During the month of January, my family played the Minimalism game! Today, I want to share with you how this challenge works, and the results of our month long effort.

January seems to be the month that many people feel the urge to declutter and reset their homes. My family is no different. The calendar turned, and yet we found ourselves very much in the same spot. With quarantine restrictions, and not many entertainment venues open, we are spending a good portion of our time at home.

Don’t get me wrong. We absolutely love our home. But, even the most beautiful four walls can become mundane when they are all you see most of the time. We are ready for some changes!

I mentioned in my last post that we have big plans for this cottage. So many DIY projects are waiting to be completed!  There is no better way, in my opinion, to gain a clear perspective on things than a good old fashioned declutter! That’s exactly what we did, in the form of a game.

 

 

What Is The Minimalism Game?

Near the end of December, my mom mentioned to me that she was planning to take on a decluttering challenge in January. After talking through it with her, I discovered the challenge is technically called ‘The Minimalism Game’. It was developed by none other than the Minimalists themselves, and is quite a simple concept.

Essentially, it works this way: Each day of the month you find one item per day to donate, sell or throw away. One item on the first day of the month. Eight on the eighth day, and so on. When all is said and done, at the end of the month, there will be 500+ fewer items of clutter in your home!

The idea is that the first few days of the month should be pretty easy to tackle. It seems like basically anyone can find one to five items of clutter in their home on any given day. These ‘easy’ days will give you the confidence to take on more difficult decisions. By the end of the month, you may be considering items that were off limits on day one.

 

Before + During Our Game

Going into the challenge, I was skeptical. Five hundred seemed like an awfully large number.  After all, we have only been living in our home for one year. We did a major amount of decluttering before our move, and even hosted a huge garage sale.

In addition to that, we tend to keep a rather close eye on the items we allow into our cottage. We have been diligent about keeping only the possessions we use and love the most. Would I be able to find enough clutter to finish?

Yet, even with this question, the game seemed like an appealing way to take on the new year. My mom and I began the challenge together on January 1st. We vowed to be cheerleaders and accountability partners for each other throughout the month.

Games are always more fun when they aren’t played in isolation. There are other benefits too.

Having someone take on a challenge at the same time as you really does help keep a person honest! My mom and I sent each other messages and pictures nearly every day, discussing the items we had found.

Bouncing decluttering ideas off of each other was also a great benefit. For example, my mom mentioned she had cleaned out her spice cabinet and consolidated her spices into fewer jars. She was able to toss out quite a few small containers. Though I hadn’t considered checking in my own spice cabinet, you can bet I did just that after my mom told me about her success!

 

Watch Us Play The Minimalism Game

As an additional measure of accountability, I decided to capture my family’s experience on video. Although I didn’t pick up the camera every single day, I feel like the film compilation portrays our process quite well.

 

Minimalism Game Results

After an entire month of decluttering, the results are in. Much to my surprise, it was not difficult at all to find the 500 items! Mind you, there were probably only a handful of pieces that were visibly taking up space. Most everything else was packed away in tidy little spots throughout my home. Things looked neat and organized, but there was clutter lurking behind closed doors!

The biggest culprit for us? The garage!

Looking back, it makes perfect sense why so many items were found there. When we were packing to move, we put off the garage until last, thinking we would be able to throw out a bunch of things. In reality though, we ran out of time to sort. The contents of our old garage were thrown into boxes and moved to the new garage. A year passed, and organizing the garage just never seemed to become a priority project.

I’m guessing there may be a similar spot in your home. Perhaps the basement? A child’s playroom? Maybe even a closet. Go take a look! Ridding yourself of the clutter will be so freeing, I promise you!

The variety of items that were found during the game was also a surprise to me. I knew there would be some broken toys, ripped clothes, and paper clutter that could be thrown. However, I didn’t realize how many good, quality items we would decide to donate or sell. The kids were especially eager to go through their things. I’m so proud of them!

 Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. It is a great way to rid your home of un-needed items quickly. It’s not a difficult concept, and the pride you feel when those 500 items are out the door is worth all the effort!

 

 

More Decluttering Challenges

If the month long Minimalism Game seems like too much of a commitment, consider one of these other challenges. They can help you get into the groove of decluttering, by taking it on one bit at a time.

Create a Capsule Wardrobe

Control Magazine + Paper Clutter

Speed Clean: 60 in 60 Challenge

One Room Challenge: Deep Cleaning