Every day as I move from room to room in this house I see each object and mentally evaluate how it is serving me with an eye to possibly doing away with it. The basement has literally filled right up with items awaiting donation to the thrift store. As I simplify I realize more and more that the size of space we "need" to occupy, the things we accumulate for comfort or pleasure or even practical use, so much of it is utterly unnecessary but we aren't aware of it because we have been brought up in a culture of excessive consumption. We don't think we can live without this junk.

How many pairs of jeans does one person need? Pajamas? Scarves? Hats, boots, mitts, socks, t shirts? How many dishes? Does the luxury we live in with multiples of everything plus every convenience possible really make our lives better? Or does it rob us of the time for simple pleasures every day? Faced with loads of laundry and dishes, toys and books scattered everywhere, a thousand items to dust and countless floors to sweep and scrub each day and no time to spend with my kids or myself I suspect it to be the latter.

We have too much stuff and the more of it I get rid of, the more of it I see as unnecessary and something else to pass along. Don't get me wrong, I still have lovely art, gorgeous lamps, wonderful books, etc. But Less of them and that makes them even more special to me than when the house was positively loaded with treasures. And I never, ever run out of things to wear even with a fraction of my previous wardrobe. I still have a long way to go to get to the magical "coconut bowl" state but I'm starting to feel better.

Hey Coco,I understand you. I made a promise to myself to not bye anything anymore,except food and books.

I hear you, coco...

We have a lot of stuff...and much of it seems like a necessity, but is it really?

For example, I would like to condense some of my work areas...I have three printers, tons of cables, quite a few pieces of audio/recording equipment, instruments, electronics/test equipment....it just goes on & on...

I have managed to condense/eliminate extra items in the kitchen though; I am down to two juicers, one high speed blender...I think we still have an old Hamilton Beach out there...after I am done typing this I will go check & put it in the "toss" pile.

Lots of T shirts/15 or so pairs of jeans...I won't even mention my wife's shoes, lol...let's just say I have no floor space of my own in the closet...

I have a small box full of shoes still. That's about a quarter what I had before and I still feel like it's way too much. I wear boots all winter long, have 2 pairs of earth shoes that go with most of my clothes for fall and spring, a couple pairs of sneakers, a couple pairs of dress up shoes and lots of flip flops and sandals. It's crazy. Oh, and gum boots. And slippers. The kids have one pair of boots, one pair of sneakers, one pair of slippers and one pair of gum boots each. What is my problem?

The kitchen is easy, I've decided that we only need one plate, bowl, cup, glass and set of cutlery each so the rest can live in storage for when guests come over. This makes doing dishes very easy . Now if only I could sort out all the bathroom stuff, why is there so much of it? It's totally mental how much junk I have for bathing and body care and it's only a Fraction of what most women have! Clips and elastics for hair, creams and lotions and brushes and clippers and first aid stuff galore! Everything we could ever possibly need and never do.

Here's my new motto:

Make do
Do without
Use it up
Wear it out!

ok, that's after I donate some of this junk.

hmmm, yeah, I dislike "stuff" I feel ya on this...I start to feel almost claustrophobic or something when theres to much "stuff" clogging up my life.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Claustrophobic. Yes, that is my feeling lately. I think being back in the city is contributing to that though. I am crowded in on all sides by useless junk I would rather do without, inside and outside the house.

ugh, I can relate to that, yuba city isnt to bad as far as bigger cities go, but I dont like being jammed in so close with so many other people...its...I just dislike it a lot...:/... I really miss living out in the country...*sigh* wanna join my imaginary commune? everybody has their own hom a half mile apart, but with a big group area in the middle where they can come to hangout, talk, barter, all that fun stuff...lol

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Going through all our books today. I've already gotten rid of so much of our library but taking a look at what's left I find myself wondering why I ever decided to keep any of it. I don't ever take these reference or how-to books off the shelf and if there is ever a time I want any of this info it's all online anyhow. Seriously, a stack of books as tall as I am is ready to go out the door. I think I'd better sort my junk out and have a yard sale in the spring. The amount of revenue this represents is a bit depressing. I could have bought a high end juicer a long time ago if I'd saved on purchasing, moving and storage for all this extra crap I've surrounded myself with.

I've been doing some google about "de-cluttering" & getting rid of things...it is amazing how we accumulate all this garbage & then pack it away & never use it.

Why do we do this? How to stop? i will keep searching for the answer...

I went through 20 pairs of jeans yesterday & got rid of 5...I guess that's a start...

I own 3 pairs of pants, 1 is a pair of jeans, one is a pair of nice corduroys, and the other is the suit pants for my suit...I think I need more pants, whats your size? lol j/k

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

And then I found a parcel at the door. 6 pairs of fancy socks I ordered for myself. Like I need more socks . Ok, this is my one fashion weakness, these socks. Really, I have a problem.
[www.sockittome.com]

But I've finished with the books, mine and the small girl's. And I got rid of two enormous bags of movies (all bought from the thrift store though so didn't really cost me much to buy them in the first place). And I went through the kitchen too, lots of extra stuff in there! And the girl's dresser.
Tonight my dresser (again) and the closet and the linen cupboard where we keep all the toiletries and bath stuffs.

JK what do you need with 15 pairs of jeans though? Even if that's all you wear, with kids in the house I know you do laundry at least once a week. I think I have 5 pairs of jeans total plus 2 pairs of stretchy work out type pants. Lots and lots of socks though. Tons of socks.

coco...

I don't know why I need all those jeans...why do you need all the socks?!?!? LOL

Actually, about 1/2 of them are "work" jeans & 1/2 are "good/dress" jeans. I believe this may come from a childhood when I didn't have very much, so now I guess I like to stock up on stuff...

That's my mom's deal too, her mom was in the depression so she horded food, my mom hordes stuff. We grew up in a jumble of her things, it was madness. visiting her cottage now is like being inside the thrift store. Really.

I don't dress up very much, kind of wear the same things over and over again but I put on funky socks every single day. I really, really love socks! It used to be fancy unders but no one ever sees that junk and it's all so uncomfortable, I switched my obsession to sox .

Today it's brown tan and grey argyle. In the mail I got awesome rain drops and umbrellas, blue paper air planes, yellow and black stripes with bees, pink elephants, lady bugs on green leaves and multicoloured gummie bears. Heh. The kids adore mama's insane socks. I'm a fun mum.

coco i grew up in the shadow of my parents *depression* years too and was taught to be a horder, stockpiler, saver, etc

its a hard habit to break for sure , there is so much crap in our house its almost stifiling lol

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Haha Coco, same exact deal with my mom too.

I couldnt bring friends over when I was growing up, most of the time!

My sister caught her rat-packing bug. I went the opposide direction and now I am a housecleaner with a spartan home, hahaha

I also am going through everything I own right now to pare down. I thought it was a raw transition symptom.

sue

It's going great over here! It is the best, most liberating feeling in the entire world to let go of physical stuff. Old junk, out the door. Bye, see ya later stuff I don't want anymore ~~~

I spent part of this afternoon at the home of a dear friend and mid-level clinical hoarder, crawling around on floors peering under furniture for gold coins and silver bars she "misplaced" somewhere in her cluttered little home.


People, however overwhelmed by stuff you may feel, I assure you it cannot be as bad as what I saw today. That you realize you need to simplify means it's all gonna be OK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2011 09:07PM by Tamukha.

coco, I LOVE your motto:
Make do
Do without
Use it up
Wear it out!

Here's my story about stuff:

I went as a volunteer to help a man who was moving out of his rental basement flat. My first clue that this might be a bigger job than I'd imagined came when he opened the door and a small mouse ran OUT! The door could not open all of the way because of the stacks of STUFF behind it and EVERYWHERE. Between the piles and heaps of stuff were narrow paths that led to his bed, the sink and fridge and toilet. Even his bed was crowded with stuff and only a clear spot in the center for him to curl up. Needless to say he did not want to part with anything! So instead of asking him to throw anything out (which would have taken truckloads) I asked him to select things he really NEEDED. Apparently he needed it all. Pathological. gave it my best shot for several hours then told the volunteer center that someone else would have to help him finish. I wished them luck.


My favorite raw vegan

sounds like my mom:/

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Those stories are scaring me.

Friends were over to play cards tonight and their van was LOADED with stuff, I mean just to the rafters. My friend's sister sold her house and had to move so they took a bunch of stuff for the thrift store they volunteer at. She asked me if I wanted anything and at first I was like No WAY! But I did end up with 2 enamel plates and cups for camping (those are actually on my list of things to get for when we take off) and a little scooter thing for my son to use this summer. I was so good, I didn't even look at the other stuff. AND I gave her a bag of things from the kitchen that I'd set aside for HER! Ha, came out pretty good in that equation.

I am itchy to get at the other storage nooks and crannies in this house but I can't do a thing until I find me some boxes. Living with little piles of stuff and books here and there is not working so well for us. The baby gets into everything and spreads it around the house, ha!

Bathroom and linen cupboard, check.
Kitchen including fridge and dried goods, check.
Files and old paperwork, check.
Working on closet now. Basement tomorrow. I feel good .

^_^

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I lied, I never got to the closet. Instead I got into bed with a small daughter and slept like a baby all night. Cleared out the cobwebs in my mind, maybe that counts for destashing stuff as well .

We're getting out of the house this morning, it snowed again yesterday but it's supposed to be nice out today, yay! We're going to grocery shop and get some boxes to start on that basement. That's the big project so wish me luck, it's going to be a toughy .

You'll be so happy once it's done.
Good luck.


My favorite raw vegan

Trive, is it ever really done? I'm telling you, it feels like this is the 10th time I've done this, gotten rid of all the extra stuff. And then you turn around and you're like "OMG, where did all this crap come from?!" Again! I still have stuff from before we moved to BC when the little man was wee. We've moved EIGHT times since then! I'm getting fed up.

coco,

I think I have discovered the cure;

go shopping...never bring anything into the house except for food and personals. Live by the seat of your pants - only make a purchase when something breaks & you need a replacement.

Easier said than done - I am not sure if I can do it.

I had to buy bulbs today, 3 of the 5 in the chandelier thing over the dining table have gone and it had gotten very dim in there. We went to the dollar store but didn't get out of there without spending over $20. Sigh. What did we get? Things that were on my list and things that weren't. Never go to the dollar store with children.

How goes the battle of the 'stuff' coco?

Not so terrific I'm afraid. I would like to just box it all up and call the thrift store for pick up but I should at least try to sell some of it to recoup some money. Sorting it out is a trial though. And today I think I have food poisoning from some restaurant food. Being mired in mountains of stuff we're sorting out is not making kitchen duties very easy. The baby threw up in the mid-morning and I woke up today with, well, it isn't pleasant anyhow. So no work today, just resting and many trips to the loo. Ugh.

Oh no! I hope you and the baby feel better soon.