If you guys read any blogs on minimalism, you may have seen the November Challenge floating around.
(Source)
I, for one, am getting on board and am really excited about it!
In a nutshell, the idea of the challenge is to tackle clutter by getting rid of one thing from my house on November 1st, two things on November 2nd, three things on the 3rd, etc! I did some quick math and determined that by the end of the month I will have given/thrown away 465 things from my house!
I’m all about this ‘challenge’. To be honest, I’m embarrassed that I know I have 465 possessions that I could get rid of without even noticing.
And to make things even easier, since we just moved and are living around all boxes (still), I have some unpacking to do – which means I’ll be handling every single thing I own. What better time to decide what to keep and get rid of than when I’m putting things away for the first time?! It’s one of the reasons I love moving.
Now, I’m not the most motivated person when it comes to doing things a little bit at a time, so I’m not sticking to the ‘schedule’. Instead, I’m constantly adding things to my ‘get rid of’ bags, and am going to keep a spreadsheet list to ensure that I have given away 465 things by November 30th.
Doesn’t that sound fun?! So far I’ve even made some money by consigning a few purses and jacket that I didn’t wear enough to justify keeping. I also got rid of a bunch of clothing items in October, pre-move, but I can’t decide if I’m going to ‘cheat’ and include those items in my November total.
And of course, I’m going through more than just my closet. I’m attacking the kitchen, the family room, Tim’s office, even Clara’s toys! One rule I’m making for myself is I’m not counting anything in my total that I plan on replacing. For instance, if I get rid of a coat and go out to buy a new one, I’m not counting that as something I got rid of.
The number 465 seems pretty high, but I think I can do it! Wish me luck! (And of course, if you’re inspired to participate in this challenge, too, let me know!)
I’m so glad you’re joining us! I kind of have the same system as you…I did a lot of decluttering last weekend and just made piles of my items. There’s really no rules! 🙂
Thanks, Heather! I’m a little behind the ‘schedule’ but I think I can make it up the next few days! I love a good challenge, especially one that ends up with me having a more organized/clean house 🙂
I spent so much time getting rid of things before we moved and I’m so glad I did! Good luck to you! ♡
See, that was my goal and it just didn’t happen! I wanted to go through EVERYTHING and not move anything we didn’t want – but we ran out of time and ended up just having the movers pack absolutely everything and now as I unpack I’m thinking, ‘WHY DO I HAVE THIS?!’ so now I’m decluttering on this end of the move! Do you feel so much better after decluttering?!
Oh my goodness, I TOTALLY do! I still feel like we have too much stuff but at least we got rid of a lot! 🙂
This sounds like such a great challenge! I live in a studio apartment so that will really not work for me but best of luck!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
It’s truly amazing how much more stuff I have now than when I lived in a small apartment by myself! I blame Tim and Clara 😉
I haven’t seen this, but I love it! So smart!
It should be fun… I’m already behind the schedule, but I’ll update in a few weeks to let you know how it goes!
Oh my gosh, no, this doesn’t sound fun at all. This sounds like my worst nightmare. Hahaha. I love the concept of minimalism and the look of minimalism, but I have accepted that I am not, and most likely never will be, a minimalist. Every now and again I’ll go on tears where I get rid of things I’m not actively wearing/using/needing, but man, it took me legitimately four full years to get rid of two button down shirts I never even took the tags off because I was TERRIFIED that I’d need them once I got rid of them and would have to buy new ones (those were the only two button down shirts I owned, because my office is casual so I have no need for that kind of dressy wardrobe). I just can’t throw things away. I’d much rather hide them in my closet and drawers 😛 But more power to you! I’m very impressed by your commitment to this!
Hahahahaha you crack me up!! I used to be WAY more attached to the idea of keeping things ‘just in case’ but after reading a few books on decluttering, I LOVE getting rid of things! I find that I never, ever miss what I’ve gotten rid of.
Since we are constantly on the declutter, I’m not sure that we could actually do the full challenge, but we play a game about finding 17 things in 17 minutes to get rid of. I have no idea where I found it, but we do it every weekend. It can be little things like junk mail, but we usually have a book we just finished to donate to free libraries or clothes we found that need to get donated. It’s fun when there’s a timer involved 🙂
Ohhhhh 17 things in 17 minutes sounds like such a fun challenge, too! I think that one sounds harder, though! Well, maybe not after looking at my junk mail pile… 😉 I love the idea of the timer, though!
This sounds awesome! I’ve decided that I’m going to condense to a capsule wardrobe next month. Maybe I should extend that to other possessions as well.
Ohhhh I do a semi-capsule wardrobe but I’m not good at sticking to a certain number of clothes/accessories. I more just attempt to keep what’s in my closet to a minimum, which is always easier said than done! I’ll be intrigued as to how it goes for you!
I love minimizing old things I don’t use anymore! It makes me feel so accomplished! Good luck on your challenge!!
Thanks! It definitely does make me feel accomplished to get rid of things, and I’m hoping it makes a big difference in the organization of my house, too!
this is awesome! I want to try!
DO IT! The only thing is that I can’t decide whether to track things when I actually get rid of them or when I put them in bags that will EVENTUALLY be gotten rid of…. because right now I have bags and bags of ‘to be donated’ bags in my basement and I’m not sure whether that counts as actually getting rid of things or not!