It’s day eight of my 12 Days of Giveaways Minimalism Challenge, and I must say, I feel truly challenged! (Although, honestly, “truly challenged” could describe many moments of my life… including the last several hours as I attempted to help three six-year-olds finish homework, eat dinner in a somewhat respectable fashion, and complete the necessary steps for bedtime preparation. I should probably be used to this feeling by now!)

When I issued this challenge, I didn’t really think about how hard it might be for me–someone who regularly donates items–to find 78 extra items to give away. But I’m doing it! Here’s what I’ve donated so far:

Day One: One bag of children’s hand-me-down clothes, given to a very grateful friend.

Day Two: A set of unused springform pans (I had three. I must’ve had dreams of starting my own cake-baking business…) and a set of napkin rings (pointless wedding registry item, anyone?) 

 Day Three: This was my favorite giveaway yet: a set of newspapers and a Saturday Evening Post from 1963, from the weeks following the Kennedy assassination. My grandma had saved these and given them to my mom when she downsized; my mom then found them as I was helping her downsize. She didn’t know what to do with them, so I told her I would take them. Instead of continuing the family tradition of passing them along to my daughter, I gave them to a friend who teaches high school history. (Note: my mom was totally cool with this.) He was geeked to get them, and when I dropped them off, I got to enjoy a morning chat and coffee with his wife, who is also a good friend and former colleague of mine. Everything about this giveaway was awesome, from the joy of giving to someone excited to receive to reconnecting with old friends. This is what it’s all about!

Day Four: Some old DVDs that reflect questionable purchasing judgment. Death to Smoochie??? It’s just embarrassing to own that movie…. (Note: Josh bought it.)

Day Five: This day coincided with our annual tree-trimming and holiday decorating, so all the giveaway items reflect holiday decor we no longer wish to display. Worry not, Star Wars fans. These ornaments were only the Star Wars ones we didn’t display. There are plenty of stormtroopers and wookies on the tree, believe me!

Day Six: Unused dishwasher detergent that I’d been hanging on to in the hopes that my dishwasher would stop sucking at it’s job. No such luck. It seems my hands do a much better job of cleaning my dishes than my dishwasher ever will. And a grill lighter. Because we have like a million of those. And our grill lights automatically.

Day Seven: Seven pieces of old technology, including a flip phone from the days before kids… yowza!

Day Eight: Eight extra paintbrushes from my kids’ craft supplies. My kids only have two hands each (which you wouldn’t know from the amount of  fingerprints they leave on walls and windows) so 14 total paintbrushes was a bit excessive. Now they have a total of six: allowing for one paintbrush per hand, if necessary.

If you are joining me on this 12 Days of Giveaways journey, I would love to hear how your minimalism challenge is going! And if you’re not, feel free to jump in and catch up. A giveaway habit can start anytime!

Rose Lounsbury is the Dayton, Ohio area’s up-and-coming professional organizer. After blogging about her own journey toward a minimalist lifestyle, Rose was inspired to start Less, a minimalist-minded professional organizing company. If you’d like Rose’s help with an organizing project at your home or office, please call her at 937-626-9030.