Playing the #minsgame - an update

Back in March I wrote about how in February I'd been challenged to play the #minsgame. The Minimalism Game is a way to reduce your possessions and declutter over time, with the idea of removing the same number of items from your home as that date in the month. So on the first of the month you declutter one thing, on the second you declutter two things, all the way to the end of the month where you need to find 29, 30 or even 31 items to remove, depending on which month you choose. Even at the end of February, the shortest month, your house will be lighter of an amazing 406 things.

I was very successful in February and I completed the challenge without too much trouble. It was such a success that I decided that I wanted to continue, and although I wasn't able to do quite as well in March, I did make it as far as the 24th of the month which was pretty impressive. Over the next few months it became more difficult to keep up, as we were away several times and I was running out of obvious things to remove. I did continue through May and June though, and got about halfway through each month.

As a part of the process I became somewhat addicted to our local Freecycle style group, where you can post a picture of something that you no longer need, and become inundated with people clamouring for it. I found it a lot easier to use than the old Yahoo Freecycle group, and it feels safer somehow dealing with people when you can see their Facebook profile. It is well moderated, and because you can see what everyone is asking for there are no more begging e-mails, you can pick out the people that are just asking for everything and get a feel for the good and bad collectors.

With small children in the house decluttering is an ongoing process. I'm always finding things that they've grown out of, and we are always accumulating bits and pieces from party bags and Kinder eggs, not to mention the multitude of finished and half-finished craft projects that pile up. I'm going to have to take a break over the summer, but when September comes around I'm definitely going to be playing again! Do you want to join me?