My Extreme(ish) Minimalist Experiment: What I Kept

A few posts back, I talked about starting an extreme(ish) minimalist experiment. Even though I’ve been minimalist for 6 years, there are some goals I’m working towards, and I want to know if owning even less could benefit me. I put anything I considered extraneous or ‘just for show’ into my attic or hidden away in the living room closet. The idea is that if I don’t miss any of it, I will sell or donate.

Below, I will share with you what I put into storage, and what I chose to keep. Keep in mind that I never set myself a specific number of items to keep because I want to experiment without putting a lot of pressure on myself. I also won’t include things that are shared with the family such a videogames, cookware, and furniture. Therefore, the items I include on my list are my personal possessions.

To start off with, I’m going to show you the list of things I put into storage, and after that, I will list the things I kept in each category.

Put into Storage

• Large paddle hairbrush
• Comb
• Jewellery box with necklaces and bracelets
• Memory box
• Covid masks (a bit daring perhaps)
• Hair straighteners (definitely a daring move for me)
• Loungefly Pokémon backpack
• Large pink backpack
• Excess socks
• Bear onesie
• Extra swim suit (I never go swimming)
• Store credit card
• AirPods (currently faulty)
• Camera tripod
• Reference books I’m not currently using
• Books I love but haven’t returned to
• Spare notebooks
• Foldable rain coat
• Rollerskates
• Jigsaw puzzle
• Gaming headset
• Death Note anime Blu Ray
• Videogame figurines
• Pokémon cards
• Animal Crossing cards
  

What I Chose to Keep

General Stuff & toiletries

• Macbook
• Phone
• Apple watch
• Journal
• General notebook
• Planner (not sure if this works for me but am trying it out)
• 3 pens, 1 pencil + 2 whiteboard pens
• Foldable travel hairdryer in small case
• Travel Hairbrush
• Tweezers
• Nail clippers
• Fidget bracelet
• Clothes debobbler (might still do away with this)
• Hairdressing scissors and comb (for cutting my daughter’s fringe and delaying a trip to the hairdresser)
• Razor
• Toothbrush
• Deodorant
• Hair repairing shampoo, conditioner, and treatment
• Gifted perfume
• 3 hardbacks I love and often re-read, 2 hardbacks I’m currently reading
• Kindle
• Colouring Pencils and Gel pens in case + Arteza 72 pencil set
• A small selection of colouring books
• Block of post it notes
• My writing/colouring desk
• Skullcandy headphones
• Nintendo Switch and games (while this is shared with the family, the console and some of the physical games are actually mine)
• 1 figurine from my favourite videogame (definitely not essential, I just couldn’t bring myself to put him in storage)
• My rainbow elephant, Benji, who’s as old as me
• 3 Death Note movie DVD’s (the amazing Japanese ones)
• Aliens Blu Ray box set
• Supernatural Blu Ray boxset (not finished watching)
  

Everyday clothes

Note that because I live in the UK, I have various clothes to suit different seasons and the ever-changing weather.

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 2 pairs of leggings
• 2 dresses
• 5 t shirts
• 1 button up cardigan
• 1 long sleeve white cardigan
• 1 thin short sleeve cardigan
• 2 jumpers
• 2 smart translucent peplum tops
• Smart, flowing dress top
• 1 vest for going under the peplum tops
• 1 hoodie
• 2 long sleeve tops
  

Work Clothes

• 2 pairs of black trousers
• 2 cardigans
• 1 jumper
• 1 sports hoodie
• 1 sports shirt
• 1 pair of sports bottoms
• 2 pairs of sports socks
• 2 blouses
• 1 pair of black boots
• 1 pair of sports trainers
  

Underwear & nightwear

• 6 bras
• 10 underwear
• 10 socks (including 2 fluffy wintery socks)
• 2 long sleeve sets of pyjamas
• 1 short sleeve set of pyjamas
• 1 dressing gown
  

Shoes & Accessories

• Hair scrunchie
• 2 pairs of Rocket Dog boots for autumn/winter
• 1 pair of rainbow trainers
• 1 pair of sandals (for nights out and seaside)
• 1 pair of black slip ons (for summer school trips etc)
• Slippers
• 1 coat
• 2 winter scarves
• 1 pair of gloves
• 1 travel-sized umbrella
• 1 large Pokemon backpack with pins
• Kanken Rainbow backpack
• Very small shoulder bag for casual or nights out
• Hot water bottle
  

Since starting this experiment I’ve not ventured into the attic or cupboard for any of the stuff I stored away. Even more interesting, is that the items I swore I loved, I don’t actually seem to be missing them. It’s refreshing having drawers that are so light that they pull out the same as when they were just built.

Not straightening my hair is saving me 5 minutes every morning, and along with the hair treatments, my hair is becoming much softer. In fact, I even received a compliment at work from a colleague who told me my hair ‘looked great’ and asking what I’d done to it. My answer? “Nothing, just brushed it”. Because that’s truly all I’d done (this was even before I started the temporary home treatments).

We spend far too much time worrying about what we look like to others and thinking we need to look a certain way. As a result we damage our natural hair and we block our skin pores with products. The cycle continues as we try to further cover the damage with more products and techniques.

Why not just be happy with your natural appearance?

As my experiment continues, I can say for certain that even less is even better.

If you haven’t already, give it a shot. Try living with less, even if it’s just a short while. I guarantee you can let go of more than you think.