If you have reached the twelfth day on The Minimalists' 30 Day Minimalism Game, well done! You have now got rid of 66 items in total- congratulations! Ready for another 12? If you are unsure which areas of your home to tackle next, we have some suggestions here for you to keep the momentum going! And if you don't know what it is- watch the video below and play along with us next month!
Klaus Ohlenschlaeger / Alamy Stock Photo
- Sweets: If you are someone who has a cheeky sweetie stash, check in your secret place for any that might have gone bad. Perhaps you have your favourites and ones you only eat when the good stuff has gone, in which case these have probably gone past their expiry date so toss them and recycle the packaging when you can. With Easter around the corner, you need to make way for all the Easter bunny’s gifts!
- Hair dryers: The most you need is one and a spare for travelling, so if you have several dryers, and only really use one or two, it’s wise to whittle these down and give yourself some space in the areas of your home where you keep all your beauty equipment.
- Fans: With the heatwave of lockdown 2020, you may have gone to town and bought yourself a few extra fans for the house- but how many did you actually use and could you make do with less and just move them about your home as you need them? You can always sell any that are surplus in the summer months to get your money back to put towards something else.
- Sandwich boxes: With the rise in working from home, if your company hasn’t asked for you to go back into the office, chances are you won’t need as many butty boxes as you once did. If you have a few that are looking past their best or simply have more than you could ever wish to use in a week, donate what you can and recycle the tainted and broken ones.
- Sandwich toasters: Along the same vein, if you once fancied yourself as a toastie maker and the novelty wore off just a few days after making them for every meal, it might be time to declutter this machine, especially if it meant you were eating cheese every day!
- Educational materials: This could be anything from old essays from your degree, exercise books from school, out of date home-schooling materials, old textbooks from a college course- anything that is redundant and won’t help you or your family in your or their future learning.
- Sharing platters: If you used to be someone who had a lot of people over and used any excuse to host a party but aren’t that person anymore- it may be time to let go of your hostess ware. Sharing platters, bowls and plates meant for lots of food might not have a place in your life anymore if you tend to entertain less and cook only what you need at the time. If they are still in good condition these can be donated to your local charity shop for someone else to enjoy.
- Things you have only one of: Odd socks, lids with no box, boxes with no lid, single earrings, shoes, gloves or headphones. Basically anything that belongs in a two- if it’s lost its partner- pitch the single item because you are probably never going to reunite them again.
- Clocks: If your home sounds like Geppetto's workshop, it may be time to reduce the amount of ticking in your world. There is keeping track of the time and there is being obsessed by it and having more than one clock in each room might be taking things a bit too far.
- Anything that is too big for your home: This may sound like a random suggestion but you know if something just doesn’t fit in your house properly and it makes everyday just that little bit harder. The dining room table that eclipses the room, the giant teddy bear that fills the nursery, the chair that blocks a walkway. Whatever has outgrown your space can be sold or donated to make way for something that looks like it's actually meant to be there.
- Colouring supplies: If you are a parent you will probably have these in abundance, but felt tip pens run out, crayons wear down to next to nothing and pencils snap, so get rid of any that no longer do their job and leave only the ones for creative masterpieces! Similarly, if you are an artist, take the opportunity to look through your colours and see if there are any that you can let go of.
- Rice: Rice generally has a long shelf life, but check your packets of dried rice if you haven’t used it in a while as it may have gone off. The instant rice pouches have a much shorter shelf life on them so be sure to inspect these too. And, if you bought yourself a rice cooker and went back to using a pan or the packet variety, sell it on a second hand site and take it as a lesson learned that one task kitchen items are generally a waste of money!
Good luck with day 12, let us know how you get on!