Less is Definitely More When You Play the #MinsGame!

Have you played the #MinsGame yet?   It’s the creation of Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, two guys originally from Ohio who are now known as The Minimalists.

The rules of the #MinsGame are simple.  A new #MinsGame starts on the first day of each month.  On the first day you release one item by donating it, throwing it away, recycling it, giving it away, etc.  The idea is to get it out of your house and out of your life.  The second day of the month you release two items.  The third day you release three.  You get the idea.  So, if you make it to the end of a 31-day month you’ll have released a total of 496 items and you win the game!

On October 1 I challenged my sister, Amy to play a modified version of the #Minsgame with me. We modified the game by reversing the order of our releases: on the first day of the month we released 31 items, on the second day of the month we released 30.  On October 31 we only needed to release one last item.

October 1 wasn’t too challenging, Amy recycled 31 magazines and I cleaned out drawers in the bathroom and released shower caps, an assortment of hair clips and barrettes and some expired medication and added to that 17 unmatched socks that had been waiting for too long to be paired with their missing mates.  There were days during the month though when it was tougher to come up with all of the items.   We both learned however if you dig a little deeper into the recesses of your basement, you’ll come up with donatable treasures like the 8 fondue plates and a meat tenderizer I haven’t had need for since becoming a vegetarian, the bag of Halloween eyeballs – don’t ask, and four brand new cans of tricky fun string.  Accompanying this post are photos of some of the items released during the month.  I don’t miss one thing, even a bit.  

The best part of this experience is that the releasing hasn’t stopped.  Yesterday my husband mentioned something about getting some old stuff out of the basement this fall.  I took him down to the basement to see how much had left already and not only was he surprised, but he decided to let go of his old stereo equipment and some no longer used CD stands I honestly thought were permanent residents of the lower level of our home.  Amy also told me yesterday that even though October is over she has already identified the next items to leave her house: a wine fridge, a wall mounted tv stand and an old audio system.

I’m really proud of my sister for rising to this challenge and winning the #minsgame with me.  I especially appreciated receiving the following email from her,  “Thank you Andrea!  I balked at the idea of the 31 day challenge at first but am so glad I did it. This challenge not only helped me get control of problem areas I had in my house but it also has taught me to think, “Do I really need this in my life?”, before  I purchase.”  Nice!

Do Amy & I think we’ll play the #MinsGame again?  Definitely!

Though next time I think it will be during a shorter month, like February.  Let us know if you’d like to play!

Have you played the #MinsGame?  If so I’d love to hear about your experience!  If not, what would be the first item you’d release?