Reprioritise, organise, declutter, and tidy up your physical or mental space. Growth and changes that you have experienced or plan to undertake.
If you'd like to join in this Minimalist initiative, check out the post here:
The Minimalist Daily Theme
In conjunction with my ongoing efforts to live a minimalist lifestyle and reduce my living space both physically by and mentally, on April 1st I adopted the 90-90 Rule. Since that time, I have actively pursued my plans as set forth in my previous posts.
First for those who haven't had a chance to review my initial post, the 90/90 rule is a decluttering process that requires you to ask yourself two questions about objects you're not sure about:
~ Have you used the items in the past 90 days? and if not,
~ Will you use it in the 90 days ahead?1
I felt that this approach would work for me since my biggest problem is decision making when it comes to my collection of items I've acquired over the span of thirty years. I hold onto items for decades, thinking one day I may use it, then I'd just have to purchase it again.
Since my original post in April, I have come to realize that this way of thinking is what landed me in the position I'm in today. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a massive hoarder with no room to maneuver around my home. And there is certainly no piles of trash that should have been tossed out on trash day lying around turning my home into an uninhabitable location.
I was just an avid collector who has filled every nook in every location with antiques.
This thinking has also cluttered my mental space. Everywhere I look, antiques stare back at me. My mind wanders now, and I can't remember where or for what reason I purchased the items, other than I liked them.
About ten years ago, I slowly began to realize the effect my clutter was taking on my physical and mental state. I needed to do something, but didn't know how and where to begin.
At first, I started slowly attempting to discard items once ever few months. This quickly ended, as I couldn't decide whether to keep them. Then, I read a few years ago about minimalism and living the minimalist lifestyle. This intrigued me.
Now, I'm in full swing with finally trying to overcome my indecision and make a dent in my clutter. Small successes have come on the heels of this decision. In April, on the recommendation of @shanibeer, I've made great progress tackling items in my home in addition to my outdoor storage shed for short periods.
However, as I near summer, I wanted to take a break from my physical decluttering efforts to address another aspect of my minimalist journey: Reprioritizing.
Reprioritization is the process of completing a thorough reassessment, then rearranging you priorities based on the importance and urgency. This can be a mental exercise of our actions and decisions on an issue or a physical reorganization of items based on our prioritized conclusions.
Doing this allows you to make informed decisions about how to allocate your time and energy. The goal is to ensure that you focus on the tasks that have the greatest urgency and impact. As to physical items, it ensures that you don't sift through unnecessary files to locate specific items you need immediately.
During the months of June through September, I'm usually in high gear getting ready for my annual family reunion. In that sense, I'm scurrying around purchasing, gathering, sorting, and collecting items to share with my family, particularly the children and young adults.
In this regard, I share:
Kids: primary school supplies; backpacks; toys; and family history, sorting and packaging all for about 100 children.
Young adults: college supplies; backpacks; games; gift cards; family history.
Adults: charity donations to family in need; food; gifts; and family history.
For over ten years, I assisted with the above activity. However, after I retired, I began to feel a change in my physical and mental state of tiredness. I no longer had the desire nor was I able to keep pace with the vigorous yearly preparations, boxing, and hauling to the reunion location.
I share with you a few photos from the reunion. I'm especially thankful that the photographer didn't capture me, as a senior citizen, attempting to hula hoop. It was a blast and much fun, but my hip was sore for days!
I remember fondly spending months searching for then deciding which toys and games to purchase for the children. A pleasure indeed. Since retirement, though, I have neither the time, energy and resources to put into this part of the activities.
A decision needed to be made; and before the start of the 2024 reunion planning. I wanted family to still enjoy all I had been able to supply.
In May, I made the difficult decision to remove myself from all activities. I nominated a young adult to succeed me. She accepted, so now I'm in the process of turnover, takeover with boxes of leftover items to donate. However, I won't haul all the items there this year. I'm offloading them during the summer so that someone else can enjoy the sweat and experience of this activity!
My minimalist plans for 2024 is to enjoy the function as a member of the seniors there to watch, enjoy, encourage, and cheer on the next generation.
What a fantastic way to declutter not only my physical space, but mental space as well.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/
1 90-90 Rule in Minimimalism. The Minimalist. Online at: https://www.theminimalists.com/ninety/
