry bits - 4 of them - but I can also assign them to Day 15 too!)

Day 18

Another challenging day... 3 small frames, 1 pic holder, 5 CDs, 2 boxes bagua mirrors (in two boxes), 1 packet weird red candy, 1 CD, 1 packet stickers, 1 wall hanging, 1 pic frame, 2 cloth masks.

Day 19

This was another tricky one... so 4 puzzles and then... well... I'm going to have to just say this includes a bundle of paper bags (we didn't count them before they went into the recycle bin) and a variety of food stuffs that just got tossed into the green bin without photos being taken! (ugh!)

Day 20

Today was an interesting day... we are obviously rummaging through kitchen cabinets and finding all sorts of things that have been hanging around for years and that we think we will get to "some day" but... nope!

4 maple syrup bottles, 3 random glass jars, 4 coffee mugs, 3 glass jars with weird tea, 1 jar coconut oil, 1 jar fermented black garlic that a guest gave us (ick), 1 baggie weird tea, 3 big glass jars. And yes... double check and that does add up to 20! 

Day 21 

Alrightee...  2 empty plastic containers, 1 maple syrup bottle, 2 empty jars, 1 small metal jug, 1 bag mystery food item, 3 pineapple peelers (we bought them in SE Asia), 3 aluminium pie plates, 5 glass jars, 1 glass pie dish, 1 smoothie container, 1 canning jar on the pie plates that a stand-in for the couscous that we let go.

And that's a wrap on Week 3. I'm not sure how Week 4+ is going to go. We are really having to dig deep for these ones. Mind you... we still have the garden shed as a back-up and I know that there are some things in there that we can definitely shed (LOL!!).

What I Let Go during Week 1 of the 30 Day Minimalism Game

Alright!!! Let's get this on!!! The first week off the 30 Day Minimalism Game... started off easy peasy... but by the end of it... I can already see that Week 2 is going to be a challenge! Let's see what I let go of this week...

Day 1

First up... a Phase 10 dice game. We love Phase 10 the card game!! But I always said we should be able to play it like Yahtzee... where you have a list of hands you are trying to get and you just check them off. So, when I saw this dice game... I thought it was that. But it wasn't... and we have played this at all since I saw it in a thrift store. Sooo... bye bye! Back to the thrift store it goes!

Do You Want to Play the 30 Day Minimalism Game with Me?

Stuff, Stuff and More Stuff!! Sometimes it seems like we're drowning in stuff! Do we really need all of this stuff? We don't have a garage or a basement or a storage locker... so we probably have less stuff than the average household. But I will tell you this... we have maxed out our closet space with extra shelves! And every shelf and corner seems jam-packed with stuff.

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.