my word for the year is ✨space✨
space for:
- fun
- creativity
- downtime + freedom
- hobbies
- simplicity from physical + mental clutter
- buffer time in between activities
- saving $$$ for a house!
- more time with my husband + friends
- taking care of my home
- cooking + baking!
- writing + reading
- spontaneity
i hope that a focus on space will encourage me to rid my mind, home, and life of unnecessary clutter. my goal is to live in an organised, clean, fresh home that encourages creativity, connection, and community. i want friends to come over and feel cosy and free from the anxieties they may have held outside my front door. i want to have space to get out my art supplies and know exactly where they are because every item in my house has a home. i want to have less stuff, so i can clean less stuff, so i can focus on what really matters to me: travel, exploration, experiences, friendship, and time.
when i own lots of things, it makes me feel "stuffocated" and overwhelmed. having fewer items allows me to experience the most amount of joy and utility from those items. plus, i just get to keep my favourites of each thing! (think: favourite sweaters, favourite bowls, favourite pictures, etc.) i love keeping only the items that bring me the most joy and those that are the most useful to me, because then i can pass along the items i no longer am keeping to others who may find joy or use out of them. a win/win!
enter: the minimalism game
minimalists joshua fields millburn and ryan nicodemus have begun a decluttering game within their community (#minsgame). the idea is on the first day of the month, you rid your home/life of one item. the second day of the month two items. the third, three. and so on... i decided i would try this game for the first month of 2023, but backwards. i saw a youtuber do it backwards because you start the month with the most motivation and you have the most stuff to get rid of. so, on january 1st, i got rid of 31 items. on january 2nd, 30. and so on. i am currently on day 9 of the month, and have gotten rid of 243 items from my life and i can feel the weight lighten! i am motivated to continue this game and am having a lot of fun seeing what i can shed from my life to become more of the person i want to embody in the future.
attached below i have a couple examples of the days i have done so far, where i got the items from, how many of each item there were, and how i decluttered them. i hope to continue to update what i rid myself of throughout the month (with pictures of the bags...unfortunately i forgot to take photos of the first 9 days... oh well... just know they filled up 7 garbage bags and took two trips to goodwill to unload!)
