Forum challenge: Lets play the minimalists' game

[Stasher]

Indeed, the one phrase I have always tried sharing with my kids (now 20something adults) is that it is not the cost of buying something but the cost of ownership. I feel you on wanting to share gratitude and love through gifts with those we care about, we have the same dilemma but have worked on it greatly.

[grundomatic]

@ertyu I haven't been super intentional about stuff the past years, so it just kinda creeps in and clogs up my life. Objectively, I haven't even gotten rid of that much stuff, but I am already starting to see a difference in my space, and it has kinda dominoed into me getting other stuff done as well.

Catchup day/week 7: Seven "backstock" items priced and put at antique mall--4 cholla skeletons, 2 old pieces of stenciled wood, 1 wall thermometer

As I'm currently running a reselling business, things are entering and leaving my house constantly, but in the spirit of the challenge I'm only counting personal items I'm letting go, or stock that for whatever reason has been around rather than put up for sale.

I see @theanimal counted items listed for sale which I originally wanted to do, but I think I'll only count things that leave the house, lest I end up with nothing leaving and then lose momentum due to no progress being made.

I have more books to donate for future weeks, so my plan is to find one of those sad "abandoned LFLs" and stock them up nicely. I already have my first candidate.

I've been thinking about weighing everything I get rid of to get an idea of the tonnage I'm getting rid of. I've kinda decided against it since I expect most of that weight to be books. Perhaps a better way would be to count in units of "moving box volumes".

I ended up with an absurd amount of books due to an ill-advised business idea. In January I took 8 banker boxes of books to a book swap. I got rid of two boxes worth there, then was able to fill a rather large LFL with the remaining six boxes. I checked back just a couple weeks later and it was cleared out.

[theanimal]

I see @theanimal counted items listed for sale which I originally wanted to do, but I think I'll only count things that leave the house, lest I end up with nothing leaving and then lose momentum due to no progress being made.

I gave everything i listed here 2 weeks to sell or I'd have to get rid of it. Every few days I would lower the price of any outstanding items by 10-20%. I didn't/have yet to make it to 2 weeks for any of the items listed here.

[WingsOnFire]

I have same thoughts as others - clutter is like noise that enters my brain through my eyes! And it screams loudly. It drains my energy and concentration.
Also, we can live very comfortably and spaciously in a small one bedroom apartment with DD as we don't have a ton of stuff. And moving again won't be a headache. If we need a cheaper place in the future and I find something suitable, it won't be a massive headache.
Also, selling excess things has made me some money, and helped to solidify my new financial sobriety as it's a hassle, and I realize I have wasted a lot of money on the things I no longer want or were mistakes to begin with.

I counted our stuff when we moved here in volume by "Ikea bags". I have used those for the decluttered stuff so I have been able to gauge how much we have downsized our stuff. It's just interesting to know, that wow, I was able to reduce our baggage by a third during the last move. Or whatever it is. A similar nerdy thing as wanting to count everything I own

Here is my WEEK 22 already

8 Thread bobbins
4 Dried paint tubes that I can’t open with my usual tricks
1 Hot rollers (selling these, got them second hand to be used for a wedding that was yesterday)
1 Blouse (was DD’s, she gave it to me because she doesn't want it but I decided I don’t want it either)
2 Tin jars
3 Small hair clips
3 Hair ties


Total items decluttered 397/1378 and I'm getting close to my goal to reach 500 items

[Kipling]

Week 25 - 7 mugs, received as presents, that neither my wife nor I ever use. She brightened perceptibly when I suggested getting rid of them. 18 to go...

- edited to add -
... 3 indelibly stained pocket handkerchiefs... 15 to go...

-edited again to add -

... 4 identical allen keys of the type that come free with ikea-type furniture; 5 identical spanners ditto. They are all of the poorest quality and almost never get used again but clutter up the tool box for decades afterwards (I've retained one of each in any event). 2 boxes of cat worming tablets the cat has made it clear he would rather die than eat; spot-on worming treatments also exist, who knew, game-changer. 5 to go ...

[jacob]

beyond aesthetics, is there a point to minimizing posessions if it won't reduce COL

Easier to keep things clean.

Easier to find stuff (for those who don't have a mental map of the location of all their items. This is common).

Easier to find a place for stuff (projects) when it's not already taken up by other stuff.

Easier to move (both when it comes to the entire household and for those who travel with minimal amounts of stuff.)

[grundomatic]

I gave everything i listed here 2 weeks to sell or I'd have to get rid of it. Every few days I would lower the price of any outstanding items by 10-20%. I didn't/have yet to make it to 2 weeks for any of the items listed here.

Ah, price it to move it. Solid plan.

BTW, I got the recommendation to cycle prices on ebay, the idea being if one is continuously dropping prices, the ebay algorithm sees it as trying to find the right price and rewards it with higher visibility. Once the item hits the lowest end of one's price range, one can just price it high again and repeat.

Makeup week/day 8:
1 damaged book and 2 boxes recycled
1 Mickey thing and 1 basket to the antique mall
1 pair of slippers, 1 Christmas bag, and 1 bottle of sunscreen trashed--don't mind counting a consumable because this thing had been hanging around for a long time, and because of the challenge I finally clamshelled it open to get the last of the sunscreen out so I could throw it away

[zbigi]

Not part of the challenge, but same idea in spirit: I've put out all of my no longer used STEM books (textbooks and similar) on ebay around two years ago. They're usually rather bulky, take up space on the shelf and are worth something. I've added worldwide shipping. I'm lowering the price by 10% on all unsold items every quarter.
So far, I've sold 23 books and netted 634 EUR ($724). It has also freed two shelves on one of my book racks. The books found new home half-way across the globe in some cases, including SE Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan) and Australia.

[Stasher]

For Week 22 on June 02 - 08 the following following 22 items were collected
1 - T-shirt (sold consignment)
1 - cotton facemask (thrift store)
1 - handful of disposable masks (recycled)
3 - garden hose quick connect attachments (thrift store)
1 - soap dispensing pot scrubber with (thrift store)
1 - unopened package of pot scrubber replacement pads (thrift store)
1 - USB-C charging cord (thrift store)
2 - unused hot pockets hand warmers (thrift store)
2 - safety glasses (thrift store)
2 - combination wrenches (thrift store)
2 - D Cell batteries (thrift store)
1 - box asstd nail polish (thrift store)
1 - cardboard shelf organizer box (thrift store)
1 - usb charger (thrift store)
1 - unopened/used organic bin under sink hang bracket (thrift store)
1 - headphone case for previously donated headphones (garbage)

Still feeling good that we have lots more things to keep purging out of the house. The problem with only having 2 people in a larger home now that our kids have moved out is that there is extra space for things to get forgotten or put out of the way leading to accumulation.

[grundomatic]

Catchup day/week 9:
3 buttons and 2 keychains to the antique mall
2 dried up pens, 1 pile of notes from the bookcase, 1 pile of papers from the table thrown away

[Quadalupe]

Catchup for season 2 and before:
4 books (thriftstore, tried to sell it secondhand before)
3 books (friends)
a bag full of used clothing (thriftstore)

This weeks I should get rid of 5 items I believe. Plenty of stuff to get rid of, I find myself already thinking of which 'big bangs' I want to allocate to later weeks (old xbox + games for example).

[loutfard]

I gave away to a local hacker space:
- 6 rolls of 3mm PLA filament
- a pile of dc adapters with AA emulators
- a pile of strong metal tube inserts
- a bag of 608ZZ bearings

My friend at the hacker space is very happy, I got bonus points from my wife ánd I can tell about getting rid of the stuff here. My friend got my wife two of here favorite pastries at a great bakery. Positive WOG arrows only.

[grundomatic]

Felt like absolute garbage today, so I'm happy I have low hanging fruit still.

Catchup day/week 10: Another sunscreen clamshelled and used up (actually got 2 extra days worth out of this one), plus 9 pieces of cardboard recycled that I had saved for wargaming terrain projects that aren't going to happen anytime soon.

[grundomatic]

Catchup day/week 11:
11 saved containers from the kitchen recycled

[grundomatic]

Catchup day/week 12:
1 sun shade thrown away
7 pieces carboard recycled
1 bag of toys to thrift store
3 backstock things to antique store--planter, book, ephemera

[WingsOnFire]

Sooo.. I went to my house and started to empty the stuff that is not furniture. Except I did take DD's old mattress to the dumpster (it was in a bad condition and couldn't be given away). I discovered some moths and had a bunch of pheromone traps put in, and I bagged up all textiles, whether they showed any signs of moth damage or not. I am considering tossing all (or most) of it, I already tossed some but some of it is at the house bagged up still.

The moths followed me to the next apartment and now I saw a moth in this new place. I bought pheromone traps and inspected every piece of wool clothing and DD's toys. One toy had holes in it. I put the wool knit toys in a bag and to the freezer. The moth I saw seemed to have come from one of DD's sweaters, which had minor signs and I bagged it up and froze it, as well as her wool socks.

I had been thinking about what to do with the fabrics I had in the house (for sewing), I had kept one garbage bag full. They are all in a bag now, as well as any pillows and blankets I had there. There is a quilt that was at my childhood home, and DD wanted that, so I'll probably just wash it in hot water after I take it out of the bag. There was also a Kantha quilt that I can wash. Those probably didn't have any moths in the anyway. There was a small wool rug in the attic that had a bunch, and two pillow covers that had wool embroidery, and an old child size folk outfit my mom had made that has a skirt and shawl of wool. That could be frozen and then I could inspect the damage. My sister had said she would like to keep it.

I'll go there again in a couple of weeks and I'll try to clean out everything now besides the furniture I'm keeping there for selling, as well as few dishes and a couple of pieces of art and a few nice books as decor. All the leftover random stuff that I'm not expecting can stay in the house when I sell it (like nice garden tools and terracotta pots) has to go. Then I know that I'll have minimal work when it sells, and if it's in the winter time I'll be very glad I didn't leave the job to wait!!!

The moth infestation and how fed up I'm with them, speeds along my decluttering of the house, and makes for some easier decisions to just toss items of concern. And it's a good reminder to not stash a bunch of fabric and yarn at home, and not keep load of excess clothing that you never touch. If all the things are regularly used and touched, moths don't have a chance to settle in anywhere as the hate to be disturbed and they hate light. Any wool yarn that I buy from now on should also be frozen first thing (I got the moths originally from yarn I bought from a small seller).

Sold from previous declutters: 1 weird doo-dad,1 swift and 1 skein winder

I'm going a bit ahead now but have so many things --

WEEK 23

3 Thread bobbins
4 Too small bras
3 Undies
1 Shorts (DD’s that she didn’t want, I’d kept them but decided I don’t want them either)
1 Sports top
1 Ankle socks
1 Too small bikini top
1 Stick blender (giving to a friend who talked about needing one, and we don't really use ours as I use the blender..))
1 Bag of sewing paraphernalia (from the house)
1 Flexible measuring tape (sewing stuff)
1 Yarn gauge thingy (from the house)
3 Pillow covers (from the house)
2 Pillows (from the house)

WEEKS 24, 25, 26

11 small old paintings (From the house, mine and DD's)
34 Pieces of fabric (from the house)
30 sets of 5 random buttons (felt like counting one tiny button as one item would be cheating, but I did count them lol)

And if I add one more item I'm at 496 items which equals 31 weeks and I can just hop on to week 32 next

1 Rag rug (from the house)

Total items decluttered 496/1378 And yes, there is still more now that I started on the house! And next up is week 32.. It might be at least a couple of weeks before I get there though, but I'll be going back to the house before the end of the month.

[pteah]

Week II ::

-A bunch of socks that didn't fit very well to the trash. Some old boxer shorts, too, and a tangle of USB charger cables that don't fit with any of my electronics.

-A handful of computer games to the Local Free Library. (Playing through obscure computer games - file under hobbies that sound fun to develop in ERE, but right now just don't have the free time. )

[grundomatic]

Catchup day/week 13:
1 more sunscreen clamshelled and trashed
1 display case returned to owner
1 pinup deemed inappropriate for the booth given away
10 pairs underwear trashed

I'm out for the next 3 weeks, but will return with enough time before the next trip to hopefully sell some stuff rather than just rounding things up to trash.