30-Day Minimalism Challenge...

Tomorrow begins my second 30-Day Minimalism Challenge.  I completed this challenge last November and it not only cleared some space in our home, but it was paradigm shifting for me.  In fact, I think the way I began to think about stuff in general was the biggest benefit of doing this and I hope to make it happen again.  As I progressed through the 30 days, I experienced a genuine freedom as I let go of things.  I'm ready to experience that again.  

And we know we need and want less stuff around.  But getting to less stuff can be a challenge and often requires a change in thinking.  This Minimalism Challenge can help jump start that change.

As of this writing, you can click on the tab above titled 30-Day Minimalism Challenge if you want to see how it went last year.  When it was all over, I wrote a post that pretty much summed up what I learned during this process.  Reading that post again (here), I know I'm ready to learn it again.  And this time I know (starting out) how rewarding it's going to be.

As far as I can tell, The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Milburn, and Ryan Nicodemus are the originators of what they call the 30-Day Minimalism Game.  I'll explain it briefly, but if you're truly interested, watch the video at the second link.  And maybe watch other videos on Youtube of people doing this challenge and enjoy seeing how even people who truly live minimalist lifestyles often find they have lots to get rid of that they simply don't need or want anymore.

So how this works is this:  For every day of the month of October, I will (hopefully) find that many items to remove from my home.  On day 1 I'll remove 1 thing; on day 2 I'll remove 2 things, and so on until by the end of the month, I will have removed at least 465 items.  It sounds crazy, but it really is possible.  Last year, I remember becoming so motivated that I told myself to pace myself.  At the end of November last year I had removed far more than 465 items.  I wouldn't be surprised if I removed closer to 1,000 items because I often counted groups of things as one item.

Except for the (minimum) number of items that leave my house each day, I get to decide the rules about what I get rid of, and how I count items.

First off, I do not count stuff I throw away or recycle in the normal course of living.  So, no counting empty bread wrappers or used fabric dryer sheets, or anything broken -- unless that broken thing is something I've been hanging onto for some reason.  Items I count are things I make a conscious decision to not have in my life anymore, or for this time.  It doesn't mean I can never own that item again, but removing it during this month means I've made a decision that I don't need or want that thing taking up space in my home (and head) at this point in my life.

Will I get rid of something that I'll regret?  Possibly, but honestly...  even though I've occasionally thought of something I got rid of last November and may have a fleeting feeling of wishing I had it, I have no serious regrets.  I wouldn't be doing this again, if I did. The greater sense I came away with was that I felt free and just wanted to get freer.   I didn't keep it up and honestly...  due to my MIL's death in June, this past summer has seen way too much stuff come into our house.  It's now time to come to terms with what we truly want to keep and what would be best to remove.  I look forward to the process as well as the end result of working through this 30-Day Minimalism Challenge for the month of October.

While I don't expect anyone reading this to check out my daily posts (necessarily), I have decided I am going to try to post every day.  This is the longest post of this challenge, so each daily post isn't all that time consuming to create (or to read).  I'll just take a picture, create a post, and publish it as my form of accountability.  Sometimes I may editorialize a bit, or even list the items in the picture, but some days I may just post a picture and little else.  My plan is to keep it simple, and as much as it is possible be a minimalist in blogging about this.  

If you'd like to join me, it would be fun to keep up with your progress via your blog.  I will enjoy the camaraderie and any comments anyone wants to share, as well as enjoy encouraging you in your efforts.  

Let the game begin!  

Tomorrow!  😀