We did it! Jaida and I completed the 30 day Minimalism Game. I am shocked that I had that many things in my house that I no longer used but I most certainly did. Our home feels so good lately, you can’t really see the difference because all of the stuff we just donated and recycled came from deep within our closets and drawers. Some of the things I had not even considered before such as the items that were in my furnace room when we bought our house (an extra window, sheet metal, extra asphalt roof tiles – things that for some reason I thought must be important because they came with the house 10 years ago).
I also came across a couple jugs of engine oil and antifreeze from a car we had sold 7 years ago. I had to go to a bunch of different places before I learned that Midas in North Vancouver would recycle this stuff for me.
I HIGHLY recommend trying this challenge and get your kids involved. Try it as a family where each person takes turns or make up your own version of it. We made a few extra rules like if you are offered something (like a junky toy from the dentist), if you politely decline this item that you know you won’t get much value out of, that also counts as a purge. So NOT bringing the items into the house in the first place also counts. We talked about how if we can just get in the habit of not accepting that type of gift, maybe dentists and other stores and companies will find other ways to appreciate little people. They loved the challenge of it.
And so, here are some pictures (apologies to anyone that gave us some of the stuff that is being donated!). This is our donation pile. We also sold a few things, had a small garbage bag full, a few items for the dump and a few loads for several different recycling depots. I so appreciate having all of these wonderful resources and I made sure to thank the people at the transfer station as I paid to have my garbage disposed of. I always feel really wasteful dropping stuff off there, but so thankful to have that option for those things that can no longer be used.
Good luck!
