Decluttering 30 Day Challenge
A story in the Edmonton Journal about Fish Griwkowsky playing the "minimalism game" gave me a thought. I'd been struggling with decluttering my spaces over the holidays, with very little success. I'd pick up a stack of magazines - New Yorker, Maclean's, Vanity Fair and the like - fully intending to chuck them into the recycling container, but then hit a wall. I couldn't do it; I've never been able to do it.
Maybe I just need structure, I thought to myself after seeing Fish's story. A 30 day challenge would be a perfect vehicle to move me into the decluttering practice. The concept would be that every day for 30 days I would select a thing, or a series of things, to a) give away, b) recycle, or c) trash. Simple. Most importantly, the action would have to be taken on that day.
I started with a big stack of New Yorker magazines. I don't remember when or why I subscribed to this weekly, but I did. They arrive, like clockwork, filled with great stories that I can't possibly get to. Who the hell has time to read that much? If I was retired with absolutely nothing to do, it would take me hours and hours to get through a single issue. It is a fabulous collection of writings.
I thumbed quickly through each issue, ripping out pages that had an image that was interesting or inspiring in some way - there were about 10 - and then comfortably walked them out to the light blue recycling bin in the front yard.
Whew! I feel lighter already.
From magazines to miscellaneous cords, attachments, trinkets and do-dads, I will pick an item or collection of items, and take action. My public accountability piece will be a daily tweet with a picture of what I'm dismissing from my world. I'm even going to attack my big memory box filled with news clippings, programs, and assorted paper bits that collectively represent a wide swatch of memories.....or maybe not. That's what I have to figure out. What is the criterion for labelling something a viable piece of memory worth keeping?
For instance, I likely have multiple copies of playbills from the shows we saw on Broadway in October. Are they necessary for me? Or, am I keeping them for the boys? Hmmm? I think the latter. An answer just occurred to me to start two new boxes, one each for Dylan and Ben. I can put stuff that I think might be of interest in each of those and let them decide what they want to keep down the road when they move out of the house.
But first, I need to move through hundreds of old magazines, going back about ten years. I have a suspicion that our paper recycling bin is going to be rather full this week.
Maybe I just need structure, I thought to myself after seeing Fish's story. A 30 day challenge would be a perfect vehicle to move me into the decluttering practice. The concept would be that every day for 30 days I would select a thing, or a series of things, to a) give away, b) recycle, or c) trash. Simple. Most importantly, the action would have to be taken on that day.
I started with a big stack of New Yorker magazines. I don't remember when or why I subscribed to this weekly, but I did. They arrive, like clockwork, filled with great stories that I can't possibly get to. Who the hell has time to read that much? If I was retired with absolutely nothing to do, it would take me hours and hours to get through a single issue. It is a fabulous collection of writings.
I thumbed quickly through each issue, ripping out pages that had an image that was interesting or inspiring in some way - there were about 10 - and then comfortably walked them out to the light blue recycling bin in the front yard.
Whew! I feel lighter already.
From magazines to miscellaneous cords, attachments, trinkets and do-dads, I will pick an item or collection of items, and take action. My public accountability piece will be a daily tweet with a picture of what I'm dismissing from my world. I'm even going to attack my big memory box filled with news clippings, programs, and assorted paper bits that collectively represent a wide swatch of memories.....or maybe not. That's what I have to figure out. What is the criterion for labelling something a viable piece of memory worth keeping?
For instance, I likely have multiple copies of playbills from the shows we saw on Broadway in October. Are they necessary for me? Or, am I keeping them for the boys? Hmmm? I think the latter. An answer just occurred to me to start two new boxes, one each for Dylan and Ben. I can put stuff that I think might be of interest in each of those and let them decide what they want to keep down the road when they move out of the house.
But first, I need to move through hundreds of old magazines, going back about ten years. I have a suspicion that our paper recycling bin is going to be rather full this week.
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