Forum challenge: Lets play the minimalists' game

[brainstorm]

Managed to find 17 over the last 1-2 weeks:

- 2 microfiber cloths
- Watch
- 2 patches that I thought were cool but evidently not cool enough to affix to anything
- Lucky line
- Citric acid
- Apple cider vinegar
- TNF sweater
- Bunch of spare bookmarks
- Expired special gummies
- Old ID cards
- Old holiday cards
- Bottle opener
- Bike grips
- Bar plugs
- CAD cash from a trip 2 years ago...

[7Wannabe5]

A car has to be worth more than a single item.....

Maybe, but I've already started window-shopping for an e-trike, so not entirely back in the human-powered transportation mode.

Anyways, whether or not I actually acquire one, my new visualization will be that all my belongings fit on e-trike with possible addition of small trailer. I've been watching videos of old people camping with e-trikes and it seems like fun. Also a perfect lifestyle match for wearing my super cool bird-watching hat with some zinc oxide on my nose while hauling around a load of zucchinis and library books.

[jacob]

Week 17:

5 books
4 DVDs
1 half-broken emergency window breaker
3 clock parts
1 spindle
1 piece of tubing
1 baseball cap
1 wooden mechanism demonstrating a cage gear

[bos]

Week 17:

7 pieces of pottery
1 nail clipper
1 tent (sold) + tarp
1 broken bic pen
3 pairs of chopsticks
1 table lamp (sold)
2 kitchen knifes
1 bicycle light set (up for sale)

[theanimal]

It seems I spoke too soon as I rounded up 23 items this week to put me back on track

Week 17
-18 pieces of miscellaneous trim
-Dip net handle
-Glass Jar
-Door threshold
-A stash of birch bark (moved to burn pile)
-Coffee filters (gave to friend)

YTD 153 items removed

[Saltation]

Week 27 (still staying ahead of the game to have time later on when it gets way harder)

3 damaged fence boards
1 drip pan
1 dog water bowl
1 mini basketball
1 malfunctioning pressure cooker
1 broken spatula
2 book shelves
1 plasma television
1 bread maker
4 open bottles liquor (dumped out)
1 usb case
1 smart watch (no longer holds charge)
1 fitbit (also no longer holds charge)
8 memory cards

All the electronics/digital items went to a recycling event this weekend. Most other items went to discard.

[jacob]

I lost the challenge and got voted off the island for failing to find 18 things, but I'm back for another round. This time DW joins me and will be responsible for the even-numbered weeks.

Season 2: Week 1

1 rear bicycle wheel

[theanimal]

Week 18
-5 drawer pulls
-Threadbare tarp
-2 pots
-Old ulu
-Power strip
-Wooden Tortilla press (to burn pile)
-Compressed gas for compressor free nailer
-20 ft of pex tubing
-Pallet
-Dog collar
-Ton of cardboard boxes
-2 pairs of gloves

[Stasher]

For Week 18 on May 4 - May 11 the following following 18 items were collected
4 - old art canvases my daughter created and she no longer wanted (thrift store)
6 - dead solar patio garden lights (electronics recycling at waste depot)
1 - cell phone Pelican Case (sell consignment)
1 - mixmaster beaters (thrift store)
1 - auto pet watering bowl (thrift store)
3 - kids old DVD movies (thrift store)
1 - old running cap (thrift store)
1 - mountain zine magazine (gave to a friend)

[WingsOnFire]

Weep, I think I accidentally deleted part of my list! But the bags with the decluttered items are still in my car, so I can take a look..
There is no way I'll make it to the end of the year, but if I get to about 500 items (which would be 30 weeks so the same amount as the original one month minimalist game) that would be a huge accomplishment. It's getting harder, but of course I still have those old paint tubes that I can't get open and a box of thread bobbins

WEEK 18

5 Tiny doll clothes from memento box
1 Old passport from memento box
1 Mom’s old dress from memento box (polyester, doesn’t fit me, not DD’s style)
2 Photo albums from honeymoon in Cuba from memento box (I don’t need to torment myself with these, kept for DD but don't think she cares)
1 Candy tin
2 Small jewelry boxes
2 SOS bracelets (old info)
1 Stitch holder (tiny thing)
1 Mason jar
1 old iPad
1 External hard drive

Items decluttered: 315/1378

[Kipling]

Back from abroad...

16 - Time expired bottle of HP sauce (best before October 2017!), time expired jar of Branston pickle, 3 cardboard boxes that originally contained screws (recycled), sack of plaster, 3 more paint tins, 2 wine boxes (recycled), 5 irregular used sheets of bubble wrap.

17 - 13 more irregular used sheets of bubble wrap, 4 broken tiles.

18- 18 more broken tiles.

19 - 1 final broken tile, a commemorative wine booklet, a commemorative wine bag, an expired pair of running socks, a broken glasses case, a threadbare shoe bag, another threadbare shoe bag, a blue plastic 'thing' (i have no idea what it was for or how it arrived in my house), a commemorative work t-shirt from 2002, a t-shirt from a law firm I worked in 20 years ago, 3 commemorative t-shirts from exercise events in 2010, 2010 and 2011, a protest t-shirt from 2013, another t-shirt from 2019 (never worn), a worn-out running top, a sun hat my wife hates me wearing, a single running glove from a pair where I lost the other out running in 2021, and a luggage tag for a case which was itself discarded 2 years ago.

[Kipling]

20 - 1 broken wine glass, 3 screwdrivers from a festive cracker screwdrivers, a used tube of superglue, leaflet from an electricity supplier we have never, so far as I know, used, a knife sharpener that is never used because we have a better one, 1 of 2 identical knife steels...

update 19/5/25 ...10 sheets of used and irregular bubble wrap... 2 to go....

[Saltation]

Nearly all electronic items went to a recycling event (just as the previous post). Large items went curbside for special pickup (no charge). Most other items were recycled or discarded or LFL.

Week 28
2 memory cards
3 micro pc’s
1 watch
6 bags aluminum cans
8 old treated fence boards
1 childrens “soccer” ball
1 wooden hutch
1 wicker chair (broken pieces)
4 pieces of clothing
1 book

Week 29
29 covid masks

Week 30
21 more covid masks
3 stocking caps
3 plastic childrens chairs
1 plastic toy
1 light chain
1 cup/lid combo

Week 31
12 jars
2 can coolers
1 cup
1 small woven basket
1 dvd (Saw)
6 more childrens toys
6 articles of clothing
2 pairs children shoes

I might finally have rid our household of an equivalent weight of 7w5's car.

[theanimal]

19 more things out the door for Week 19.

Week 19
-Light winter Jacket
-2 styrofoam coolers
-Winter hat
-Front rack for bike
-Hydroponic pebbles
-Dog brush
-Misc trim pieces
-Can of spray glue
-4 threadbare tarps
-Ratchet strap
-3 arrows (to friend)
-Sill foam
-Copper pump faucet with tubing

[Stasher]

Mad scramble as I forgot to go through the house last week but still managed to get my list complete for this week.

For Week 19 on May 12 - May 18 the following following 19 items were collected
2 - bottles of fabric protector DWR (thrift store)
11 - various dog coats, leashes and bandanas (thrift store)
1 - reusable squeeze bottle (thrift store)
1 - ziploc of old safety pins and elastics (thrift store)
1 - crochet organizer storage travel pouch (thrift store)
3 - wife's unwanted bathing suits (thrift store)

[Kipling]

Further update...

20 - 1 broken wine glass, 3 screwdrivers from a festive cracker screwdrivers, a used tube of superglue, leaflet from an electricity supplier we have never, so far as I know, used, a knife sharpener that is never used because we have a better one, 1 of 2 identical knife steels, 10 sheets of used and irregular bubble wrap, 1 amplifier (sold for £30), 1 auction tag.

21- cardboard box used to pack amplifier for dispatch, 7 sheets of bubble wrap and 1 large piece of cardboard used to wrap amplifier, 1 empty sellotape dispenser ditto, 11 to go...

Last edited by Kipling on Mon May 19, 2025 7:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

[WingsOnFire]

Yeah, getting a bit harder. I seem to have a strangely hard time throwing away my old paint tubes that were expensive, and the tops are dried stuck. I managed to get some of them open by running hot water over them. So I may try again to get the last ones open, and if not I'll toss them. The paint itself should be still fine, that's why I have been holding on to them. I also bought new brushes, but it was hard to let go of the old ones!

Week 19
8 Old raggedy paint brushes
1 palette knife
5 skeins of yarn (sold for 50)
1 painting of mine, don't like it so in the trash it went
1 9 cup Moka express coffee maker (trying to sell this, only used a few times)
2 body / hand wash bottles I used to refill
1 baseball cap

Total items decluttered 334 / 1378

[bos]

Week 19

4 shirts
2 pair's of socks
2 pants - sold
pan
2x expired sunscreen
zippo
yoga thingy - sold
5 x Ikea Skadis thingy - sold
1 x easter decoration

I feel I'm reaching the limit of purging within this household, without getting DW on board

[brainstorm]

I'm firmly out now, but I got rid of:

1 alarm clock
1 clothes hanger
2 pants
3 shirts
1 hot water bottle
1 plant

[jacob]

Season 2: Week 2 (DW's week)

1 cup
1 badge holder