#joyfulgiving

On 30 December 2019, I set out to give away at least 366 items in a meaningful way. So far I’ve given away 851 things – and now I’m aiming for 1,000!

What is the challenge about?

Minimalism is so in. Anything that doesn’t bring you joy is out the door. But what happens to it then?

What if instead of just throwing away your unwanted things, you could ensure that they bring joy to others? In this challenge, I seek not just to declutter and downsize the things that no longer bring me joy, but I am seeking to find ways to give my stuff away in a meaningful and intentional way to give other people joy as well. In essence, I’m spending a year embracing slow gifting. Along the way, I will be exploring sustainability, giving and receiving, non-attachment and the importance of community. You can find out about the challenge I set up here. And I’ve listed the blog posts and giveaway tally below.

#joyfulgiving366 posts

I’ve given away 851 items – and counting!

ItemTally
A blue flower bobby pin (30 December 2019)1
Diamonte earrings (30 December 2019)1
A little black dress (30 December 2019)1
A peasant top (30 December 2019)1
The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb (30 December 2019)1
A jar of olives (31 December 2019)1
Biography of Elizabeth Macarthur by Michelle Scott-Tucker (1 January 2020)1
A plastic faux amber necklace (2 January 2020)1
A green semi-precious stone art deco necklace (2 January 2020)1
A pearl necklace (returned to my sister, with love, 2 January 2020)1
A pearl bangle (2 January 2020)1
A butterfly scarf (2 January 2020)1
City Chic houndstooth skirt (2 January 2020)1
Grey lace net skirt (2 January 2020)1
Liz Claiborne shirt, not pictured on blog (2 January 2020)1
Diana Ferrari dress (2 January 2020)1
Regatta striped long sleeves top (2 January 2020)1
Three Head and Shoulder shampoo bottles (3 January 2020)3
A collection of hotel toiletries, e.g. shampoo, conditioner, soap, razor set (3 January 2020)10
A jar of instant coffee (3 January 2020)1
Two sports towels (3 January 2020)2
The Cat in the Hat DVD (3 January 2020)1
Where the Wild Things Are DVD (3 January 2020)1
Facemask (4 January 2020)1
Book: Finding your Inner Calm (4 January 2020)1
Book: Beating the Street by Peter Lynch (4 January 2020)1
Old cutlery (5 January 2020)1
Book: Wholefoods for Children (6 January 2020)11
Book: Healthy Eating for Kids (6 January 2020)1
IKEA Octopus laundry hanger (7 January 2020)1
DVD: 27 Dresses (7 January 2020)1
Book: Women and Money by Suze Orman (8 January 2020)1
Book: Slow and Steady by John de Ravin (8 January 2020)1
Book: Underspent by Rachel Smith (8 January 2020)1
Book: Healing Through Humour (9 January 2020)1
Book: Glamour by Louise Bagshawe (9 January 2020)1
Food scraps via ShareWaste (10 January 2020)1
One orange top (12 January 2020)1
One ball gown (12 January 2020)1
One hairpiece for someone who just got engaged (12 January 2020);1
One red and white cardigan (12 January 2020)1
Willow Pattern dinner set (13 January 2020)1
Book: Think and Grow Rich, The Legacy by James Whittaker (14 January 2020)1
A memory card matching game (15 January 2020)1
A Lola and Charlie floor puzzle (15 January 2020)1
An IKEA indoor kids tent (15 January 2020)1
Book: Women’s Weekly The Afternoon Tea Collection (15 January 2020)1
A bag of clothes (mainly leftover from a clothes swap) (16 January 2020)6
Book: Do It! A guide to living your dreams (17 January 2020)1
Food – bananas, apricots, stale bread rolls, milk, wine (17 January 2020)5
Book: Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella (20 January 2020)1
Delicious. Magazine x1 (21 January)1
Delicious. Magazine x2 (22 January)2
Delicious. Magazine x 2 (24 January)2
Book: Bodies of Men by Nigel Featherstone (29 January)1
Hand grips (30 January)1
Skipping rope (30 January)1
Hair curlers (31 January)1
A white Cue brand shirt; (1 February)1
A pair of Calvin Klein pants; (1 February)1
A purple/blue jacket (1 February);1
A light grew top (1 February)1
A white top (1 February)1
A light green knit top (1 February)1
A navy blue knitted baby’s jacket (Country Road) (1 February)1
A size 6 grey skirt (1 February)1
A Korean black and bright red floral dress (1 February)1
A pair of black platform shoes (1 February)1
A retro (80s?) handmade top and skirt (1 February)1
A size 6/8 black skirt (1 February)1
A plastic container (1 February)1
Handknitted jumper for Neil1
Japanese floor chairs x 44
Small wooden stool1
Kombucha SCOBY1
Plastic container full of food scraps1
Book:  Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd1
Book:  Watch me throw the Ball by Mo Willems1
Plastic bucket to use in the bath1
Book: Stock Market Secrets by Marcus Padley1
Book: The Cat and the Tao by Kwong Kuen Shan1
A bag of Indonesian coffee beans1
Money Magazine magazines x33
Money chat – #authorsforfireys1
Sourdough starter1
Book The Power Age: A celebration of life’s second act by Kelly Doust1
Sourdough starter (plus bread flour)1
Book Peepo! by Allan and Janet Ahlberg1
8 x children’s books featuring art from some of the world’s best art galleries themed with ABC1
A floral dress1
A packet of retro dominoes1
One grey dressing gown1
One ochre toned floral top1
Sourdough starter1
Scraps via Share Waste1
Empty Huawei mobile phone box for my dad1
City Chic ballgown dress for my sister1
AFR newspaper for @latestarterFIRE1
Book: Love Worthy by Jo Worthy1
Book: The Great Sales Book by Jack Collis1
Book: No Country Woman by Zoyta Patel1
Mason jar filled with glass beads and a bulb1
Writing advice1
2 x Japanese gardening books2
3 x little boys’ undies in good condition (and clean!)3
2 x pairs of little boys’ socks2
4 x school uniform shorts4
3 x kid’s books3
3 x Chinese language books published in Taiwan3
Zara brand boys summer shirt1
A portable DVD player1
The Very Hungry Caterpillar game1
Tupperware kitchen scales1
A pink overnight bag with a heart design on it1
Sourdough starter1
Two pairs of boys jeans2
Five kitchen utensils5
A wrought-iron doormat1
A bamboo blind1
A white, cotton Carole Hochman dressing gown1
Bag of clothes for Zonta preloved Fashion Sale12
Hat/fascinator for a bridal shower1
Pokemon UNO1
Book:   Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable1
Book: Special Guest: Recipes for the happily imperfect host by Annabel Crabb and Wendy Sharp1
A roll of toilet paper1
A loaf of home-baked sourdough bread1
A big bag of scraps for the chooks1
Food for a sick friend1
A black jacket1
A white, lace dress1
A blue cotton top1
A pair of curtains1
4 x kitchen utensils4
One small Lego man1
Vegan sausage, lentil and purslane lunch1
Book: What to expect when you are expecting1
19 x clothes19
8 x jewellery8
Volunteering with Zonta with PLFS1
A copy of The Joyful Frugalista, donated to the raffle1
Book: How much is enough? By Will Buttrose, Ita Buttrose and Mike Galgut1
Six hole egg poacher1
Green tomatoes – Trish and Bob1
Green tomatoes – inlaws1
A pair of red, corduroy pants1
A compact mirror1
Some homemade honey and coconut oil cough drops1
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely1
Fire Relief Crafting Circle Squares8
Book: Spot’s big book of words1
Book: 3-minute stories: bedtime tales1
Mini-cupcakes with Nutella icing (RFS thank you event)1
Sourdough bread1
ANZAC Biscuits1
Mushrooms to neighbours1
Sourdough starter x 33
Parsley3
Sourdough starter x 33
Cooking for a sick friend (homemade pizza plus banana muffins)2
Sourdough starter x 11
Home cooked meal for a sick friend (mango chicken)1
Book: The Warren Buffett Way (3rd edition) by Robert G. Hagstrom1
Sourdough starter x 22
Foraged field mushrooms x 22
Jigsaw puzzle: The Blue Vase by Paul Cézanne1
Build a solar house physics kit1
Mango chicken curry meal for Neil’s sick friend1
A 1,000 piece puzzle of the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco1
Sourdough starter1
2 x avocados2
Cream satin wedding dress1
Cream shoes1
White gold and diamond necklace (on loan)1
750-piece jigsaw puzzle of Sifnos, Greece1
High frequency word bingo1
6 x forks6
  
Yellow plastic capsicum storer1
Money Magazine1
food scraps for my in-laws chooks1
7 x boys clothes7
green vintage woollen coat1
Tibetan mandala jigsaw puzzle1
Japanese garden jigsaw puzzle1
V-slicer1
Laundry bag1
2 x foundation (make-up)2
Book: The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams1
Audio CD: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz1
Candle: Song of Oya (Joy)1
Candle: Song of Oya (Goddess Laksmi)1
500-piece Ravensberg puzzle of a girl and kittens (three pieces missing)  1
Microwave oven with plastic food1
Boys shoes1
Lego Ninjago movie set1
Gina Ford baby lullaby book1
Baby toy for putting shapes in1
Helping a friend build a computer1
Lego rescue set (three parts, one kit)1
Pet pillow1
A container of waste for chooks1
A flags of the world jigsaw puzzle1
Money Magazine, March 20201
Pizza1
Lunch: sourdough bread and mushroom soup1
Black dress with zip down the front1
Classic black jacket1
Jacqui-E corporate dress1
Sourdough bread x 22
Container of food scraps x 22
Kids books x 33
Kids book x 77
Book: Silver linings1
Blue Indian cotton top1
Sourdough bread1
Kids books x 33
Giant bike1
Sourdough starter 
Blue and yellow soccer shirt1
Wooden skipping rope 
Bunnykins mug1
Dotcom Secrets by Russel Brunsen1
A necklace1
Kitchen utensils24
Bill payment system1
Skull patterned folders2
Loan of our car1
Suit1
Paprika2
Extra hot chillis1
Coriander1
Wall stickers1
1 box children’s building blocks1
Ski pants, ski jacket and gloves for a young child3
Cardboard boxes10
Scraps for chooks2
Moccona coffee jar1
Jake and the pirate ship inflatable sword1
Jake and the pirate ship activity book1
Winter vest1
3 x jigsaw puzzles3
Pokemon card decks10
Fidget spinners3
Phalaenopsis orchid in need of love1
Clothes swap20
Storm trooper costumes2
Collins Scrabble Dictionary1
The Ultimate Guide to Winning Scrabble by Derryn Hinch1
1 x diamond shaped key ring1
Gold flecked necklace1
Women’s clothes10
SCOBY1
Glass jars4
Books on how to write2
Necklaces2
Box of veggie scraps1
Blue kids hoodie1
Minion removable tattoos1
Magic face washer (Disney)1
A stuffed toy aka Rainbow Dash1
Stamps and mini figurines10
Mutant mania figures4
Clothing to the Zonta Preloved Fashion Sale100
3 x sourdough starters3
SCOBY1
Glass jars3
Sourdough starter2
4 x cookbooks4
A chef’s apron1
SCOBY1
Lemon vinegar1
Sourdough starter1
CDs2
Box of nine liqueur and cocktail glasses1
Kids clothes, socks etc15
One ruby red money box1
3 x kids books3
1 Japanese block building set1
1 silicon peanut shaped mould1
Kids books3
Sheets of stickers3
Rice ball maker1
Vase1
Magican can opener1
SCOBY2
Red fluffy cushion1
Op shop donations30
Necklaces3
CDs2
Fashion tattoos1
Green Zara top1
Portable salad container1
Vinnes – misc11
Paisley bedspread1
Peach and gold kameez1
  
Pink stapler1
Black hole punch1
Boys clothes, crockery, wall stickers, kitchen items, books etc42
Cookbook1
Delicious magazines10
Sourdough starter1
National Portrait Gallery face cards for kids2
Pineapple cordial1
Musicals CD (3 disc set)3
Book: Slumdog Millionaire1
8 x food magazines8
Plants, cuttings, pots etc20
Computer mouse1
Computer monitor1
13 plastic sealing pegs13
MONA jigsaw puzzle1
Handbags2
Pieces of fabric2
Children’s books7
Tim Shaw’s Sales Success Secrets1
Various cutlery and miscellaneous items to op shop27
Toys, games etc for Christmas4
Volunteering for Christmas (aka elving)1
Sourdough starter1
Lavender wands2
Help with updating an old laptop1
Computer mouse1
Bowl of plums1
TOTAL851