The Minimalist Game Days 1 - 4

Day 1 - a serving platter

I saw a couple of You Tube vlogs about The Minimalist Game and it looked like something I would enjoy. As I've been journeying towards that minimalist life but somehow have not quite arrived there yet, I decided to give it a go for three weeks.

First some background about where I'm at in the journey. After several years of major decluttering each year for the Yedidya Bazaar and for DD's School Fair, and helped by the fact that once you pass the baby/toddler stage a load of equipment and big toys become obsolete, my apartment had way less stuff than had been the case only four years previously.

In October last year I set myself a 500 Clutters Challenge to get rid of (donate, sell, or throw out) 500 items. I made it to 250 and stopped because I wasn't ready to tackle my wardrobe. Then came this year's Yedidya Bazaar (a month early) and DD's School Fair. I managed to find more stuff to go and reached a total of 360. Just recently DD's youth club announced a second hand sale (date tba) and asked for any unwanted items. I dug out 19 items and got to 379. Finally, last week I threw out 2 bulky and superfluous fridge dividers, I gave two of DD's outgrown dresses and a pink headband to a little boyfriend who needed to dress up as a girl for Purim, and I chucked the current IKEA catalogue.

Day 2 - two baking trays from a previous oven

At a running score of 385 I decided to play The Minimalist Game. You can make up your own rules. For e.g. I'm only doing 21 days instead of 30 because I'm not starting from scratch. The things that go out now are already from digging deeper than the first 10 days would be for most people. My rules are that each day you get rid of the number of items corresponding to the day of the month. So 1 item on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, etc. 21 days of this will yield (or unyield) 231 items making a grand total of 616 items since October 2017.

The photos in this post are days 1 - 4 from March 1st until March 4th. 10 items gone and all from the same cupboard in the kitchen.

March 1st: A serving plate. I still have another 9 serving plates (not including quiche and pie plates, salad bowls and smaller serving dishes) and I never use them. Mostly I use ordinary dinner plates as serving plates as they are easier to handle and fit better on the table. I used to have big parties but I don't entertain like that anymore. When I do have people round it's usually a few people for a meal rather than a party. And if one day I do decide to have another big party here, I won't hesitate to buy a pack of disposable serving platters. (I'm not sure now why I'm keeping the other 8 serving dishes. Atm I just like them because they're pretty or have sentimental value.)

Day 3 - a serving tray and two microwave covers

March 2nd: Two baking trays from my previous oven. Yes they do fit in my present oven but I have another identical tray in this oven. I don't make batches of biscuits and when I do make a homemade pizza or bread, one baking tray is enough. I cover it in baking paper so that I can re-use it if necessary with just a wipe over and we are only two people in this household. Seriously, I'm not running a catering company.

March 3rd: A tray that came with homemade cookies as a present when friends came to stay for the weekend. I kept it to use when I want to give a platter of food for a present or take food items to a potluck meal. Again, we have disposable party-ware shops for just this type of very rare occasion. And I usually take a salad to these things as that's what I do best.

And two microwave food covers. I don't even have a microwave anymore and when I did have one, it was too small for these covers. They could also be used to keep the flies off plates of food but, like Israel itself, we tackle infiltration at the borders by having screens on the windows and doors so there are no flies in the house.

Day 4 - four pretty but never used fruit/dessert plates

March 4th (Yes I know I'm a day ahead of the game.): Four dessert plates. I've had them forever and never used them. In the days when I had a fruit bowl on display they would sit (unused... ever... ) next to it with some pretty fruit knives for a snack in front of the telly. Nowadays I keep fruit in the fridge where it keeps for much longer and it's more refreshing to eat cold fruit. I don't serve fancy desserts after a meal. I'm not a baker and I don't enjoy baking so I tend to buy a fancy ice-cream and some Danish pastries. If I ever do decide to make a fancy dessert, you can be sure that it will be for more than only two guests!

I'll be back throughout the game with updates. Play along if you like, it's fun if you're serious about getting rid of unnecessary stuff.