I won the 30 day Minimalist game.

Granted, it was easy because I was playing it alone. In fact, the title of the document where I tracked the items I shed is “Minimalist Game Solitaire.” I had to play alone because the others in my life have a very different mentality than I do regarding stuff. As such, I decided to lead by example. While I’ve received a tiny bit of push back, my wife and kids have been mostly supportive, and I’ve even noticed that the resulting tidying I have been able to do has become perhaps a little infectious.

I have shed more than the prescribed 465 items playing this game. Ninety percent of the stuff was donated to a local charity thrift store called Wings, which supports shelters for women seeking to escape abusive situations.The other 10 percent was actual trash or junk that I’m certain no one would want, so it went in the trash (also I made sure to dispose of military accouterments in a way that someone couldn’t make ill use of them) .

Not once I have I needed any of it since it has been gone, which has served to illuminate the mindless stupidity with which I used to consume things. No more! I will no longer turn to shopping or junk food to quell boredom or anxiety.

Now the vast majority of my things are truly my favorite things. Do I still have some stuff that needs to go? Yes, and now my muscle for letting go is properly built and ready for more. Below is an unedited list of the things I let go of.

Day 1 – Broken Unifi Security Gateway

Day 2 – 2 SNES games, and a bricked iPhone 7

Day 3 – Old video card, Cordless phone base, Old wireless mouse

Day 4 – Messed up DE hat, broken Xbox controller, Old wired mouse, ABU ABM wings

Day 5 – Gray pants, AF boots, Red Dobok, old Guild Wars 2 discs, Blue Patagonia jacket (too big)

Day 6 – Contents of shoe polish box, shoe polish kit, AF sand shirt, General hat, iMac Stand, mismatched bike pedal

Day7 – 7 DVDs and a whole bunch of empty DVD cases.

Day 8 – AF Boots, 3 ties, ribbon belt, crocs chukkas, LL Bean boat shoes, 5.11 Shorts

Day 9 – Gray Shorts, bean boots, brown belt, wal mart shoes, DE puma shirt, Airport express, old hard drive, light switch turner oner, broken xbox controller.

Day 10 – Snare mic clip, old costa case, flood light shroud, bag of old hinges, 4 laser discs, 5.11 shoes

Day 11 –  Well more than 11 DVDs, Stars and Stripes Magazine, costa case, several Gideon testaments, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, Arab head dress, arlo camera,

Day 12 – 4 bags of wires, 1 bag of TV parts, blue suit, gray suit, black dobok, sand waffle shirt, blue underarmor sweater, broken light globe, old box of cigars

Day 13 – 3 Tesla Floor Mats, Old bike helmet, in wall tv cable thing, 2 bike tubes, old costa case, Wifi light switch, Three bags of old clothes and stuff totaling well over 13 items, old salsa bowl, Day 14 –  Minions backpack, little dog kennel, 3 lunch bags, carbon filter for old microwave, box of old screws, piece to lock, alarm clock, neck pillow, old wore out measuring cup, clothes line wire, flashlight.

Day 15 – 2 Pr Levi’s Jeans, 1 Pr Levi’s Khakis, Charging block, Old iPad cord, Electric shaver, Gray Hoodie, Trivia game, Mic Cord, little cord case, Blue Ethernet Cable, Orange Ext. Cord, Mario Kart 64, Black Ethernet Cable, Right Angle HDMI adapter.

Day 16 – 16 Books from my office

Day 17 – Khaki Shorts, Old Video Card, 15 empty CD cases

Day 18 – New set of bike brakes, Giro d’ Italia bike bottle, orange hat, warm up bands, my black shoes, john’s black shoes, UE Boom Speaker, 4 wii Games, 1 empty Wii game box, Star Trek Game, Rubik’s cube, Magic cards, 2 T-shirts, VV Polo shirt.

Day 19 – Tan Suit, BB Suit, Blue Blazer, 2 Charging blocks, 1 USB C to lightning cord, AF Bear, DR. Who plushie, Puzzle, 2 DVDs, 2 DVD case, 3 CD cases, Airport Express, Dell keyboard (new), corroded flashlight, goblet, HDD caddy.

Day 20 – 2 Amazon Echo Dots, 1 Amazon Echo Spot, charging brick, power inverter, air inflator, green ethernet cable, old ipad cord, phone cord, pee monitor, little first aid kit, measuring cup set, old tub of random screws, cowbell, 10/100 switch, 4 bowls, tie strap, tie

Day 21 – 2 Cycling Jerseys, 2 Cycling Shorts, Khaki Shorts, 4 ABU tops, 3 ABU Pants, ABU belt, 4 Blues Shirts, 2 Blues Pants, Sand Shirt,

Day 22 – 2 Baskets, broken VR thing, broken binoculars, vacuum filter, attachment for a vacuum we don’t have, xbox game, DVD case, DVD, old tablet, vacuum belt, whole food book, 7 mismatched vacuum attachments, bag, fanny pack, baseball glove.

Day 23 – AMD Sunglasses, Kid tunnel, Bike Pump, 2 Gun bags, Gun cleaning kit, old book jacket, Bluetooth speaker, 15 books from my office.

Day 24 – Well more than enough wires – nearly all the wires and adapters from the basket in the closet, my stereo.

Day 25 – Most of my T-Shirts, a bunch of the kids’ old clothes. All totaling over 25 items.

Day 26 – Mostly junk from my truck.. let’s see: 2 charging blocks, a cell phone case, tums (don’t need them anymore), phone cupholder thing, hell.. I don’t remember. It was 26 things.

Day 27 – UAE playing cards, UAE postcards, UAE puzzle, flashlight, 6 DVDs/cases, 6 books, 3 cables, UAE hat, old mic, usaf abu nametape, abu comm badge, another flashlight, single uae postcard, little drone

Day 28 – little mesh bag, Disney pin backs, little chip puller, random black string in a bag, DE hand sanitizer, pile of AoM business cards, eroica journal, phone screen protector, boot blouse, wifi dongle, benedryl, blue ethernet cable, usb splitter thing, Gideon testament, 2 lamps, abu hat, sand shirt, frying pan, pillow case, 4 spatulas, 1 tongs, 1 kitchen shears, 1 cake batter thing, 1 can opener

Day 29 – 2 Knives, wooden spoon, vegetable peeler, Ironing Board Cover. GA blue cup, essential oil diffuser, ladle, big spoon decoration, big fork decoration, Little water fountain, jeep keychain, broken piece of swiss army knife, little tin tea box, another costa case, yet another costa case, arlo charging block, camera case, gravis controller, N64 game, Dell Dock, wii controller, life book, bird plushie, Shoe Shine Kit, Star Trek Book, Nirvana discs, Remote to stereo

Day 30 – 10 books, Asus router, 2 PoE adapters (donate to work), 2 mousepads, wore out belt, old compressor, old nail gun, 11 pieces of kid’s clothing, a bowl, my big metal cup.