Wednesday 17 August 2011

Becoming a minimalist...

Today is the day for cleaning out closets, cubbies and drawers.  I am beginning to feel like I am on an episode of Hoarders.

There are five people living in this house and this morning I counted 13 pairs of shoes in our muddy room.  Flip flops, running shoes, rubber boots, work boots, sandals and more.  That number will quadruple when I actually open the closet door. 

The linen closet is another nightmare.  Why am I saving curtains that are sun faded?  I will never dye them.  Do I still need a vaporizer that I haven’t used in three years?  Why are light bulbs being stored in the linen closet yet I don’t have a shelf for my extra towels?  Why do I need extra towels? When was the last time I used those sheets?  Our youngest is almost eight; I guess it’s time to get rid of the last of the bibs and receiving blankets. 

In the past three months we have had three garbage bags of hand me down given to us.  I love receiving hand me downs from older cousins and friends. We have multiple totes of clothing that I have been saving until someone grows into it. Hand me downs save us lots of money every year but I could seriously open a thrift store right now. Today we will spend hours sorting, purging and bagging up unneeded items. Keep what we need and give away the rest to others who could use them.

My friend P recently shared with me that she believes everything should have a place.  If you are saving a trophy, toy or memento from your childhood then it should be honored and on display not keep it packed away in a box on the top shelf of the closet. I like it.  If you can’t honor it, get rid of it.  If you haven’t used it in six months, get rid of it. If it doesn’t fit, get rid of it.   If you resent having to dust it, get rid of it.  If it’s taking up space that you need, get rid of it.

I envy people who have just what they need and no more.  In theory if there is less clutter in my home then I will have less clutter in my brain.  I like it.  So I will add becoming a minimalist on my list of goals to accomplish over the next three years.    It will likely take all three years with the amount of things I need to go through.

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