Shame on The Universe   Poetry and Thoughts on the Universe

I’ve decided to give the 30-Day minimalism game a try. 

To put is simply, I am going to be getting rid of stuff. On the first day, it will be one thing. On the second day, it will be two things. On the third day, three things; the fourth day, four. I’m sure you get the idea. As the name states, this goes for 30 days, with 30 items to go on the last day. It could end sooner, if I run out of junk to get rid of. The goal is to de-clutter, not to run around like a naked caveman. 

I want to document it here, and I thought it would be interesting to write a little bit about the things I get rid of. I already live a pretty minimal lifestyle, so most of the things I still have I kept for a reason. By writing about them, I will examine why I kept them and what they meant to me.  Hopefully this will help me grow as a person on some nonsense like that. At the very least, I make room to buy more crap. 

I have some basic rules to follow:  

First, the item has to be solely mine. I can just give back something borrowed, or getting rid of some of my daughter’s old clothing doesn’t count.  

Second, it just no longer has to be mine. I can give it to friends, donate it, throw it away, sacrifice it to a Cthonic deity, etc. It just has to leave my possession in a way that I cannot get it back. No loaning something to a friend for a month and then asking for it back.  

Third, I need to write at least a couple of sentences about each item. An explanation of what it is, why I got it, and why I want to get rid of it will suffice. But if I want to write more I can. 

Fourth, the challenge states that the item has to be out of my house by the end of the day. That is not entirely possible in my case. But it will be put in a pile, to be taken to goodwill or to the people who want it as needed. 

Finally, I need to define what counts as an item. A set of things, like a pair of shoes or a bunch of dominoes, counts as one thing. Getting rid of a checkers set shouldn’t count for 50 things. Clothing counts as one item each, although socks count as shoes. Book are one item, even if they come in a set, since you can use each one individually. Anything I’m not thinking of is up to my discretion. 

If I can make it to the end, I will have gotten rid of 465 items. Which is a lot of stuff to get rid of. I honestly don’t think I’m going to make it past day 15, as that is 120 items gone. It only gets harder from there. But I think it will be fun to try. 

Wish me luck! 

– Shaman