Week one flew by! It was so much easier to find things to get rid of than I was anticipating. I ended up doing most of the week on day two. Random things I had been hanging onto and unwilling to make decisions about in the past were suddenly easy to let go of.

I went through my “junk drawer” (really a wicker basket) and ended up cutting its contents nearly in half. I have a feeling I’ll end up getting rid of even more stuff in it later in the month.

The Minimalism Game is addicting. I can’t help myself. Every time I walk into a room I’m looking for the things I that don’t belong anymore. Unfortunately, I’m not just doing this at my house.

After seven days I already have a pile of more than 150 things to get rid of.

I’ve been pretty strict with myself in how I count so far. I don’t plan on continuing the Minimalism Game for the next few months. I want to make this month count.

Here are some of the guidelines I set for myself:

1. Paper is only 1 item whether it’s one piece or 100.
I don’t have much paper clutter, and it seems too easy to over-count it.

2. Small, like items are 1 item.
Pens, hair ties, binder clips – Anything easily bought in bulk that fits in one hand is one thing. (I could have done days 29 & 30 in hair ties and clips alone.)

3. Digital items can count, but not until the last week.
I want to clear some of my digital clutter, but I also don’t want this to be my safety net. I don’t have many files on my computer, but anything stored in the cloud is fair game. I’m using the like-item rule again here (see above). Photos (one to 1 million, doesn’t matter) = 1. Documents, PDFs, emails, each group is only one.

4. Food and other fast-consumables don’t count.
Five-year-old hair spray? Sure. Old milk? Not so much. I have teas and things that I’m trying to use up or give away to people who will enjoy them. For now, these are bonus items. I don’t want to count them because I have a feeling it will be too easy to clean out the fridge for a day where I should really be making tough decisions about my shoes. For now, if you can eat it or use it in less than a month, it doesn’t count.

5. No ejection seat.
The “official” rules call for removing each day’s items from your house (or car or office or Batcave) immediately.

That’s not happening.

It’s not convenient or time-efficient for me to drive to the donation center and used clothing store daily. Instead, trash and recycling (which I’m not counting anyways for the most part!) get the immediate boot. Donations and items I am planning to sell are all in one spot in my closet. I’m going to put items on eBay, Craigslist, and Freecycle weekly. All of my donations, including everything that doesn’t sell during the month, will be dropped off all at once in the first week of January.

This week I got rid of 28 items, which with my rules above, comes out to over 150 individual things.

I can’t wait for next week! I’m preparing to really dig in as it gets harder.