August purging challenge!!

I first heard of this "game" from a friend via facebook.  I didn't really consider doing it as I tend to always be de-cluttering and organizing, etc.  But I needed a project and some motivation to get rid of some things, get organized, and start the new school year fresh. Managing the resources for an entire family can be a big task.  I feel burdened by too much stuff and it's nice have a goal to work toward.

The game came from this website:

http://www.theminimalists.com/game/

Basically, you get rid of one thing on August 1st, two things on August 2nd, three things on Aug. 3rd....all the way until 31 items on August 31st.  So by the end of the month you have gotten rid of 496 items. The website didn't have many ideas or "rules" so we are making up our own and you could, too.

For example- what counts as one item?  That depends on you and your habits.  My husband and I decided not to count recycling junk mail as an item because this is something we do every day just as maintenance organizing.  BUT....if you tend to collect piles of junk mail then you certainly should count this as an item.  We are counting a magazine box of shredding as an item, however, or getting rid of stuff that is filed away (haven't gotten to the filing cabinets yet!).  Getting rid of a puzzle is one item. 

They don't have to be large items.  Could be as simple as expired medicine, old nail polish, expired spices, etc.  Could be larger things like clothing, books, toys, etc. that you don't need or use.  

What do you do with all of these things?  You can donate, sell, recycle, or trash them, We probably won't be selling things this time.  Doing our adoption fundraiser garage sales gave us opportunity to sell anything of real value.  But you could do a garage sale, sell on Craig's List, donate to a thrift store, foster care clothing closet (if it's something nice quality), or give away to a friend.  We've been blessed by a lot of generous hand me downs for kid stuff over the years!

So it's August 2nd.  We started a day early and are on to day 15.  We decided we could work ahead as we have more time. I'm keeping track on a spreadsheet we made.  It will get harder as the day number gets larger.  We have a small storage room that we hope to tackle this month but so far haven't dug deep to purge.  This is our first home and although we have lived here 7 year now- I got all the stuff from my childhood delivered via parents, all my teaching stuff, etc...and just a few months after we moved in we had our first baby.  Three challenging babies later we just never seem to have a big chunk of time lol.

So why do this?

Well as a Jesus follower, especially as an American Jesus follower in a consumerist, materialist culture....I feel I am constantly having to fight against the lie that we need more stuff.  That stuff equals happiness.  That "Keeping up with the Joneses, American dream, Let's get a bigger house" mindset that we so often fall into.  It's definitely a "First World Problem" to have too much stuff but one we still need to address.

Now I'm not saying that I am a hoarder.  My friends would probably say I'm a pretty organized person, content with simple things.  But it's still something I want to be intentional about.  

 Matthew 6:19-21 says this:
 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Also, Proverbs 3:9-10 says  
"Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

and your vats will brim over with new wine."

 

 As a Christian, I believe anything I have is from God and that I should be diligent in using my resources wisely.  Sometimes I dream of going into politics just to help the politicians fix the budgets and use the resources better! Or I dream of working on that show Hoarders or of becoming a professional organizer.  But, alas, right now I have my family of 5 and our 1700 sq. ft home to manage.  Pray I do so wisely!

Will you join us in this purging game?

UPDATE: 10/1/16
We finished August early and decided to do it again in September.  Life happened and we didn't quite finish September yet but we WILL finish...just a little late.  This month takes a little more digging and creativity.  Finding a music teacher at a low income high school who might need that drum practice pad I have had since high school (I'm 33 people!!!).  Getting rid of the art class bag from college (I'm 33!!!)  BuyNothing pages on facebook are nice for finding homes for unique items.  Foster care closet can always use nice kid and youth clothing/blankets in all sizes.  It is rewarding to see how helpful it can be to another family to have the things you no longer use.  No point of hoarding them if we're not using them.  For example we gave away 2 (non expired, nice) car seats to a mom who had just had hers stolen,was low on income, etc.  It was a big help for her and we no longer had them taking up space in our garage.  Why not spread the love?