#53 Ten day minimalism challenge

Technically this is a 30 day challenge but I figured 10 was enough to begin with :-)

Day 1 – Stay offline for a day

Tragic: no Google Maps means getting lost after a police incident forces you to take a wrong turn. (In hindsight I did like the adventure) Even more tragic was the aftermath however: 15 iMessages, 36 Whatsapp messages and 19 emails. 

Day 2 – No emails or social media until lunch

Let’s just say doing this on  Monday at work was not my most brilliant moment. At 11.55 I was counting the minutes.

Day 3 – Declutter your junk drawer

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love decluttering! I got rid off old batteries, Ikea tools, key chains, broken magnets, postcards, growler lids and phone cases.

Day 4 – No TV all day

Not that big a deal seeing as I don’t have internet and hence no Netflix this month. I went to see a movie on the big screen the next day to compensate.

Day 5 – Unfriend and unfollow

I ‘lost’ 84 ‘friends’ and unfollowed 17 people on Instagram. No hate mail yet.

Day 6 – Declutter your digital life

It actually took me three days and I am still not finished, going through 3 external hard drives, 2 memory sticks, 3 SD cards and one computer...

Day 7 – Don’t buy anything for 24 hours

Do you have any idea how hard it is to not buy anything for 24 hours? One day I needed gas, the next I ran out of milk, the third I had to pay for parking, the fourth I accidentally parked at Starbucks. In the end the only thing that worked was staying home all day. 

Day 8 – Leave w hole day unplanned

Laziness is da bomb! Can we do this again?

Day 9 – Go for a walk and practice mindfulness

I mindfully walked to the grocery store, intentionally having left my shopping list at home so I would have to mindfully remember all 7 items. That’s the limit for human memory right?

Day 10 – No complaint day

Unlike my first attempt at this, when I complained about no complaint day within minutes of waking up, I was actually relatively successful at this task. That is until I drove to work and encountered numerous Canadian drivers. (If you live here, you know what I mean).