I have always been a fan of collecting things – not on purpose, but most likely due to the fact that I grew up in a household where things were not often thrown away. My grandmother and my mother would find ways to reuse items, instead of just throwing them out. The butter tub reused for leftovers, the metal tin reused for sewing supplies, the leftover coffee grounds that can just be brewed again for another round of coffee.

This is not new to children and grandchildren of the Depression era. It was common to find a way to use whatever you had in the best way you knew how. This has created in me a sense of “recycling flair” to where it’s hard for me to get rid of things if I think they can be used for something else or used in general. It doesn’t matter to me if I have new items—I would rather use what I have until it doesn’t work anymore or I have exhausted all methods to try and use it.

Or example, I could have a drawer full of different beauty products that don’t work, but instead of throwing them out, I use them until they’re empty. To sum this may seem silly, since I’d rather use something that works, but I call it thrifty!

My point is, is I’m obsessed with recycling and not creating too much waste. My family and I try our best to throw out as little as possible and recycle all that we can. I worry that a lot of what we recycle can’t actually be recycled, but I continue to do it anyway just in case.

Recently, someone on my Facebook talked about a “minimalist challenge.” This is where you give something away each day of the month, based on the number of that day. For example on October 1, you give away one item. On October 2, you give away two items, and so on.

When I first heard about it, I thought, “ Hell no I can’t do that! I’ve already given away so much, how can I give away anything else??”

But then, I realized that I always have things I can get rid of. I always have an over supply of items in my household that I just need to get out – whether it’s close I’ll never wear, magazines I haven’t read, or a junk drawer that’s overflowing. My home should be a LIVING space and not a STORAGE space! The only things that really should be stored are memories and decorations, hah!

The challenge lit a fire under me! I decided it was time to take charge and get rid of items that I didn’t want crowding my house anymore. What ended up happening was enlightening!! I started to go through all the stacks of magazines that I had been meaning to read and get rid of them. I went through all of my books and sold the ones I knew I wasn’t going to read. I got rid of clothes that I had kept for so long and knew I wasn’t going to wear. My husband even started going through his stuff and finding things that he didn’t want.

I’ve done this before, but I started going through every single room of my house and slowly finding things to get rid of. Now, I have accomplished my challenge and I’m not even done cleaning my house! I still have two rooms, a closet, and the garage to go through!

Since I accomplished the challenge, I can’t give up now, with so much more to go. So, what I decided to do, was continue the challenge every time I brought something new into my home. if I bring something into my house, I have to ensure that I’m getting rid of some thing as well. I know this may be hard to keep up with, but I’m already ahead of myself with items that I’m continuing to get rid of. My thought process is that by the time we move to Colorado, we will have less to haul!

It's also important to remember that...in doing this challenge, you are creating a richer life -- one that is focused on what you truly need in life and what TRULY matters. "There are two ways to be rich: one is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little." - Jackie French Koller. Another quote I recently heard that hit me right in the gut was, "Look around. All of that clutter used to be money." BOOM.

If you’re interested in doing this minimalist challenge, I highly recommend it. I feel like it’s changed my perspective of what I bring into my home and how important it is to buy things I don’t need. I’m not the type to buy things just to have them, but it definitely helps to put into perspective what I’m choosing to bring home.

Just take note to remember the simple words by Marie Kondo, "Discard everything that does not spark joy."