During a holiday typically synonymous with consuming, Betty Doyling and Grace Markham have teamed up to play the Minimalist Game.

An antidote to the consumer-fuelled holiday, the 30-day game challenges participants to rid themselves of excess belongings.

Created by self-styled internet life-hackers, “The Minimalists”, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, the task is to remove one item on day one, two on day two, three on day three, and so on.

There is no limit to what you can cull, however each material possession must be out of the house — and out of your life — by midnight each day. Whoever can keep it going the longest wins; you both win if you can make it all month.

Ms Markham said: “It’s nice to remove the need for the consumerist ideas that drive the economy around Christmas.

“Far too many people put themselves in debt buying things that fill their houses up that they don’t need or use. I’m trying to remove that element from my life and save money and space.”

For her version, she’s added a twist. “Try not to be wasteful,” she said. “It is easy to cop out and throw something away — find somewhere it’ll be appreciated.”

Ms Doyling said: “I was browsing Facebook and saw Grace’s post on minimalism. I like to read magazines, buy workout clothes, sneakers, perfume and have found that it is piling up into one big mess — well, several random messes!”

The mother of two said she has been wanting to declutter for a while.

“Living in a small house with very little storage means you can’t be a major collector of various items,” she said.

She lives with her partner, Nick Hoskins, and has been keeping a log: “Day two and three — some cute, but useless, Christmas bobbleheads and some random electronic stuff I don’t use.

“Battery charger, shower speaker I lost the cords for, and a telata USB Wi-Fi dongle — all going for sale at the market this weekend.”

Ms Doyling said: “I am really happy about this game at the moment. It makes me feel liberated and free of excess clutter.

“I have three bags of clothing; I have gotten rid of two bags of magazines; I have even thrown out old shoes.

“I think the hardest now is knowing where to take the items to get rid of them quickly but not cause them to go to waste. I want to know that the good items will be used.”

Ms Doyling has found that since embarking on the task she feels less stressed when she walks through the door.

Ms Markham said: “The game has been seriously good at making you think about how much stuff we keep and collect that we have absolutely zero use for — it’s so wasteful.”