Category: Minimalist Challenge

Minimalist Challenge: An Update Part 1

3/2/2015

Has it really been an entire month since I last posted? Time flies when it's freezing in Cleveland I guess! February was a good month, despite the cold. I went on a long weekend trip to New Orleans, meaning Woody got some much-needed time at doggy daycare. The rest of the month was full of snuggles and it was perfect.

You may recall I was doing the Minimalist Challenge in January. The biggest thing this challenge taught me as that accumulating a bunch of stuff is actually time-consuming in the long run. Pulling out all of my junk took more time than I thought, but I managed to get rid of quite a bit. I didn't make it to the full 31 days, but I did get to day 22 (253 items!).

Day 17

Day 19

Days 21 & 22 combined

Day 18

Day 20

I'm sort of relieved I didn't have the full 31 days worth because it means I was not holding onto as much "stuff" as I thought in my apartment. But here is what I did let go of in the final days:

Day 17: 17 magazines. I read maybe two of them. Recycle.
Day 18: 10 pens/pencils that don't work (trash), 5 purses (sell/donate), expired vitamins (trash), a lock with no key (trash) and a FitBit charger that does not fit the FitBit I own (donate).
Day 19: Shorts, Pink dogs, random toys - all sell and donate
Day 20: Clothes and shoes - all sell and donate
Day 21 & 22 combined: Clothes and accessories - all sell and donate

P.S. Despite the pristine state of all the clothing I sold I made no money :( So everything was either trashed or donated.

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Minimalist Challenge: Days 7-11

1/25/2015

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It was still smooth sailing over here for the Minimalist Challenge. Days 7-11 really brought up some "why do I still have these things?" moments.

Bye bye, junk! (chapstick, makeup, plastic utensils).

Popcorn maker, sunglasses, housewares, etc.

RIP plants. More makeup junk. Woody supervising.

Accessories galore!

Day 7: I somehow managed to flood my makeup bag, so this sparked a long string of finding items that I didn't reel the need to salvage. Here we have two unused chapsticks (chapsticks are a sham, lip balm is what's up), one eyeshadow pallet I'm almost certain is from when I first started attempting the smoky eye in 2006, a dried up mascara and 3 plastic silverware sets (not from the makeup bag). All trash.
Day 8: Totally deleted the photo from my phone and didn't sync to my laptop - but day 8 was all more randomness from my makeup bag. A few more eyeshadows and some brushes. Trash.
Day 9: The third and final day of the makeup bag clean-out. A sharpener lid, an eye cream, an eye liner, 4 icky brushes. For the last two items, I finally came to terms with the fact that my basil and tomato plants were done producing. All trash. P.S. if anyone can help me think of a sustainable way to reuse and recycle soil from indoor plants for future use, please comment below! 2014 was the first year I had any sort of green thumb so I'm open to all advice for the future!
Day 10: A popcorn maker - I just can use the stove - two pairs of sunglasses, two candles, a shelf, a tray, the beads that the candles sat on and 2 empty containers for painted wineglasses, which I now am displaying proudly on my bar cart. The candles were pitched, the two wine glass boxes were recycled, and everything else will be donated.
Day 11: One pair of really nice Fossil sunglasses, a headband, an Ohio State scrunchy (don't ask), some fake flowers for hair, some pins I wore in my hair when I was in a wedding 5 years ago, a barrette, 3 hair ties. I'm going to try to sell the barrette, the flowers and the sunglasses to a consignment store. Everything else will be donated.

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Minimalist Challenge: Days 1-6

1/6/2015

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Note: This post really doesn't have anything to do with dogs, so turn around if that bothers you :)

One of my recent goals is to find new ways to simplify my life. There are many complicated things I cannot control, so I might as well work on un-complicating the things I can. A blog I read frequently titled And Then We Saved sparked the idea of a Minimalist Challenge. How it works:

Each day for a month, identify a number of objects you can part ways with that corresponds with that day of the month.
For example, on January 1, find 1 thing to get rid of, on January 2 find 2 things, on January 3, find 3 things...you get the picture.
Photograph your items each day and identify what is trash, what you will donate, or what you intend to sell. Trash items can be tossed immediately, while I'm finding it best to use boxes for the piles of sale and donation items.
If you can successfully find enough unnecessary things cluttering (or hiding in) your house, apartment, car, office, etc., you will end up with a total of 496 tossable items (based on 31 days).
Even if you don't blog, you can use social media sites (I think I'm going to use Pinterest) to share your progress. Or, just keep it to yourself! Like all life changes, simplification can be a daunting and emotional process and you have every right to keep it off the Internet.

Below are photos from my first 6 days and lists of what the items are and what I will do with them. So far, everything is getting pitched or donated. I live in an apartment, so I can't really save up too much for a yard sale, but I know this will change once I get to my clothes and can take them to consignment stores. I haven't had to part with anything from my closet - yet.

Quesadilla maker

2 George Foreman grease trays

Cocktail shaker, water bottles

Stuffed/bean toys

Nail polish

Gum, random box, phone book, 3 ornament cocktails

Day 1: Quesadilla maker. I received this as a gift about 5-6 years ago and used it ALL the time. But in the last couple years, it's just sat in the cupboard. I think that's a sign it's time to pass it on to someone else to cherish. Donate.
Day 2: George Foreman grease trays X 2. I don't even have a George Foreman anymore. Donate.
Day 3: 1 cocktail shaker, water bottles X2. I never use these water bottles and I found a much nicer cocktail shaker at a flea market last month. Donate.
Day 4: Nail polish X 4. Two of these bottles I can't even open, one is dried up, and one is at that almost-empty sticky state. Trash.
Day 5: Stuffed toys X 5. My aunt gave me these for Woody, but I had to politely tell her that dogs can't have bean toys. Gone are the days of waiting in line at McDonald's for the latest Teeny Beanie Baby collection. Donate.
Day 6: 1 pack of gum, 1 box, 1 phone book, 3 ornament cocktails. I have braces, so no gum for at least another year (trash). I don't know what this box is for (trash), and why do I keep getting phone books delivered (recycle)?? I got the ornament cocktails as a gift and drank two of them, but they were just too sweet and have been sitting on my counter since Christmas 2013. Trash.

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Minimalist Challenge: An Update Part 1

Minimalist Challenge: Days 7-11

Minimalist Challenge: Days 1-6

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