90s California Runner Mom

I am not 100% a minimalist, but I started my decluttering journey exactly two years ago, in 2022. I am a work in progress and my end goal is to be minimalish, not 100% minimalist, but as much as I can be. One thing I know I won’t be minimalist in is books, I love my books and have somewhere between 600-800 books and don’t plan to declutter them any time soon. Luckily my books don’t take up much space.

I do plan to be more minimalist when it comes to my family’s clothing and shoes. I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my 4 year old daughter. I have given away so much clothes in the last two years and plan to go through our clothes once again this month.

One major thing that I don’t own as someone on the minimalist journey is a tv. Almost everyone I know owns at least one tv, many of them own 2-3 tvs. I choose not to own a tv because I feel like it would look too clutered in my home. I also own a laptop and can use that for entertainment if I want to watch YouTube or a streaming service. My mom gave me her screen projector which we use to watch movies.

Another thing I don’t own is a microwave. In the 7 months that I’ve lived in my home, I havem’t felt like I am missing out on not owning a microwave. I feel like it would be too much clutter as well. I know if I bought a microwave I would end up buying more freezer meals and I know they’re convenient, but I would rather make my meals from scratch.

Those are the two major things I don’t own. I plan to go through my kitchen and see if there’s anything I can declutter, such as extra plates and kitchen appliances that I rarely use.

Here’s how I did with my 2023 goals. Spoiler alert, I didn’t accomplish most of them.

Travel

1. Weekend in San Diego x Didn’t get to go to San Diego
2. Trip to Las Vegas x Didn’t go to Las Vegas either

Fitness

1. Run 200 miles x Only ran 133 miles
2. Run half marathon under 2.5 hours x Got close, but didn’t reach this
3. Run 10k under 1 hour x Got close
4. Run 5k under 30 minutes x Almost did this
5. Run full marathon under 6 hours x Not even close

Personal/Family

1. Read 50 books * Easy goal, read a little over 100
2. Get my own place * Finally got my own place, I’ve been living there 7 months now
3. Go on 5 hikes x Didn’t do a single hike
4. Make bread from scratch x Nope
5. Publish 1 book x Nope

Business/Financial

1. Emergency fund $3,000 x Nope
2. Pay off Dentist CC * Did this
3. Pay off Target CC x Very close
4. Pay off Walmart CC X Nope
5. Pay off Capitol One X Nope
6. Pay off Chase 1 X Nope
7. Pay off Chase 2 X Nope
8. Pay off Amazon CC x Nope
9. Become monetised on YouTube x Nope
10. Reach 1,000 followers on Instagram x Nope
11. Reach 1,000 followers on TikTok x Nope

Out of my 23 goals, I ended up only accomplishing 3 goals. Maybe 2024 will be better.