Category: January 2021

30-Day Minimalism Game

I dare you to give this a shot.

I discovered this game when I joined a group on Facebook called Beginner Minimalists. Several members in the group were posting about this decluttering challenge, which involves getting rid of one item on day one, two items on day two, three items on day three, and so on. I saw several posts from members who were looking for a partner to hold them accountable, and there were tons of before-and-after pictures of their progress around their homes, offices and cubicles, in their cars, and literally anywhere they spend their daily lives. It was a wildly popular topic in this group of 10.5k people, and it sparked my curiosity for sure.

The original 30-Day Minimalism Game was created by Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn, also known as The Minimalists. They recommend that you partner up with a friend, family member, or co-worker who is willing to minimize their stuff with you over the next month; however, I decided to try this on my own. I felt pretty confident in holding myself accountable for getting rid of unused or unwanted things.  

The rules of the game: each player gets rid of one item on the first day of the month, then two items on the second day, then three items on the third day, so on and so forth. By midnight of each day, the items should be moved out of the home whether donated, sold, recycled, or thrown away. By the time you’ve finished the entire challenge, you should have a total of 465 items removed from your home.

This may sound intimidating at first, but the challenge doesn’t really have any strict rules. “Anything goes”, they said. I figured that my “one item” can be anything from a candy wrapper to an entire couch. However, most of the items I ended up getting rid of were clothes, accessories, various papers, and kitchen items. You can determine what counts as your one item.

So, I played the game and I tracked my progress. Here’s what I learned along the way:

I shop more than I really need to.

Of course, shopping is inevitable (i.e.: groceries and household necessities). But I’ll admit, I did have a habit of regularly shopping online for non-essential things. This habit of impulse spending (triggered by boredom, mostly) had only gotten worse since the pandemic began. Not to mention, all of the boxes and bubble wrap I brought into the home with those online purchases produced a lot of waste. About a fifth of the items I got rid of during the 30-day minimalism game were from online purchases. 

I’ve decided to be more mindful with my spending online. Now, if I see something I want, I’ll add it to a wish list or bookmark it for a week before I decide buy it. By doing this, I’ve found that most of the time, I’ll either forget about it or delete it. This lessens the impulse spending tremendously and will save some space and cash in the long run.

There was junk in places I completely forgot about.

I found stuff in places that I don’t access very often like junk drawers, underneath beds and couches, kitchen and bathroom sink cabinets, and boxes full of things my in storage closet to name a few. It felt like there was an endless amount of things that I was holding onto that I hadn’t used in years. Clearing these places out made room for newer items that needed a decent storage place in the home.

Letting go of things wasn’t the hard part, but rediscovering the things that I had attached old memories to was.

I had mentioned in a previous blog post that sometimes people have a hard time with letting go of clutter out of guilt, fear, or other complex thoughts or feelings. This wasn’t the case with me, but I did have a Pandora’s Box type of moment when I stumbled upon a bunch of greeting cards and photos from my ex’s family and some friends that I no longer speak to. Seeing these items only brought out invasive, negative thoughts. I had no reason to keep them in my home any longer, so I let them go (with gratitude, of course).

Giving my things away to help others felt very liberating.

During the midst of a pandemic, it felt empowering to show solidarity and support to local businesses, charities, and individuals who might need a little extra help. I went through two local (NorCal) companies in particular. I sold several articles of clothing and accessories to Freestyle Clothing, a local vendor that gives you cash or store credit for your items. I also donated several gently used items to WEAVE, Inc., a crisis intervention service provider for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County.

I highly encourage giving back to your communities whenever possible. There are so many amazing companies out there, so do some research around your home town and see what you can find.

I didn’t finish the challenge, but still felt accomplished.

In total, I got rid of 402 items. With all things considered, it was still a very eye-opening experience.

If you decide to try this challenge, The Minimalists have their own free downloadable calendar from their site if you sign up for mailing list, but I found another printable worksheet from Let’s Live and Learn that I prefer to use. Whichever one you decide to use, make sure to track your progress and be proud of what you accomplish. Also, use the hashtag #minsgame to share your progress on your networks if you choose to do so.

Good luck, and feel free to leave a comment below about what you’ve learned along the way!

Letting Go of Holiday Gift Clutter

This is for those of you who aren’t quite done yet with post-holiday cleanup around the home. Don’t feel bad if this is the case. 2021 has already been a hectic year and we’re only a little over two weeks into January. But if you want to start a productive home project for the new year, I recommend getting rid of excess holiday gift clutter if you haven’t already done so.

To be frank, holiday gift clutter includes the gifts that we’ve received over the holidays that don’t do much for us other than take up unnecessary space. There’s two kinds of holiday gift clutter: 1) the items that we love but need to make space for, and; 2) the gifts that we have zero intention of using or putting out on display. The process of decluttering holiday gifts includes getting rid of older, unused household items to make room for the new things that we have every intention of using as well as ethically getting rid of the gifts that we have zero intention of using. This process can help prevent a bunch of stuff from being unused, wasted, and forgotten.

Getting rid of holiday gift clutter can be a fairly easy task for many of us; but for others, this may be an overwhelming process. For complex psychological reasons, some of us hold onto things out of guilt or worry that we may appear unappreciative or that we are somehow causing harm to the gift giver. While understandable, please remember that gifts are not people, and gifts are not the sum the relationship between two (or more) people.

With this in mind, remember to always openly express gratitude to the gift giver regardless of what you receive. We should always be grateful for the friend, the family member, or the colleague who wanted to express their appreciation for us. But also remember: it is better to honor the gift giver’s intentions by putting those items to good use rather than having them not being used to their fullest potential. Keep the things you will absolutely use or keep the things you absolutely cherish. You can let the rest go in gratitude without shame. Remember to also be honest about your wants and needs for future gift-giving occasions amongst friends and family if you want to pursue a more minimalist lifestyle.

Below is a list of ways on how to clear out some of that holiday gift clutter (without the guilt or the burnout).

  • Don’t wait too long to de-clutter for the holidays. Dragging things out can make any task feel daunting. I recommend completing all of your holiday clean-up tasks before the end of January, if possible. 
  • Space out and designate your cleaning times throughout the week. This helps tremendously if you have a bigger home, an overwhelming amount of clutter, or both. Try to save the bigger tasks for your days off. Also, try decluttering smaller, easier items throughout the week. Set a timer for each task from start to finish to help stay focused and avoid burnout. 
  • Designate your cleaning zones. Rather than running around from room to room collecting miscellaneous holiday clutter, take it one zone at a time. Define your home’s specified areas (i.e.; entryways, rooms, dining areas, outdoor spaces, etc.) and take care of each zone from start to end. This can help us avoid feeling overwhelmed with each task.
  • Toss the obvious trash.To me, this is the easiest clean-up task before putting away the bigger items. Dispose of any used packaging items that won’t be used again such as boxes, used wrapping paper, and ribbons. I strongly encourage you to recycle, if possible. 
  • Use the one-in, two out rule. This rule implies that for every one new item that is brought into the home, two similar items are moved out of the home. For example: for every brand new sweater I earn for Christmas, I find another home for two sweaters that I no longer need. With regard to your unwanted gifts or your older “two-outs” from around the home, consider selling, donating, returning, or even re-gifting them for another occasion. (Pro-tip: only re-gift brand new, unopened items.)
  • Finally, go through your cards and letters and decide which ones to keep and which ones to toss. For the ones that you want to keep, you can get creative with them by putting them in picture frames, photo albums, or scrapbooks. (I don’t recommend putting them in boxes. From my personal experience, I’ve found that boxes just take up more unnecessary space, so I use them sparingly.)

Essentially, your home is your sanctuary, so you decide what goes in and out of it. Be devoted to your space and honor your boundaries by keeping the practical and cherished items, but feel free to let the rest go in gratitude. I strongly believe that we should remember these rules in every aspect of our lives—not just for decluttering our homes.

A Letter of Hopeful Intentions

Dear Reader,

Hi. I’m Jessica Michelle. I’m a survivor of year 2020. And if you’re reading this, so are you. Welcome.

Through a series of unfortunate events from that year, I rediscovered my love for home decorating. This hobby of mine unexpectedly became a healthy outlet for me during a time where I struggled with my own personal frustrations and hopelessness. A significant part of that process was getting rid of the household items that I no longer needed or wanted. Oftentimes these unwanted items were attached to a negative thought or memory. So with careful consideration, I decided to purge those negative and impractical things from my home and from my life. Eventually, I found a new appreciation for the extra space I had in my apartment and I began surrounding myself with carefully selected items that I valued the most. Seeing these valued treasures around the home reminded me of not only who I am, but also, who I hope to become. This enabled me to refocus my boundaries and refine my purpose in life, which is a continuous process. So to keep myself motivated, I’ve decided to start a blog on how to live a minimalist lifestyle. 

On its surface, minimalism means getting rid of the unwanted clutter from our surroundings; however, practicing minimalism in our daily lives is not strictly limited to getting rid of tangible things. This can look like clearing, storing, or even transforming the things or ideas that take up space in our lives. One of my favorite quotes about minimalism is from Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist. He defines minimalism as “…the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” To me, this means setting a boundary between keeping what is needed or cherished versus getting rid of what is impractical or unnecessary.

I used to picture minimalism as white walls, modern Scandinavian furniture, and maybe a capsule closet with no more than 20 items inside. And everything is overpriced. No, the minimalism tips and tricks that I will be promoting here does not romanticize the kind of minimalism exclusively for the wealthy elite or trendy Instagram gurus. The kind of minimalism that I want to promote is achievable by all. 

“Minimalism is about intentionality, not deprivation.”

D. Stojanivic

It is also important to acknowledge that our values can look quite different from one another. A minimalist lifestyle does not have one singular look to it, and it may change frequently depending on our circumstances. This can be an immensely personal matter that requires a deep understanding of who you are, where you currently are in life, and your own core values.  It is a process that requires careful consideration and should not be done out of impulsivity or excessiveness. And while a minimalist lifestyle may not be for everyone, I believe a that some of its basic principals are achievable to those who seek it.

So, with all things considered, I will be blogging bi-weekly about miscellaneous topics revolving around the following objectives:

  • Less clutter, more space
    • Less debt, more savings
      • Less stress, more health
        • Less oversight, more intention

Practicing minimalism in our daily lives can help us adjust our mindsets to live more consciously by surrounding ourselves with the items that bring us purpose and peace. It is my hope that this blog inspires you to define what you value most and to live a more purpose-driven lifestyle. And please, feel free to reach out and contact me by either leaving a comment or by reaching me on one of my social networks if you have any ideas on what minimalism looks like to you, or the things that make your life easier and more efficient. I am always eager to hear from you.

Wishing you a better year than the last one. Cheers!

Sincerely,

Jessica Michelle