This is a blog post that I wrote last year, 2019, and then for some reason forgot to post it.
The Challenge
My friend Lori challenged me during the Christmas break with this idea she got from some minimalist organization. The idea was to get rid of one thing on the first day of January, two things on the second, three things on the third, and so on until on the 30th day you are getting rid of 30 things. Usually I hate stuff like this. I deleted the stupid ice bucket challenge that people sent me or the photo challenge or the Nigerian financial aid challenge, etc. I see them as a waste of time that don't actually accomplish that much.
But the purge started to grow on me. I thought my existence could use a great de-cluttering. As I started to do the math though, I realized that in the last four days of the challenge, I would be trying to get rid of over 100 things! Lori had said I could chuck them, gift them or donate them. The idea was to get them out of your life or household. I KNEW I wasn't going to have enough time to hunt down 100 things at the end of the month, so I kind of did the challenge backwards. I did the math and figured that over 30 days I would be deleting 465 things in total. I figured that as long as I got rid of 465 things over the course of the month, that would achieve the same aim and be way less stressful.
The Purge
Here are some of the over 465 things I ejected:
-shampoo
-owners manuals of things I still have and no longer have
-toiletries
-toys and knicknacks (mine, not Beth's. Yeah, I know).
-shirts and pants
-a couple of old jackets and sweaters
-pieces of wood I was saving for ?
-7 old toothbrushes
-36 pairs of underwear or socks
-clothes pins.
-over 50 CDs and CD cases
-books and magazines
-glasses
-stereo equipment
I was able to get rid of 465 things in weeks. At first, it was kind of hard, but after a while, I got on a roll and it was really liberating. Do I really need that bottle of 2 in 1 shampoo that has been sitting in the shower for two years? Clothes pins? Clothes pins?! When is the last time I put washing on the line? I can actually explain the 7 toothbrushes. I was saving them for my (ex)brother in-law who used them to clean his bike chain, but I guess I didn't need to save them anymore because sister did some purging of her own.
I put some stuff in the garbage. I gave some things away at school. I put a lot in donation bins. I don't miss any of it, and my life seems less cluttered, but the biggest thing is my attitude toward new stuff: Do I really need this new thing? I plan to repeat the exercise every year, so when this thing in my hand at the store, is this just something I am going to end up dumping on some January? I plan to purge more, and more often. I also plan to apply this to my classroom. If I don't see myself using this thing any time soon, out it goes? Hmmm, the minimalist classroom?
Epilogue
At the end of January, I checked with Lori to see how she did with the challenge. She kind of shrugged and said, "That? I gave up on that weeks ago. I realized that by the end, I was going to spend hours trying to find over a hundred things in the last week......"
Note from 2020
Did I do the Purge again? Yes, but not in January as I said. I did it last week while I was self-isolating. I don't know if I hit 465, but I was able to unload this weird pink chair that had been looking at me funny for months. -GM
