Have you been participating or following along during the 30 day MinsgameBOSS challenge in November? I’ve been really encouraged by the Facebook Group that participants are posting on daily. Many people have commented that they might consider doing the minsgame next month or in January. I think that’s a great idea – do it with a friend and help keep each other accountable. We’re in the home stretch – Week 4! Here’s a recap of Week 3.
Week 3 Recap in Photos
As the numbers get higher in this challenge, the daily goal is becoming a group effort. For example, for Day 15, my sons decided to contribute a lot of their soccer trophies and chess medals. This made up the bulk of the daily goal of 15 items. They decided to keep the most special of the trophies and gave up the rest. I was really proud of them because they had not wanted to give up any of their trophies or medals several months ago.
So in Week 3 we ended up donating and trashing 274 items. In Week 1 and 2 we cleared out 385 items, so our grand total so far is now 659 items. Can we clear out an additional 1,666 things to reach our goal of 2,325 for the month? I have no idea, but we’re going to give it our best shot!
The Little Things
This week has motivated me to finally stop ignoring the pile of the old insurance cards and expired credit cards. I finally sat down and started cutting them up. It’s tedious and a little difficult cutting those up, which is why I’ve been ignoring them!
Someone from the MinsgameBOSS Facebook group suggested shredding them. I have a little shredder that I thought was dead back when I was taming my paper pile. It turns out it wasn’t dead! It did work to shred the insurance cards in my little shredder. Unfortunately, now I’ve jammed it with a credit card! I’m hoping I can somehow figure out how to “unjam” it.
Do you have little things you can #declutter today before they turn into big projects? #minsgameBOSS, #minsgame Share on XThe Big Things
Two major victories from this week:
- my husband sorting through a box that has been sitting for months outside our bedroom door
- my husband sorting through 4 boxes of audio and computer wires stored in the basement.
He reduced the 4 boxes of wires down to 2. Most of the box that was sitting outside our bedroom was garbage as well. Reducing the wires was a big job. He admitted that it would have been so much easier to test the wires in smaller batches as he was adding to his collection. We’re all learning that it’s easier to take action on items immediately rather than ignoring them until it turns into a big project.
What lessons are you learning as you declutter?
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Go hubby!! This is an excellent reminder that smaller projects are much more manageable than big projects. And another reason why MinsgameBOSS has been so successful for people – start small so you feel more confident about tackling the bigger numbers as you near the end of the month. I can’t believe it’s almost over!!
It’s true Laura – the game helps you build up decluttering momentum!
I’ve learned that as well about doing things as they happen instead of all at once. We do the same thing with our paper files and it’s always a pain – really should just file things as we get them!
I’m with you on that Alexandra! I still let some things pile up – like mail and laundry!
It’s wonderful that you’ve been able to get your family to go along. So many times the person intent on organizing has to work without the support of family members.
Hi Lydia! They’re getting used to mom “the declutterer” and adopting some of the habits I’m still trying to implement daily.
Thumbs up to your hubby! This Facebook group has been so inspiring and really helps keep me motivated!
Double thumbs up! He hasn’t participated everyday, but is an enthusiastic participant when he does! Thanks Heather!
Love it!!! So great. Maybe I will try it in January…
You should Liz! Enlist a buddy to do it with you!
I was unable to get my family on board with the MinsGame. Instead, I came up with this idea for a Holiday Declutter Streak (kind of like run streak that Runner’s World does #RWRunStreak). Every day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, we will declutter one small, or slightly larger area. Last night, we sat down and made a list of areas to declutter. My husband started getting really excited about decluttering the shed and the kitchen! I’m going to tweet the results and pics every day with #HolidayDeclutterStreak. It’s going to be so fun!
I love the idea of the Holiday Declutter Streak! It sounds like you’ve got your family on board for this!
I’m so proud of y’all Angela! And go boys!! Wow! That is impressive!!
About the shredder, I don’t think there’s any hope. I lost mine in the same tragic way.
Oh no! It’s true, the shredder is t looking so great because I reversed the direction and now it’s really wedged in there!
I did exactly the same thing last week. I ended up shredding cardboard to get it all through.
I love that you are doing this, and I love that it is November. How did you come up with your overall goal number? I’m just finding it, and obiously not participating fo the monthly challenge….but, the reason I love it is because for me… if I were doing this approaching thanksgiving.
Yeah, its great to do it before new items come in December. But, ultimately… I like it because in simplifying one’s life and not loving the QUANTITY of items, it simultaneously frees my mind from clutter and allows me to be more grateful for the few(er) items I do have.
Thank you for sharing your progress, and thank you for sahring on LEFO so I can find this!
Thanks for reading Kaitlyn! Our overall goal number was 465 (the number of items 1 person would get rid of if they were doing it in November) times 5 for the 5 people in my family. I hope you give it a try! The Facebook group I was a part of MinsgameBoss is continuing through December and will be staying open if you’re interested in doing it with others. It makes a difference having group support!