Minimalism Challenge February 2018
Let me just start by saying this month I regularly ignored my planner and therefore my minimalism challenge. I tried to double up some days to make up for it, but some things just didn't happen.
So here we go, in no particular order...
1. Be kind to strangers - I chose this for Feb 1 because I was flying to DC to visit Carrie, and I thought of all the places I could show a stranger kindness the airport was a great one. I smiled at people, let others go first, and never once got impatient or called anyone and idiot in my head. This was a really successful start to the month.
2. Journal 8 things I am grateful for - this was really easy to do while I was on vacation visiting one of my favorite people.
3. Drink tea - Carrie loves hot tea and it was cold, so this was another easy one. Plus a hot beverage on a cold day is the BEST thing ever.
4. Put phone on do not disturb all day - this was so nice I've done it several times this month. It's just nice not to be bombarded with notifications. I recommend trying this out every once in a while.
5. Journal 20 minutes - this was a little hard at first because 20 minutes of sitting quietly and writing down random thoughts seems like forever until you get going and the timer goes off and you just keep going.
6. Donate 5 pieces of clothing/shoes - I just never got around to this. I know I have stuff I could donate.
7. Meditate - didn't happen. I just have an irrational fear of sitting alone in silence.
8. Don't spend money - I made it almost all day, but then I went to Trader Joe's on my way home from work. Oops.
9. Write down 5 successes - did it
10. Make infused water - I made raspberry lemon water. It was good.
11. Diffuse essential oils - I did this while journaling and drinking my infused water
12. Donate more things - I didn't even hit this the first time around sooooo this didn't happen either
13. Make a list of top priorities - I eventually did this in the form of a
14. Declutter Lucy's stuff - she had so many old toys so I just got things out of her bin one at a time and if she was interested I tossed it on the floor and if she wasn't it went in the trash. Now they all fit in the bin!
15. Declutter and clean fridge - nope
16. Declutter shoes - nope again
17. Declutter craft stuff - and yeah no
18. Turn off phone after 7pm - I turned off my phone from 730ish until before bed. We don't have a landline phone at our house so it makes me nervous to have my phone off for more than a few hours.
19. Declutter work bag - kind of. My work bag is organized but there are a couple of pouches that could be more organized.
20. Declutter desk at home - not even close
21. Evaluate last 5 purchases - 3/5 were eating out, 2 were Amazon. That doesn't surprise me at all. Food and Amazon take all of my money.
22. List my ideal wardrobe pieces. I made a list, it might need work. Maybe I'll do a whole post on that. I need ideas.
23. Donate or trade in 10+ books - I haven't done this yet either, but I really want to. I love getting credit at the used bookstore.
24. Unfollow/unfriend pages/people on social media - NAILED IT! I am getting tired of social media, but I want to use it. I think pairing down what I follow will be key.
25. Have a no plans day! - we went to Disney this day but it didn't feel like we had to, so it was a nice mix of fun plan plus no other plans, and just enjoying each other.
26. Go for a walk - I'm a little cheating with this one. I am counting my 3/4 mile walk to meet my husband for dinner. Does that count? I would normally walk to the train after work, but this was farther and he could have picked me up but I walked. I'm counting it.
27. No TV day - I got close. We watched one episode of Star Trek and then turned the TV off.
28. Declutter junk drawer - yeah about that drawer, I should just set it on fire.
My other thoughts on this challenge: how are some of these things minimalist? I mixed a declutter and minimalism challenge together to get more of a minimalist vibe, but still how is being nice to strangers or drinking tea minimalist? Sometimes these things don't make sense, but I just go with it because this is what I chose to do with my year.
So this month wasn't as successful as I thought it would be, but that's ok. It's not about perfection, it's about progress.
