1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Minimalist Challenge Update: A Good Start

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Hi there, Mrs. 1500 today to update you on the Joint-Effort Minimalism Challenge that Mrs. Waffles on Wednesday and I are participating in.

You can follow along daily on Instagram at OfficialMrs.1500 and wafflesonwednesday or on Twitter at @mrs1500 and @wafflesonwed.

The Week in Donating

So far, I’ve tossed (donated, really) a frog enclosure, a pair of mittens that no longer fit, a creepy doll, Barbie clothes, lots of shoes, lots of glassware, and just in general, a lot of stuff that didn’t fit and will not be missed.

I added up everything I will be getting rid of by the end of the month, and the total is 496 items. My friend Eric thought he’d join me, but he’s probably going to be ending early, he just doesn’t have 496 things to toss.

SOOO not my problem, Eric.

In fact, the challenge is to count one item as one. But I’m so ‘swimming in crap’ that I’m counting things like a pile of baby hangers as one thing, a pile of books as one thing. Maybe Day 24 will have me wishing I didn’t do that, but looking around my house tells me I won’t have any problem coming up with stuff to donate or toss.

Everybody’s Doing It

We’re getting the whole family involved. Mr. 1500 has graciously donated old computer books (anyone want to learn Unix?) and the youngest little 1500 takes after me – wanting to collect everything. Her room was completely cleaned out a few weeks ago to remove the carpet and install cork flooring. We put things back slowly, and she’s now really getting into this whole ‘cleaning’ thing. It’s quite nice to see, as previously her room looked like someone was testing nuclear bombs in it.

No More Excuses

Life is hectic.

I don’t know where to start.

I don’t have time.

I’m overwhelmed.

Yeah, life is hectic. You don’t have time, you don’t know where to start or maybe you’re even like me, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crap you have, and unwilling to address it.

The beauty of this exercise is that you’re only accountable to yourself. (Unless like an idiot you announce it on a blog that tens of people read.) Start on day one. Find one thing you won’t miss. It can be something that takes up a lot of space, or something that is small. I tossed a frog enclosure that has never enclosed frogs. Mrs. WoW tossed a candle holder she used at her wedding, and not one time since.

Day 5 had me tossing 4 beer festival tasting glasses and the tiniest coffee cup ever. (I like giant coffee cups that hold half a pot of coffee so I don’t have to keep getting up to refill it. Also, I only drink two cups of coffee that way.) I won’t miss any of these things.

Open your dish cabinet and select the dish you never use, that ugly glass someone gave you or the coffee cup your husband brought home. Go to the utensil drawer and open it all the way up. Grab that thing all the way in the back that you’re not sure how it works, the spoon you never use because it doesn’t hold anything, or the 4th ladle you have and don’t need.

What NOT to Toss

It’s OK to keep things, too. I have 2 pancake flippers. (Some people call them a spatula, some call the item you scrape the last of the mayonnaise out of the jar with a spatula. Whatever, you know what I’m talking about when I say pancake flipper.)

I have 2, because I use them all the time. I will probably buy another one at some point, because I use these things literally every day. Yeah, I could just wash the ones I have, but I’m OK with having duplicates of items that I use frequently.

However, I just tossed my second whisk because it’s a jumbled cluster of loops and makes a big mess whenever I use it. I only ever use the first one.

When you run out of easy-to-toss items, consider taking a day off rather than tossing something you use, and will miss when it’s gone.

Fortunately for me, I’ve got ‘stuff’ in spades. 496 is a good start. We’ll probably do this again in February…

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Comments

  1. I’m not sure I could do 496 items, but each time I move I pare down my stuff and make it more and more manageable. All my stuff currently fits in a 12 ft box truck (mostly because I’ve sold 98% of my furniture). I’ve been apart from the bulk of my stuff for a month now and I’ve missed my stuff only a few times. It looks like I’ll be spending the next 3 or so months without it so I’ll be interested to see how I feel about paying to haul it across the Eastern half of the US when it comes time to move it. Relatedly, I’ve found it’s far easier for me to say no to new stuff coming in the house than it is for me to get rid of things I already own. Sunk cost fallacy maybe?
    Gwen @ Fiery Millennials recently posted…Decisions, DecisionsMy Profile

    • Hey Gwen…. it could be sunk cost or could be what’s called the ‘endowment effect’… valuing what you own more than it’s ‘worth’, simply because it’s yours…. you may find that after unboxing all your stuff, once you relo, that you no longer want/need a lot of it…
      Good luck with the job hunt!

      Mindy – another cool trick for things that you’re not sure you want to toss/donate is to put them in a separate box and put that box in the closet, garage, whatever… out of sight… set a reminder in your calendar… if a month goes by and you only remember then what’s in it/didn’t miss it, you can donate with little regret
      🙂

  2. 496? Damn, that’s a lot of stuff. We’re moving next year and will need to start getting rid of stuff soon. After 10 years, our place is overrun with stuff.

  3. When I sell my unused stuff (big ticket items like an Ekornes chair, traditional japanese futons, and electric plug in Saladmaster skillet and slow cooker pot) those will go on my list of gotten rid of things. No way I’m donating those, they are worth MONEY! Sad to say most of my junk is just trash. I find myself walking around the house finding stuff my husband left out thinking (and saying outloud in an irritated tone) “just throw this away already!”. Things like used paper towels, the plastic tops off plastic bags. Not counting any of those, since it’s normal junk I’d throw. But I’m having fun finding junk to get rid of. I try to keep a small bag to put things in for the next day, and in the morning, I find the remainder of the number that I need. I have a suitcase of baby clothes (0-9 months size) that will probably help me out towards the end of the month.

    • My stuff is just junk. I am sharing things with my coworkers (hooray for very young coworkers who have nothing!!!) and loading up the car to go to Goodwill.

      • I work from home, so I can’t pawn my stuff on co workers (same with baked goods, darn). Rest of my stuff is going to goodwill or salvation army.

  4. Yeah, I need to clean up, too. Been hoarding a lot and not really tossing things out even some really useless stuff. Gonna have to find boxes first.

  5. Hi it’s great that you are motivated and have a buddy to finally take down this monster.

    Are there any questions or phrase you tell yourself when You get stuck?