Hello again, friends. For the past two weeks I have documented the numerous items my family no longer lives with as minimalists in my post The 100 Things I No Longer Own as a minimalist and The 100 More Things I No Longer Own as a minimalist. In each post I discussed that my end goal for becoming a minimalist was not simply to disinfect my home of affluenza, but to rid my life of distraction, discontentment, and to create my own version of Joie de vivre. I did this by challenging myself to go the contrarian route and list the first 100 things I no longer own.
This post wasn’t simply a list of things that I have gotten rid of because I wanted to immolate the life of anyone else, but a chronicle of the things I parted with in life to help me keep down from the Joneses. And I must say that it felt so cathartic to be able to document this personal minimalist progress in my life!
And so here is a list of 100 additional household items my family happily lives without:
- Leftover wrapping paper- Recycled.
- Business Card Holder- Unused, as I keep only a handful of my own cards in my tote. Donated.
- Tea Infuser Pot- Unused. Donated.
- Excessive mugs- 4 dozen Donated.
- Receipts I didn’t need- Recycled.
- Old t-shirts: Donated.
- Dried flowers: Composted.
- Silk Flowers: Dust magnets. Donated.
- Overstretched hair ties and hair bands: Composted.
- Old magazines: Donated to husband’s school library for art class collages.
- Shoes that don’t fit or didn’t intend to wear: Sent to Thredup for store credit, in all 61 pairs donated.
- Old cell phones- Sent to Gazelle.
- Wooden spoons- Composted.
- Salad Spinner- Donated.
- Terra Cotta Taco Holders- Donated.
- Earrings where I’ve lost one out the pair- Donated.
- Scarves I never wear- Sold to Thredup for store credit.
- Items of clothing that were too small for me- Donated.
- Glass platters- Donated.
- Old towels- Donated to animal shelter.
- Old make-up- Tossed as it couldn’t be recycled. Replaced with natural options.
- Plastic clothes hangers- Donated.
- Expired cooking sauces- Composted.
- Old college text books- Sold on half.com or donated to public library
- Out-of-date medicine: Donated to Veterans Hospital.
- Dried-up nail polish- Tossed. Replaced with natural options.
- Electric Jewelry Cleaner- Unused and sold last Autumn.
- Tea towels- Donated. We only use re-usable kitchen towels.
- Paper towels- Used up our stash and not repurchased. See above.
- Pet steps- Donated.
- Polaroid Camera- Donated.
- Mini Fridge- Sold last Autumn as it was never used.
- Dust buster- Unused, sold last Autumn.
- Corn cob holders- Donated.
- Scratched non-stick cookware- Donated. We only use cast iron and stainless steel.
- Swimwear- We rarely go swimming.
- DVD’s- Sold to Amazon for store credit. We digitized our entire collection.
- Hot Pot- Sold last Autumn, as it was unused often.
- Plug-in holiday lights- We only use solar and battery light strands. Donated.
- Calligraphy pens- Donated to my husband’s school.
- Necklaces- Aside from a handful of precious stone, metal, and heirlooms, all else donated.
- Fiber optic Cables- Donated.
- Bed Skirts- Donated.
- Empty bottles of cleaning products- Recycled.
- Spare buttons- Donated.
- Bath mats- One kept per bathroom in white, all else donated.
- Malt glasses- Donated.
- Espresso cups- Donated.
- Flat bed pillows- Donated.
- Comforters- We only use quilts now. Donated.
- Old party invitations- Recycled.
- Full tea service- Sold last Autumn.
- Bike pump- Donated.
- Electronic keyboard vacuum- Donated.
- Jewelry Boxes — My jewelry hangs on an organizer. Donated
- Trick-or-Treating Pumpkins- Recycled.
- Old Holiday cards- Digitized and then recycled.
- Post Card collection- Digitized and then recycled.
- Bobby pins- Donated.
- Crayon maker- Donated.
- Containers missing their lids- Recycled.
- Unused stationary, stickers and sticky notes- Donated.
- Ripped jeans- Those not purposely worn for fashion, donated.
- Old Phone cases- Donated.
- Old Electronic chargers- Donated.
- Old spices- Composted.
- Worn-out bath sponges- Composted.
- Ribbons and bows for gift wrap- Recycled.
- Ribbon maker- Donated to my husband’s school.
- Old lunch boxes- Donated.
- Kids Book Shelf- Donated to local library.
- Old coffee sacks- Donated to husband’s school’s art classes.
- Loom- Donated to husband’s school.
- Old files- Digitized, shredded, and recycled.
- Old Playbills- Recycled.
- Baby Bullet- Sold last Autumn.
- Broken Christmas decorations- Recycled.
- Fairy lights- Donated to women’s shelter for holiday decorations.
- Ice trays- We have an electric ice maker. Donated
- Expired food- Composted or tossed.
- USB cables we never use- Donated.
- Outdated software- Donated.
- Floppy disks- Donated.
- Shoe racks- We paired down shoes for capsule wardrobes. All others donated.
- Glass cereal bowls- We kept a single dish set. Everything else donated.
- Promotional T-shirts- Donated.
- Old cereals- Composted.
- Old bank statements- Digitized, shredded, and recycled.
- Old utilities bills- Digitized, shredded, and recycled.
- Box fans- Donated.
- Unused Ethernet cords: Donated.
- Mix tapes- Donated.
- Bibles- We each kept one study, one devotional Bible, and our family Bible. All others donated.
- Backgammon- Donated.
- Basketballs- Donated.
- Unused plungers- Donated.
- Books we won’t read again: Sold on half.com, Amazon, or donated to public library.
- Old DSL box- Donated.
- Milk Steamer- Donated.
- Electric knife- Donated.
Well that’s it folks, 100 additional common household items we no longer live with as a family. Items donated that help us step one foot closer to realizing our family dream of small, sustained, affordable minimalist living. Be sure to stay tuned for next Tuesday’s list of last of this series of the household items we no longer live with.
Here’s to living with less,
Nicole I couldn’t have read your post at a better time in my life! I just returned from an 8 month trip where everything I owned I carried on my back. Now that I’m back in the States it’s time to go through my storage container and declutter, simplify, and throw stuff out. I’ve learned how little I really need to live and it’s been liberating. Thanks fro the great post.
You are so right, Carleen! The feeling of liberation you feel when everything you own either breathes ease, beauty, or purpose into your home and your life is unbeatable! Thank you so much for stopping by, and good luck on decluttering!
Good for you Niki! It’s amazing how much “stuff” we end up collecting over the years, and you don’t even realize until you make the list when you go to get rid of it, and WOW! This must feel really good, congrats!
Thank you, Katie. Yes, I never have imagined that at thirty-three I would have accumulated so many belongings I didn’t need. Commercialism at it’s best! Thank you for stopping by and your kind words. Have a great week!
What a list! That’s encouraging me to get started on getting rid of some things! Thanks for sharing and have a great week! Blessings, Janet
Thank you so much for stopping by! Have an awesome week, Janet!
This is an interesting list, you must feel lighter now all that lot has gone. We either don’t own or I donated when we moved house last year about 70% of these.
But I wonder what you wrap gifts in if you’ve recycled left over wrapping paper though? We have a bag full and I hope this is not too embarrassing to say, I’m 46 I’ve never bought wrapping paper! I reuse all the decent bits from gifts we are given. We get a lot of gifts in gift bags too, I’ve never bought one of those either! Sometimes I iron it, but most of the time it doesn’t even need that.
My only other questions are: Who did you donate the floppy disks too? (Does anyone still use them? I’ve not seen one for years!) and does your family not like backgammon? !
In terms of wrapping paper, I find most commercial rolls tacky so I much prefer using upcycled maps, parchment paper, brown craft paper, or I’ll hand stencil white craft paper. I’ve even used old hymnal sheet music as well. We also don’t use gift bags, but I give gifts in reusable shopping totes or make bags out of upcycled coffee bean bags. In terms of the floppy disks, my husband is a computer science and ICT teacher so I found some of his disks in a desk drawer; and yes people still have them and they can be upcycled into planters, used as coasters, and the like. And the backgammon game hadn’t been played in several years so it was donated. Mind you, I would never assume someone doesn’t like something because they part ways with it. It was underutilized and I feel it was better to pass on the game and let another person enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Every time I read one of your posts, I find at least five more things that will NOT be going with us when we move this summer. I don’t know that I’ll be able to cut back the way you have, but I do appreciate you really opening my eyes to what I really need versus want. Thank you!!
Oh, Heather. I felt the same way when I first started on a minimalist path. Every cabinet made me cringe, thinking of all the things that needed to be tossed, donated, or the like. Well I’m glad my minimalist decluttering has been helpful for you! I strive for excellence.