A new month is on the horizon, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to start a new activity. This 31 Days of Minimalism Chart (made by yours truly) is for myself and others who want to remain consistent in practicing mindfulness in our daily lives.
This activity was meant to be not too rigorous, so if you’re just now getting into minimalism or if you’ve done a bunch of decluttering and downsizing already, this may come to your advantage. This chart serves as a gentle reminder that minimalism is a constant work in progress. We can easily continue practicing minimalism in our daily lives by adjusting our mindsets to live more consciously by surrounding ourselves with thoughts, feelings, and actions that bring us purpose and peace.
So as each day passes this coming month, try one of the activities in each square and cross them out as you go along. Remember: on this chart, you don’t have to complete everything in consecutive order. Also, don’t feel bad if you can’t complete everything in one month. Just try your best and keep your intentions in mind while going through each task.
As always, I love hearing from you. So please let me know if you try this challenge either in the comments or on your social media networks with the hashtag #31daysofeasyminimalism.
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!
