The next category on the Pick Up Limes 30 Days to Minimalism challenge was one I knew was going to be a lot smaller for me than the previous. This is because I had already been doing some decluttering on this category during the last year.
Magazines | Manuals
Over a year ago I looked at all the magazines I was keeping (which I had told myself I was collecting) and decided to get rid of them all. I large proportion I donated but the rest got recycled and I realised I really wasn't rereading them and, therefore checking them was pointless. That meant I didn't have any magazines to get rid of in this case. I also get rid of the manuals of products when I get rid of the product, so nothing here either. However, I did notice that I had a lot of old programmes for old shows and properties that I visited when I was a child. I never look at these either and they don't bring back any real memories so I decided to get rid of them. Stored with these were some old posters I hadn't used in years (and forgot I had) and some little things. They are all leaving my possession as well.
Notebooks | Textbook
Textbooks are another category that I had gotten rid of a while ago, probably one the third move it did where the idea of packing them up and moving them yet again was just not appealling. The big problem with scientific textbooks is that they date incredibly quickly. Lucky I was still able to donate these, but if I had kept them any long they wouldn't have been useable for anyone else. All the notebooks I am keeping as I do genuinely use these. I just won't buy anymore until I'm down to my last one.
CDs | DVDs | Books
I went through all my CDs and DVDs when I first packed them up before they were transported to my parents house. Right now I've reduced them to a size I am happy with, but I think this will decrease even further in the future as I'm not really getting the opportunity to listen to or watch them at the moment. This kind of makes keeping them a bit pointless.
Books are a different matter. I have been holding onto books from my childhood and books I've already read for a while. So it was time to say goodbye. A number of my children books have gone to my niece and nephew as they are the classics (Wind in the Willows and the Little Princess), but I have to admit I couldn't quite bring myself to get rid of The Hobbit. The rest has made their way to a charity shop.
Old / Unused Electronics
These I cull full on a regular basis didn't find anything here.
Receipts | Bills | Documents
All of these I have been keeping in this metal filing box for years. It's big, heavy and allows me to hoard more paperwork then I actually need. So I decided to challenge myself to getting all the paperwork I need into a smaller plastic file. I turns out I've been holding onto paperwork which is a lot older than I actually need and receipts for products which are well past the warranty date. It actually ended up being pretty easy to downsize all my paperwork. Kind of wish I'd done it a lot earlier.
Stationary Supplies
This is one area where I am definitely a hoarder. I don't know what it is about this category, but I just like to buy and store it. In 2016 I told myself I wasn't allowed to buy anymore pens until I used up the ones I have - I still haven't gotten through them all yet. After they're all gone I'm going to be using fountain pens instead to help reduce my waste. So I pulled out my stationary box and went through everything that wasn't a notebook or pen and found a whole load of envelopes, containers, labels, plastic wallets, and mini cardboard boxes which I never used. These have all gone now as I don't remember the last time I actually used one. If I need any again in the future they will be easy enough to find.
I don't have any products to go through from the General Household Items category (apart from two towels but I'm keeping both of those) as I left everything like that when I moved. It's definitely a category to keep an eye on in the future though.
And so that's a few more boxes gone through and a few more items less. Things should be a lot easier when I have to move them all again.
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