Forum challenge: Lets play the minimalists' game

[jacob]

You probably heard about it already. If not, here it is: https://www.theminimalists.com/game/ The idea is to get rid of 1 thing on the 1st day, 2 things on the 2nd day, ... and then see how long you can all go on until you run out of unneeded and unwanted things.

Thirty days sum up to 465 things, so the method progresses rather fast.

Since many of us already run a fairly efficient operation(?), this will probably be over rather quickly if we go day by day. For the same reason, the task is somewhat harder given some optimization likely already happened.

I, therefore, propose going week by week instead. One item for the first week of the year, 2 items for the second, ...

We're already 1+2+3+4+5 weeks into the year so lets start by finding 15 items to either trash, freecycle, donate, or sell.

How to count? I think the best way is to go by mental chunks. For example, I think of a pair of socks as one item. Ditto a box of nails or a deck of cards. Conversely, I might think of a stamp collection in terms of its individual stamps. Used envelopes are also not all the same and each might require some mental effort to sort out---or they might not. Don't get too hung up on the counting. It's not a competition, just a method.

[philipreal]

Sounds fun to me!

Since I'm planning to move out of my current apartment at the end of May, I think I'll play it by half weeks instead and start from today. Including this week, there are 16 weeks until then, so doubling that would be roughly equivalent to the original challenge.

[Stasher]

I should really jump on this, I'm usually really good at doing one in one out with my belongings but we are often careless on letting things get carried away. I'm glad I'm lurking around the forums again after a long time to have found this challenge. So if I'm looking at it correct I will find 15 items this week and then what is the number for next week?

[jacob]

So if I'm looking at it correct I will find 15 items this week and then what is the number for next week?

1+2+3+4+5=15 to catch up with the first 5 weeks. Then 6 items for week 6, 7 items for week 7, etc.

[Bankai]

That sounds fun! I presume perishables and regular trash don't count. A couple of questions: individually or as a household? Also, since we're backtracking, do we also include items we disposed of since 1 January (we just got rid of some clothing 2 days ago!)?

[bos]

I'll give it a shot. Day is an Arduino + some left-over micro electronics. "one day" I might need it, but did not for the last 2 years. I put them in a box in the hallway and will post them online to give away. *edit: I now see we do week by week. Time to find 14 more items

[jacob]

A couple of questions: individually or as a household? Also, since we're backtracking, do we also include items we disposed of since 1 January (we just got rid of some clothing 2 days ago!)?

Totally up to everybody. Individual or household. Retroactive or not. I just wanted to keep it simple: "week N = N things". More intended as an ongoing motivation than a competition.

[AxelHeyst]

Fun! I'm headed to Ak in two weeks where I'm not sure I even own 15 things, so I'll have to only play intermittently.

Timing is good, two days ago I decluttered a load of stuff to thrift stores: 3-4 bankers boxes worth of books, some clothing, a set of floor speakers, a record player, some too-small boots, and random other odds and ends. Plus a bunch of junk that went to the dump.

(By the way, I realized only recently that not everyone has actually been to a dump, the sort where you back up to a hill of garbage, kick your stuff out of your truck, and then a dozer runs it over and buries it. Recommended for anyone interested in minimalism and anti-consumerism. The dump is the "away" place as in "I threw it away". Going to the dump was a family once a month or so weekend errand growing up, and still is.)

[7Wannabe5]

Fun! If we go all year, the total number of items will be 1378. I did a "27 Thing Fling" every day during a period when I was living with family of four in large old house full of a good deal of clutter and fairly soon landed on a day where I was down to plucking brownish leaves off my houseplants. So, I would guess that it's going to go pretty fast to level of "How many twist ties should I hold on to?" with humans belonging to this forum.

I want to get my own belongings back down to fitting in my Smart Car*, so I will join in. However, I am also currently living with my mother who is definitely an accumulator, so might be more like a sweeping the sand from the beach type exercise at the household level. Since my mother's personality type is Enneagram 8 on cusp of 7, I am cold-hearted enough to use the phrase Swedish Death Cleaning, but doubt it will make a dent.

As part of my Scavenger Walking practice, I sometimes clean up or process other people's trash, so could extend the game through the year that way once I am done with my own stuff and daily sand-sweeping at the household level. Although might have to make the walk more of a spiral out from kitchen sink to front door to Zone 1 etc. in order to get feeling of making some progress. Or I could head directly towards river, because cleaning up the river bank would also feel rewarding. Luckily, there is already a selection of extendable trash grabbing devices and wheeled bucket carts in the apartment that I can make us of for this purpose. Maybe I will count one plastic grocery bag full of trash found in natural setting as 1 item. That way by Week 52, I will also likely be taking a fairly long hike. It has also been my previous experience that I will auto-magically earn some money at this endeavor at approximately the rate of 15 returnable cans and bottles/hour, especially if I hike past the frisbee golf course. Those frat boys are animals.

*Might have to cheat a wee bit by also adding a few items to my collection since I'm also at one of those frugal minimalist human junctures where I am missing or run out of some critical gear. For example, I recently had to restock myself with functional reading glasses and cute hypo-allergenic earrings, because I was down to zero.

[Stasher]

Love the idea of Scavenger Walking as a way of decluttering our outdoor spaces, kudos 7Wanna

Took the poke in this challenge to put an old pair of hiking pants, hiking shirt and mountain bike shirt on consignment at a local shop. I then dug out and donated a great pair of dress shoes I no longer wear, a belt and then old hiking leggings and run shorts, floor mop and veg/fruit juicer to our local Hospital Nurses auxiliary thrift store. Lastly I gave 2 nice shirts I never wear to a friend.

That gets me to 12 items for the challenge and will add that my remaining 3 to next week for the next 6 for a total of 9 items to work on. I have 2 old large backpacks I don't use anymore I am eying up among many other things. I will take them to a higher end outdoor gear consignment shop to maximize my ROI from them.

[theanimal]

I'm in.

I found and rid myself of 18 things for the first week. I will carry over the 3 extra discards to next week's tally.

Listed for sale
-Satellite phone
-Zoom H4N Recorder (sold)
-GoPro and related accessories (sold)
-Smart picture frame (gifted, never used)
-A complete set of Audel's Carpenter and Builders Guide
-Spencerian Penmanship books

Donated to the transfer station/thrown away/recylced
-Baseball hat (gifted, never used)
-old ski boots that give me blisters
-3 pairs of wired headphones (counting as one unit)
-3 old laptops
-3 charging blocks (counting as one unit)
-2 old excess USB cables (counting as one unit)
-Car USB charging port
-Mifi Hotspot device
-"Renovation and Home Construction for Dummies" book

Used to play a prank on a neighbor
-Swing (Yes, it is that kind. Not our style.)

[jacob]

I caught up with the first five weeks.

I figured I would start easy, so my first target was my strategic reserve of packaging materials. I never pay for packaging materials. Instead I save [almost] every envelope, piece of bubble wrap, ... that comes in the front door and then use that when I ship things back out. Over the past 10 years this has net-resulted in a rather large and unsightly pile of packaging materials in the middle of the basement.

I went through all the used padded envelopes and picked out the 1+2+3+4+5=15 worst-looking and tossed them in the garbage.

Add: But wait, there's more. More packaging materials, that is. Rather than just toss them, if anyone [local] here wants them, LMK.

[Scott 2]

Why not use a packaging materials strategy that requires zero local caching? IE - get rid of all of it. There's a constant inflow of new resource, and you could always pull from an external cache (garbage day, grocery store, etc.). The time lag of no local cache seems inexpensive. Very unlikely to outweigh the store, sort, and search costs you already incur. Provided you don't revert to purchasing, the net environmental impact is no different.

[jacob]

Why not use a packaging materials strategy that requires zero local caching? IE - get rid of all of it. There's a constant inflow of new resource, and you could always pull from an external cache (garbage day, grocery store, etc.). The time lag of no local cache seems inexpensive. Very unlikely to outweigh the store, sort, and search costs you already incur. Provided you don't revert to purchasing, the net environmental impact is no different.

The inflow of new resources is quite intermittent not all that strong at ERE HQ. (We're like the only househould left in the world that doesn't get daily deliveries from Amazon Prime ). It's been very handy to have correctly sized envelopes and boxes available for when I had to ship something rather than go out and scrounge for it. But I have been keeping too much at hand, so ...

[Stasher]

Took the poke in this challenge to put an old pair of hiking pants, hiking shirt and mountain bike shirt on consignment at a local shop. I then dug out and donated a great pair of dress shoes I no longer wear, a belt and then old hiking leggings and run shorts, floor mop and veg/fruit juicer to our local Hospital Nurses auxiliary thrift store. Lastly I gave 2 nice shirts I never wear to a friend.

I was about to end week 5 with 3 items short of reaching the target of 15 in the challenge goal to date. So I kept myself on task to round out the remaining 3 items and in the process knocked off all of week 6 items as well.
I am now at a total of 21 items cleared out of the house.

Taken to Consignment
Like new good quality sweater
Rarely used windbreaker
Un-needed extra down jacket

Donated to Thrift Store
2 pairs of hiking socks

Donated to Friend (single mom with 2 teens)
High end Merrell waterproof trail runners
High end Salewa waterproof mountaineering boots

Recycled
Metal components from a damaged umbrella that I kept hanging on to for nostalgia

[theanimal]

Still chugging along. I've rid myself of 15 more things. Up to a total of 33 items.

"Donated" to the transfer station
-California Topo Atlas
-3 old/non-functioning headlamps and straps
-Plug in drill

Thrown away
-Old silicone sealant
-5 old batteries (power tools, mifi, camera)

Burned
-Piece of birch wood I've been holding on for years to carve
-2 book proofs

[7Wannabe5]

I set timer for 15 minutes 3X and quickly sorted through around 6 or 7 baskets of my mother's clutter. I did not even bother to keep count of the many individual items in the interest of efficiency. Cleared a large cart full of trash and recycling and a cardboard box full for Goodwill. I am considering whether a Diaper Genie she can no longer use would be useful for camping because it is kind of like a mini bear-safe trash can?

[theanimal]

I am considering whether a Diaper Genie she can no longer use would be useful for camping because it is kind of like a mini bear-safe trash can?

Bear resistant canisters work since they're competely enclosed, offer no pry points, and are built of very dense material not susceptible to breaking via teeth or claw. I don't think a Diaper Genie would work for that purpose.

[7Wannabe5]

@theanimal:

Yeah, I know it wouldn't be safe against a bear. I was thinking more like insects or...? I searched for ways to re-purpose and kitchen compost came up as a suggestion, but that would only make sense if lined with compostable bag. Maybe it could be useful for some form of fishing expedition? I'm trying to generalize to situations where you might intermittently have a need to seal/segregate something stinky, but just digging a hole isn't an option. I suppose it could be integrated into a composting toilet for urban van or Smart Car camping, but it's about a foot too high and the opening lid wouldn't accommodate a seat. The mechanism also suggests use as some form of trap. The construction is rather flimsy, but it could be made more rugged with application of duct tape.

[jacob]

My six items for week six:
I listed a bunch of books on viewtopic.php?t=6255 and shipped out 5 of them.
I also filled out the forms and sent back a pair of Darn Tough socks that has been occupying a few square inches of elevated horizontal surface area for months in order to cash in on their lifetime warranty (about 6 years) and get a new pair for the cost of shipping.

Meanwhile, I've started a couple of boxes for accumulating items for future weeks. Why not just get rid of what I already have now? Because I find myself highly motivated by streaks (for good or bad) and if I blow everything now, I'll likely lose motivation instead of having a continuing process of decluttering.