moving towards minimalism and contempating zero waste

So far I have accumulated a count of nearly 24 things thrown out.  The goal was to monotonically increase the number of items I rid myself and my household of until I couldn't meet the minimum number or felt it was time to stop. This self-challenge has been going on for mmmm, four days and so I should have rid myself of 10 items but it is always easy to find more junk in store. 

I have created a list of places in my home where junk is known to collect or places where I store things I don't use, like the linen closet drawer that is full of sample beauty products, travel sized-tooth paste, unused jewelry and the like.   The first pass will eliminate obvious junk and return misplaced items to their proper collection.  The second pass will sort through the collections, taking everything into account and remove unnecessary or unneeded items. 
For example, my fireplace mantle is now collecting candle holders while my bureau is collecting jewelery and papers I need to file (because they no longer fit into the piano bench where I've been stuffing them for the past 6 months).

First I should mention a few things: 
I have never been minimalist and never a rabid consumer.  I usually only buy things I perceive as needs and sometimes I don't.  Usually the need is food, alcohol, tea or books and sometimes it is coordinating Christmas tablecloths and napkins for both kitchen and dining room tables.
I lived away from my home for work for over a year quite recently, in a very rural part of America. 
My cell phone is over five years old.  It is not a flip phone but it is my last upgrade from a phone where I had to press the number key several times to select the appropriate letter/number while sending text messages.

This process has already helped my immensely.  First by identifying a few places where clutter stacks up (coat room) and second by bringing my attention to things I have completely ignored.  i.e. my finances.  I loath opening mail.  This needs to change.

So without further ado, here are the ejected items and some thoughts I've collected along the way: 

junk and a few actual used-up items

• I am a long way from acquiring anything additional:  
• I already have such a load of stuff
• I don’t want my daughter to inherit a plastic-filled world. 
• It is important to look at everything together.  Decluttering your wardrobe and shopping habits with a house full of other useless junk is missing the point.  
• Decluttering room by room is one way to go, but it allows one to compartmentalize things.  It is better to examine every piece of a collection in conjunction.  
• I am now more than ever keenly aware of the amount of trash I have brought into my home and the amount leaving it.  
• Recycling is just another like a byword for garbage. 
• I have this dream/vision that everything I own will fit into either my dresser, medicine cabinet/dash bag, suitcase, desk or cedar chest.  
• For a girl who carries her passport in her wallet, this is the ultimate in flexibility.
• I also don’t want my daughter to inherit the idea that stuff/ someone else will solve her problem or make her happy.  
• I have bought so many things 'in a pinch' and the convenience is overshadowed by the burden of disposing of the item.   
• I don’t want my daughter to give up her sovereignty or right to knowledge as so many other people have been separated from nature and simple solutions.  
• I don't want her upended and stuffed into yet another box as those who came before her.  
• There are even things that I took for granted that I am rethinking now. There are much simpler and plastic-free ways to accomplish the same goal. 
• Once I have visited all the ‘clutter sites’, I will revisit them again and probably again after that because for me decluttering is very mood-dependent.  
• I have to catch myself in the right frame of mind to let go of some things.  
• One day, it is a sentimental treasure, the next, I can see it as junk/clutter that contributes nothing whatsoever to my life/happiness.  
• I've only worn out one thing.  One thing.  Out of 24.  Most of the stuff on the list I bought and will never use all the way up.  Some things I bought and used but couldn't let go of the container -weird, I know but that counts for another two things for a whopping 15% of the things I am getting rid of due to wear.  
• I feel more guilt throwing something into the garbage or even recycling than I would if I kept it.   
• This is very eye opening and will inform future purchases.  Even if I decide I do need to redecorate or change something, I will carefully consider the materials, ethics and eventual disposal of every item I bring into the house. 
• Several of the sites I want to clean don't contain junk but hold items that belong elsewhere.  
• I need to examine these items and figure out a better system of management for them.
• I want everything gone now.  I wish I could ditch work to declutter the entire house this instant.  On the other hand, I have never been a rabid consumer so there is refreshingly less clutter to deal with than I had originally envisioned.  
• Unfortunately, however, I did not stay on top of my filing and that will be quite a task, once undertaken.  I am not looking forward to it.  Not at all.  
• I need to deal with my files and finances.  I can not afford to ignore it.