Last month I played the minimalism game. If you’re not familiar with it, you can look it up, but ultimately in this 30 day challenge you declutter 465 items from your home! I have played this game a few other times before. Each time I have doubted if I would be able to successfully complete the challenge, and each time after that I have even more doubts as I have less in my home to declutter! This last time I was sure I wouldn’t be able to meet the goal of 465 items and technically I did not just because of the way I counted items. Sometimes I would have multiple of one type of item and I would count that as one or as a “lot,” so I do give myself grace. The way I was counting, in the end I had 405 items to declutter from my home! Although I didn’t technically meet the 465 items, I was still shocked at how much I was able to let go. I did have my daughter helping me with the challenge. Our 29 year old daughter is currently living with us as she completes grad school, so any items she decluttered I counted toward the final number. I was okay counting her things too because they are still leaving my home and one intention I have in 2026 is to help my family members get serious about decluttering their things as well.

I wanted to share what I learned from this last round of the minimalism game. First, I learned that when you’re on the fence about something, typically that means that ultimately you don’t really love it enough to keep it. Quite a lot of the items in this round were items that I have been on the fence about, either for a long time or even just recently. I didn’t really love them, but I also had space for them so I wasn’t letting them go. I know that if I hold onto them they will not be used most of the time. If I pass them along, someone can enjoy them more regularly than they were getting used by me. I did pass some items along to my friends, and that made me feel better about letting them go, knowing they would be used and loved by others. Having this goal from the game really pushed me to be realistic about how often I am using certain items.

I also learned that little by little I am getting closer to my goal of becoming more of a minimalist. I know that term has a lot of stigmas attached to it, so I will explain what it means to me. It means making each of my spaces – even in my cabinets and drawers – feeling like the stuff is easy to manage, but also still feel cozy and inviting. My living room is my plumb line for me, so to speak. I absolutely love how that room feels. It feels so relaxing because I know I use and/or love everything that is in that room. It is easy to clean, and even to deep clean now that it is minimized. The last time I deep cleaned, top to bottom, it took me about 30 minutes. My goal is for every space in my home to feel that way! I feel like I am truly getting there. But I do live with other people, so they have stuff that I may not keep but I have to respect what they want since we share the space.

Next, I learned that we still have more stuff than I think we do! If I was able to get rid of 405 items in 30 days? Clearly we still have a lot of stuff! Now to be fair, we have been married for almost 30 years and we have raised 3 kids and 2 dogs! But I was surprised that I was able to find that much to declutter! I know that it will help tremendously moving forward just being more intentional about what comes into our home. I think sometimes people underestimate that slowing the inflow will have a huge impact on the amount of clutter in your home!

Speaking of inflow, lastly I learned the importance of managing inflow. You may know that I did a no buy year last year. That was specifically for clothes, shoes, accessories, and home decor as these are the categories that seem to multiply quickly if I’m not paying attention. In 2026 I am being far more intentional with my purchases and only allowing myself to purchase a maximum of 3 items in these categories each month. Having these boundaries I think will really help me to stay honest and not slide down a slippery slope. I do want to share with you each month what I do purchase to hold myself accountable! So in January I did purchase a pair of shoes. It is another pair of tennis shoes… I know, I know… I have a lot of tennis shoes! But I do primarily wear athletic shoes and I did declutter a few pairs of shoes in general in my most recent closet clean out. I also purchased a pair of pillow shams that match the lighter side of my bedroom comforter. I really wanted to purchase a new comforter and rug for my bedroom but I decided I don’t really need that. A compromise was to purchase these shams and flip my comforter over!

It felt so good to get that amount of stuff out of my home, so I am very glad I challenged myself to play the minimalism game once again! I hope these lessons are helpful to you on your own decluttering journey!