Created by The Minimalists- The 30 Day Minimalism Game is a tool to get rid of something or lots of things every single day for an entire month of your life.
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I tried The 30 Day minimalism game last year and found it to be very helpful in my decluttering journey- in fact I am ready for round two!
If you aren’t familiar with the game- it goes like this… Pick a 30 day period- most people like to choose the 1st-30th of a month.
Declutter one item on day one, two on day two, three on day three and so on until you reach day thirty where you need to purge 30 items.
By the end of the month you will have decluttered over 400 items in total from your home.
It was hugely popular last year, however minimalist YouTubers are embarking on this again so it can be tailored to minimalists, hoarders and everyone in between- so here is why I think you should give it a go.
It’s a great starting point for those new to decluttering: If you’ve never tackled your space before to reduce the amount you own, this is a gentle way to ease you into the process because it builds you up. Getting rid of one thing, even two, doesn’t sound too bad, so by the time you have to purge 25 items, it won’t seem like such a jolt. You will gradually increase the number rather than getting rid of the 400 plus items in one sitting.
It gives a structure to your decluttering journey: If you say to yourself ‘I need to declutter this drawer today’ it is much more wooly than saying ‘I need to declutter twenty seven things from my drawer today’. When people begin to declutter, they can get sidetracked- having an arrangement with yourself offers more focus and a clearer end goal.
It is a tool that can be repeated as many times as necessary: If you have a lot of stuff, you may want to do this every month for a year, or if you have very little maybe this exercise would benefit you once a year. The point is it can be repeated fairly regularly or annually depending on the quantity of things you own.
It forces you to be disciplined: If you know you have to get rid of 15 things from your home- it makes you look harder and longer at your belongings. Without a specific number you might keep something ‘just in case’ or for ‘someday’- and this mentality stops you from being as decisive meaning you will keep more unnecessary things in your home.
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It allows you to constantly evaluate your things: If you are someone who chooses to do this every three or six months, it gives you the opportunity to go over everything in your home with a fine tooth comb again… and again. Like a spring clean but for a whole month rather than just a long weekend. It helps to control the flow of things in and out of your home, especially those that have got stuck in a drawer or cupboard in transit.
It accounts for changes in you and your life: Circumstances change, hobbies get left behind and relationships alter. Something that you couldn’t possibly be separated from a year ago, could be the very thing you now loathe. Perhaps your 400 or so items might take the shape of mementos from a relationship you are now no longer in, a hobby that you grew out of, or holiday equipment because your vacation preferences have altered. People are constantly evolving and their stuff needs to correspond with these personal shifts.
It can help you reach your minimalist sweet spot: If you do this game a few times and on the final go, you find that you have nothing left that you want to part with- you know you have reached a place where everything you own is something you love and something you use. This is a very powerful place to be so rejoice when you get there! Just remember that it won’t last forever and it may be worth revisiting in a designated period of time to establish if your sweet spot has temporarily slipped from your reach.
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