Forum challenge: Lets play the minimalists' game

[Stasher]

For Week 24 on June 16 - 22 the following 24 items were collected
1 - tote bag (thrift store)
2 - diesel 20L fuel jugs (gave back to son)
2 - empty spray cans (recycled)
1 - indoor extension cord (thrift store)
3 - scrap metal parts (recycled)
1 - old truck headlight (gave to friend who owns an auto shop)
2 - bleacher cushions (thrift store)
9 - assorted halogen bulbs (thrift store)
1 - Dewalt cordless drill (thrift store)
1 - hardened tub of caulking (recycled)
1 - pedal bike seat (thrift store)

Still working my way through our work shed and basement storage cupboards. It's easy to get complacent and just leave things hidden out of sight, and out of mind as they say. This challenge continues to be a fun one and has inspired me to do a lot of extra re-organizing and improvements around the house.

[7Wannabe5]

I'm still in the game, but I'm dealing more in volume than numbers, because attempting something like Swedish Death Cleaning vs. my mother who is playing at something more like American Consumer Lifestyle Extension. Every day I take some stuff out. Almost every day more stuff comes in. In part, this is because it is easier for her to, for example, order another box of band-aids or bottle of ketchup rather than simply look to see whether we already have these items. However, it is also due to, for example, although she already owns more than 60 easy-to-wear dresses, she might want a new one for the 4th of July, etc. etc. etc. I'm somewhat surprised at how Zen I am being about this process, although it may be slightly tipping me towards my more Nihilistic perspective.

[jacob]

Catching up after I dropped the ball on this.

Season 2: Week 4 (DW)
fidget spinner
hallmark type book
two shirts

Season 2: Week 5 (jacob)
1 pair of underwear
4 books

Season 2: Week 6 (DW)
fairy ornament
plant pot
homemade yarn dispenser
pug picture
headband
gloves

[jacob]

Every day I take some stuff out. Almost every day more stuff comes in. In part, this is because it is easier for her to, for example, order another box of band-aids or bottle of ketchup rather than simply look to see whether we already have these items. However, it is also due to, for example, although she already owns more than 60 easy-to-wear dresses, she might want a new one for the 4th of July, etc. etc. etc.

This is a game DW&I played with a certain relative for many years and finally "won" (to the degree that it's no longer getting worse). Much of the problem (challenge?!) was that 1) the problem may have become so large as to appear so overwhelming that even beginning seems impossible ; 2) it's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks---if they haven't figured out of to solve these problems by themselves by that age, it's unlikely to ever happen; 3) being old, the ability to think and physically move slows down to a crawl in some people---mileage may vary.

Two solutions to get started on the above:
1) Establish some organization. Like-goes-with-like and crucially, designate only one place in the house of a given item. This avoids having a stash of XYZ in each room or buried under other trash. This can be "fixed" one category and/or room at a time. You may need to repeat this several times until it "sinks in". Follow-up on previously "finished" categories.
2) Often the problem for shopaholics is that shopping substitutes for application. Sorting through unused junk, typical questions might be "does this even fit anymore/will it ever fit". It may also be like in (1) that items are spread between multiple drawers and closets. If so, remove all the socks from the two closets and 4 different sock drawers and pile them on the bed. Deal with one category at a time.

Expect there to be some resistance, especially with the "I might need this someday" until they realize that "someday" might never come. Shoppers/hoarders in particular need to "grieve" the loss of their hoard of stuff.

These two tactics will also work for the minimalism challenge. Many have no idea what they actually own and/or in some cases the surplus may be so spread out that they have more than they think they have. My guess would be that 60 dresses are not all on hangers on the same rack in the same closet ... but of course I may be wrong.

[ertyu]

Think about it this way, once she's dead, you'll be set with textiles for creative projects for life

/black humor, if not evident

[7Wannabe5]

Expect there to be some resistance, especially with the "I might need this someday" until they realize that "someday" might never come. Shoppers/hoarders in particular need to "grieve" the loss of their hoard of stuff.

The problem here is a bit different. My mother suffers from bi-polar disease (currently moderately well-treated and somewhat muted with age) and she is not at all a sentimental or anxious hoarder. She's an energetic shopper/decorator, rather like Donald Trump, but with towards better taste. So, for example, she would have no difficulty with simply trashing all the contents of a room she wished to redecorate. She only has difficulty parting with items that are part of her current personal "vision board." The most hilarious example of this in action (which my youngest sister recently shared with her therapist on zoom call) is that she decided that the large portraits of her children no longer worked in her new nautical design scheme, but she still liked the frames; so she simply covered our portraits with navy and white striped material.

My guess would be that 60 dresses are not all on hangers on the same rack in the same closet ... but of course I may be wrong.

Her arthritis now precludes the use of hangers, so the majority of the 60 dresses are now artfully hung on hooks covering one wall near the entryway to the apartment and two walls in her den/closet/guest-room. My mother and I are not always in aesthetic agreement, but this colorful dress collection on hooks arrangement is rather whimsically attractive. She was shocked for a milli-second when I informed her that she owned over 60 dresses, but almost immediately went to "So, what? Yay, me!" gleeful-pride, like a kid being informed that she has over 60 pieces of candy in her Halloween sack. The overflow of dresses for which there is not currently a hanger live in a large wicker basket. All of these dresses have been purchased within the last several years, so they all currently fit her. She spends all of her excess income every month as it comes in, so my only hope for reducing the flow of real goods is to divert her spending to services/experiences. The irony is that she has more excess money to spend on goods because I am currently living with her and reducing her need for outside services.

Anyways, this is also towards why I often wonder whether my particular flavor of frugality isn't more reactionary than innate. I think the fact that I am not currently reacting to my mother's behavior may either be a sign of maturity OR Nihilistic depression. Maybe a bit of both.

Think about it this way, once she's dead, you'll be set with textiles for creative projects for life

Or I could just keep them all as dresses. My mother's somewhat shorter and rounder than me, but the dresses are all loose-fitting enough that I could wear most of them. IFF there was a universe in which I wished to own 60 dresses. I did "borrow" a couple that are more like long light-weight, bell-shaped denim tunic tops with large apron pockets, because useful design; sort of the dress equivalent of overalls and work well paired with leggings. I recently minimalized my own wardrobe down to 27 items beyond socks/underwear/pjs/swimsuits/etc. and chose to keep these two tunic tops, because so handy/multi-purpose.

[WingsOnFire]

I've been emptying the stuff that was still at the house. There is still some more stuff, I'm going again early next week. My friend wants everything that is not pure trash.. she keeps a few things for herself and her son and sells what she can at her fleamarket spot, and then donates the rest. What is trash I take away. I have some old paintings that I'm thinking of trying to sell myself. Which means I have to keep them at my home for a while. I keep hardly anything from there. An old quilt that DD wanted - I washed it in hot to be sure it didn't have any bugs (it didn't have any signs but I'm being extra cautious) and it has some rips that I need to mend. It's very worn but DD can use it until it falls apart completely. DD also wanted a rug in her room so I took one from the house to the dry cleaner (it used to be in the foyer so was dirty, plus it's wool so I want to be certain that it has no bugs..)

After I'm done with hauling stuff and the house is cleared, I'll clean my car.

WEEK 32

1 Small Persian type rug (from the house, was in the attic and had lots of moth so I just threw it away)
1 Bag of miscellaneous sewing stuff (may not even have the machines these belong to anymore)
2 Bolts of fabric (from the house)
1 Iron for clothing (from the house)
1 Fabric yard stick (from the house)
1 Fabric cutter (from the house)
2 Worn out tunics
2 Unused small cheapo canvases
1 Stretcher bars for one smallish painting
1 Sweater I’d knit for DD that was not a success, but still too worn that I didn’t want to unravel it
1 Book
2 Gardening tools (these were in the car)
7 Spices and high oxalate seeds etc from pantry
2 Hair clips (sold)
7 Paper patterns (selling these)

Total items decluttered 528/1378

[WingsOnFire]

I'm going to the house again on Monday so might as well post what I have so far. I'm thinking I might get to 1000 items - there is a bunch of tools at the house and some junk in the shed.. I'm still finding stuff at the apartment too

WEEK 33

18 Small bags of sewing labels and iron-on patches (at least 250 individual pieces lol)
3 Underwear tops (DD’s old)
2 Ironing helpers (from the house)
6 Spoons
1 Dress that was too tight around the bust (sold)
1 Pants (sold)
1 Blouse (sold)
1 Mattress (DD’s old, taken to trash recycling center for a fee of 8 euros)


Total items decluttered 561/1378