Living on Less: Joy of Less Conclusion

About a year ago, I starting blogging about minimalist, clutter-free living. I believe there were 7 parts to my commentary on the book, and this post will be my final post about The Joy of Less.

Perhaps some of you have resolutions to become more organized or clutter-free or to simplify life. I know our little Joy of Less journey has done all of that for us. Here's a summary of all we did (that I can remember) to become more clutter-free.

First of all, I went through nearly every room and closet and PURGED stuff. And I realized that it was just STUFF. Some things we kept because they were meaningful. Some things were necessary or super useful. Some things were just plain ol' fun. But many, many things were just taking up space. Space I wanted to prepare for our new baby girl. Space I wanted to have empty so my house felt more open and not squished.

We purged a LOT. These were all sold on KSL:
- my cracked iPod touch
- TV stand
- a shelf for cube boxes/baskets
- a small cedar-type chest
- my old financial calculator used in college courses
- my old TI83 calculator from high school math classes
- extra un-used throw pillows
- couch cover
- an old SLR film camera (awesome camera....but it's FILM...)
- a formal pooffy dress slip
- 2 chests of drawers (we found room for those clothes in our closet...no need for the extra furniture)
- a small pantry cupboard
- a metal towel rack/shelf
- a large baker's rack

We made just over $400 selling this unnecessary stuff. Much was just stowed away in closets or in the garage. It was, at one point in the past, useful. However, it was no longer needed or used by us.

Some of the items we got purged. I didn't get
photos of everything over the course of the year.

In addition, I donated over 9-10 boxes of clothing and random objects to thrift stores and other charities. We also got rid of a large computer desk (well, actually, we just moved it to Sam's work for his use there...but it's out of the house, so it counts).

To maximize space we purchased some items, including hanging closet organizers (I couldn't believe how much space was not being used in the closests!), a cabinet over the fridge and a cabinet for our computer printer and office supplies.

In part to our hard work at decluttering, in part for Christmas gift to ourselves, and in part for reaching other goals, we got rid of a HUGE mitsubishi 50-inch big screen TV (the old big screen TVs that were about 15 inches thick...can't complain, though, because we got it for free) and purchased a nice, sleek (and thin!) Samsung HD 46" LED 1080p 120 hz BYOB 24/7 ASAP and mounted it above our fireplace. Talk about open space!

As recommended by the author of Joy of Less, I scheduled a yearly declutter weekend to happen over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Our mind is already racing with where to start and what to sift through. I've definitely re-discovered that living on less has so many benefits.

“That’s the beauty of minimalist living—being satisfied with what’s enough to meet our needs, rather than wasting our time, money, and energy to fulfill lofty or unrealistic expectations...When we’re content with “enough,” life becomes infinitely easier, more pleasant, and less harried.

It’s very liberating.” (Joy of Less pg. 258)

It's been a fun journey. I appreciate the idea the author details of "gatekeeping"--basically being constantly aware of what you allow to stay in your home. It's amazing how easily "stuff" enters our home and sticks around if we're not careful.


To re-cap ideas from Joy of Less and my own two cents, see these posts:
Part 1: Declutter Bug
Part 2: Space
Part 3: Decluttering How-To
Part 4: Tough Stuff 
Part 5: Where to Put What You Keep
Part 6: Gatekeeping
Part 7: Gifts and Heirlooms

All Work and Still Some Play

Sam went back to work today. I guess it's always a bitter-sweet thing. It's crazy to think that another whole summer has vanished into the memories of our past.

Last week Sam finished another project in the house. As he was doing so,  I started listing the many, many projects he completed this summer.
- Installed 2 doors and one door frame.
- Painted said doors and the baby's room.
- Moved furniture and junk from one room to another to another.
- Put together new furniture and baby's furniture.
- Took out old shower door and installed shower curtain.
- Seeded large sections of our back yard.
- Planted and weeded our garden (I helped with that, too).
- Painted baby furniture & other stuff.
- Hauled in 2 truckloads of dirt and leveled a large section of our backyard.
- Ripped out a large section of soggy, flooded sheetrock.
- Installed a light in a hallway that never had a light.
- Installed a new faucet and garbage disposal.
- He even mowed the lawn a few times. Bwahaha.

Hooray for a teacher's summer vacation!

I'm amazed that even with all the work, he still managed to get in almost three weeks of camping/fishing trips and numerous trail-running excursions. (See his blog here for more on those adventures.) No wonder the summer went by so quickly.

As for the latest project, here's what he did.

Winston's closet went from having wanna-be fast track removable metal shelving that really didn't make much use of the space (didn't get a before photo, unfortunately) to something like this:

Sam remembered to grab a photo before he did any more work.

All complete.

Now Sam has redone or added to every closet (except one) in our house to make the most of the space. For example, he added another shelf to the top of our coat and linen closets because we didn't need a 4-foot space above the last shelf. This has really helped make better use of otherwise wasted space.

I have learned by watching Sam that adding shelving to closets is probably one of the easiest home improvement projects. I think I could even do it all by myself (but I'm happy to let him take the lead). It's helped us get rid of dressers--we now just use the space in our closets.

I've also learned that Winston has way too much stuff. I'm trying to sneak things into the donation box without him noticing...

Nesting Projects, Phase 1

I mentioned in my last post that I've hit a nice nesting phase. I didn't get pictures of everything, unfortunately, but work we have been doing--I assure you.

While I may be the mind and imagination behind the projects (and the maid for preparing and cleaning up), the real credit is due to Sam, who is very willing to put together, move around, paint, etc., etc. How grateful I am for him.

In addition to a bunch of yard work (thanks, also to my brother Brian for his help getting the 2 truckloads of dirt!) and installing of a few doors that we never had downstairs (for under the stairs and a spare room; thanks to Sam's brother Isaac for help framing one of those doors), here's some of what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.

In our house, we have four bedrooms. Sam and I sleep in one, Winston in another. The "blue" room was basically a dump place for home office materials, craft stuff, and odds and ends. The "orange" room in the basement is kind of an exercise room, a place where Sam teaches his trombone lessons, and also a smaller sort of dump place (sigh). Taking some of the principles from the Joy of Less book, we did some rearranging and throwing out. 

The blue room's main contents went from this (ew, it was messy!):

to this fabulous little cabinet in the living room:

We now have much easier access to printer, shredder, office supplies, etc., since we always have our laptops in the kitchen, anyway. Other items we chucked, are selling on KSL, or moved downstairs to the orange room (which has also had some rearranging/dejunking, but needs more).

And now, the blue room is Winston's room. He loves it.

It hasn't been that long since we re-did Winston's old room, but we still weren't completely in love with it. We decided we liked the blue much more than his green, so the green room gets the makeover for the coming baby. Winston's old room used to look like this:

And changed into this:

I can't wait to show you more once we get the baby furniture, curtains, etc., all put together. I was inspired by all the pins on my pinboard. Still hunting for ideas for wall decor to minimize echoing and add cuteness. Here's a sneak-peak of fabrics I bought for a quilt and curtains:

I love the trend of using vinyl lettering for quotes on walls, however I will be more careful next time I 
go to put it directly on the wall. (Will it stay there indefinitely? Or will I be re-decorating?) The Pinocchio quote on Winston's green wall had to come off, but it's the same color as his new room, so I had to do some thinking about how badly I wanted to keep it. In the end, I carefully peeled it off, and placed on a board to hang in his new room. It was maybe not worth the effort...the letters are big for a small board; I preferred it directly on the wall (see white board in is new room photos above).


This was the last part of the quote before I removed it. It made me laugh.

But, wait, that isn't the end (I told you we've been busy!).

As nice and bright as these glass shower doors were, they were in the way, and not tall enough to keep water from spraying out when Sam showered.

We changed it to this:

And LOVE the added room provided by the curved shower curtain rod. I didn't realize how much those doors really were in the way!

And lastly, we added a little addition to our living room decor. My brother and Sam found a big painting while driving by a garage sale and bought it to add to my nephew's bedroom on his blessing day as a big joke to my brother and sister-in-law. But I actually liked it. The frame was a nasty black brown and gold with major painting chipping off, but the colors of the painting go really well in my living room. So I wouldn't let them give it away and kept it for myself (much to their dismay). I didn't grab a photo of what it looked like, but little bit of spray paint on the frame and a few sheets from the lint roller on the print made a big difference. 

Our living room went from this:

To this:

See--the painting is kind of cool. Especially for $2.

It's fun to see how all these projects came together. I worried a cabinet-type desk would be too bulky, but it's nice to condense everything into it instead of taking up more than half of a bedroom.

 I can't wait to see how the baby's room comes together. More projects related to that coming soon.

Kitchen Storage Project

We have a to-do list of home improvements that only keeps growing. There's so much we want to do, and yet so little ways to fund such projects. It's been two years since we moved into our home, and this past week I crossed one of those to-dos off the list.

If you recall, while renovating our home Sam closed off an entrance to our kitchen and built a pantry in its place. We didn't have the refrigerator at the time, but when we purchased it we realized we should have brought the pantry out further. Oh well. Not worth the re-do.

I've been trying to figure out how to best maximize the space between the fridge and the pantry, knowing that I wanted a cabinet above the fridge, but didn't want it randomly floating with a gap between fridge and pantry. In addition, a few months ago my grandmother gave me her china, and I needed a place to store it. So, after some looking around, I think we came up with a great solution.

I hated seeing the clutter above the fridge, and wanted a way to maximize the storage space. 

The shelf down the side also freed up some counter space, and allowed Winston to have easy access to his dinnerware.

Aww! Look at all that fits in there! (China is tucked way back on top shelf) More fit than was ever on top to begin with.

We had some major frustrations with the purchasing of the cabinet. Let's just say that although we've been a huge fan, we are done shopping at IKEA. For real. They even offered us a gift card for the complications, and we turned it down. We're that serious. But that's behind us now.

As with 99% of the home improvements, I need and/or want Sam to do them. One of these days I'll learn to just ask him and step away. I'm not a very good on-looker of this stuff. I always have unnecessary thoughts or advice to throw in. One day I'll learn I only sometimes know what I'm talking about in regard to these things. My role should be limited to plan a design, research cost, save money, and shop. I'll leave the rest to Sam.

But Winston loves to be in on the action.

Gifts & Heirlooms: Joy of Less Part 7

This topic I know is controversial. And rightly so, as receiving and giving gifts is a primary way we, as humans, express love and appreciation for each other (see our previous post on 5 Love Languages). 

Before diving into this, I would like to recall what is mentioned over and over again in the few decluttering/cleaning books I've read. If something brings you joy, it is a candidate to keep. I'm not advocating at all for getting rid of all gifts and heirlooms or never giving or receiving gifts again. But, there are things to consider and reconsider when it comes to these things.

“Throughout history, gifts have symbolized a special transaction between two people; they’ve been used to convey respect, curry favor, express love, extend hospitality, seal friendships, ask for forgiveness, and more. The key word here, however, is symbolize. The gift itself is nothing more than an object representing a certain emotion or intention—which, absent that object, still remains.” (Joy of Less, pg. 223)

Some ways we can help minimalize gifts are to give and request consumable, experience, or service gifts.

Consumable gifts are great, because they can be enjoyed, but don't have to be stored. I remember a few Christmases ago, Sam's family received a dozen or so gourmet carmel apples. They were so yummy and fun to eat. Here are some other consumable gift ideas:

• Artisan chocolates
• Favorite dessert
• Gourmet olive oil
• Homemade pasta
• Baked goods
• Flowers
• Seeds for garden

Experience gifts are a great way to create and share memories and develop interests. Things can break or wear out, but memories of a wonderful experience will last forever. Here are some ideas:

• Music lessons
• Theater tickets
• Memberships or passes to museums, parks, etc.
• Trip or vacation
• Dining out

Service gifts can be a clever way to send a gift message, and are often budget-friendly. Consider these ideas:

• Babysitting
• Snow shoveling
• Car wash or oil change
• Computer assistance
• Committing to spend time together—picnic, hike, lunch together
• Donate to a charity instead of exchanging gifts

Another idea is to just simplify gift giving in general. Sam and I have a very small budget for each other's b-days, anniversary, Christmas, etc. We also know Winston will be getting gifts from both sets of grandparents, so we pare down on what we want to give him. It works well for us. 

In college I learned of a tradition called the "Three Wisemen Gifts" at Christmas--only 3 gifts per person. The gifts represent the meaning of the wisemen gifts of gold, frankincense and muir. Something they really want (a "fun" gift), something to increase their knowledge (maybe a book, puzzle or mind game), and something to wear. There are variations of this tradition, but something similar can greatly reduce the influx of stuff and maybe even the greed and selfishness that sometimes comes with receiving gifts. I loved this idea when I heard about it, and this past Christmas season I learned of many other families I work with and live near that do this successfully. Sam and I are adopting this in our home this coming year.

Heirlooms are quite a bit different than gifts, but are often still heavy with emotion. Sometimes, we don’t hold on to these objects because they’re useful or beautiful; but we keep them out of a sense of guilt, sentiment, and responsibility to preserve our family “heritage.” 

When a loved one passes on, wait a period of time to go through their stuff. Keep it boxed up until you are emotionally ready to take a logical approach. Remember: the stuff isn’t the person.

If you’re saving things to pass down—acknowledge that your kids may not want them. They have their own styles, and their own stuff. It doesn't hurt to strike up a conversation to feel out their interests.

Consider giving some of your heirlooms as gifts to your loved ones and giving them before you pass away. Both of my grandmothers have done this in one way or another. It can aid in building relationships, memories, and help you find good homes for the stuff you love, leaving less stuff in your care.

Gatekeeping: Joy of Less Part 6

Since finishing Joy of Less about 2 months ago, I have filled 7+ boxes of stuff, and have a list of things to sell that gets longer and longer. It's kind of exciting. And I can tell that excitement is spreading. Many of my friends and family who read the blog have told me about their decluttering adventures. Keep the decluttering coming!

“We can declutter until the day is long, but one of the keys to minimalist living is controlling the inflow. In most cases, this power lies entirely in our hands…” (Joy of Less, pg. 161)

We could declutter and declutter and declutter. We really could spend all time and too much energy doing so. The REAL secret is everyday maintenance, otherwise it will all just come right back. The trick to maintaining a clean and/or decluttered space is gatekeeping. 

 The same can be said in many other aspects of life. Think about it—when we lose weight, the only way to keep it off is to be a good gatekeeper about what you eat (and a good gatekeeper about time to exercise). When you pay off a debt, the only way to keep it away is to be a good gatekeeper about your budget. To quote Joy of Less, “To maintain clutter free storage spaces, you must be a good gatekeeper.” The only way to keep stuff at a minimum is to watch what you bring into your house.

It’s always stated much more simply, isn’t it? But how, exactly, can we be good gatekeepers?

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

– William Morris, British writer & designer (p. 29)

In addition to adopting strict criticism for new things entering your home, here are some gatekeeping tips.

One-In, One-Out rule. If I remember correctly, I think I packed roughly 34 pairs of shoes (sandals, running shoes, dressy shoes, boots, flip flops, etc.) when I moved to college. It didn’t take me long to realize that’s not necessary. (And I just read in a magazine yesterday that Stacy from TLC's What Not To Wear has over 300 high heels...I thought I had a problem...) As my shoes eventually wore out, I didn’t replace them. Some I gave away. I love shoes, and love the variety they come in, but I try now to use the one-in, one-out rule. When I come home from shopping with an unexpected purchase of clothing, I usually get rid of something else in my closet I don’t like wearing. We often keep things, like the old TV, when we buy a newer, nicer one. Do we really plan on using that old TV again (especially after updating to HD)? One in, one out.

Watch horizontal spaces. They are flat surfaces. Flat surface collect things. Just look around your house, and you’ll see what I mean. I was going to buy a small end table a few months ago, but now I realize I don’t really need it, and it will just be a flat space to collect things. Clear these horizontal spaces daily—perhaps just before bedtime. Leave only what should be there—what is used there and isn’t in the way of anything else. Any item that doesn't belong turns into a magnet for other items.

Schedule massive decluttering session yearly. Maybe shortly after Christmas with all the new stuff in the house. This can greatly help the gatekeeping.

One-a-Day decluttering (that’s 365 things in one year). It may be easier to just simply get rid of one thing a day. Something has got to go. Just think how easy this could be: your junk drawer could keep you busy for a year! J

Carefully reconsider items that don’t take up much space. My first 5 boxes of stuff I donated were things I kept. While I wasn’t using them right then and didn’t really have plans to use them, they “didn’t take up much space,” so they stayed stashed away. What’s one book on a bookshelf of books, or one jacket in a closetful? Space is space, even if it is small. And believe me, it adds up. 5 boxes, baby. 

Consider gifts and heirlooms carefully. Remember we can't take things with us when we die. Why wait for someone else to rummage through our things and decide for us what happens to them? This topic is huge. More to come.

The more I think about gatekeeping, the more I realize it really applies to following through with any goal you may have. It also gives me more insight into what “enduring to the end” really means. The secret to happiness (and decluttering) may very well be our ability to "gatekeep." Not that I'm perfect--not by any means. This book has opened up much more that I can work on, in more aspects than just the items in my home.

Where to Put What You Keep: Joy of Less Part 5

One first instinct when motivated to declutter is to buy storage. The author mentions throughout the book something similar to:

“I usually advocate some tough-love decluttering over buying additional storage…” (Joy of Less, pg. 157)

So, once we toughen it out and chuck stuff, where's the best place for what we keep?

20/80 RULE

We use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time. So, the author argues, we could basically get rid of 80% of our stuff and hardly notice. Wow. But some of that we will notice, because even if it’s only 20% of the time, we’re using it. This helps us know where to put things.

The author introduced an easy concept for where to store things. Things belong in one of three places: 1) Inner Circles, 2) Outer Circles, or 3) Deep storage.

Inner circles belong to the 20% of things we use 80% of the time. We reach for these frequently. They should be placed in a convenient location that is easy to access and easy to put away. Think of standing in front of your closet and being able to reach without moving legs or getting a chair. This is the inner circle.

Outer circles belong to other objects we use less frequently than inner circle items, but more frequently than deep storage. These are items we don’t even use once a week, perhaps, but it would be very inconvenient to pack away in extreme locations (attic, under the stairs, etc.).

Deep storage belongs to objects we use seasonally or a couple of times a year, and can be under your bed, in an attic, perhaps garage, etc.

Let’s use clothing as an example. Since we don’t use all of our clothing at the same time, we can easily divide them into the three categories:

1) inner circle: clothing that fits the 20/80 rule—most frequently worn. This should be most easily accessible in your closet, without need a chair, or needing to reach to far corners of the closet (depending on size of closet).

2) Outer circle: clothing used less frequently, but too often to put in deep storage. This applies to my dresses and skirts. I don’t wear these on a daily basis, but want access to them for church on Sundays and other more dressy events. These are in a far corner of my closet, easily within reach when needed. For me, this may also be my seasonal clothing—right now my summer shorts and lightweight clothing is in a box on the highest shelf in my closet. I switch it to sweaters and heavyweight clothing at season’s change (it also borderlines with deep storage).

3) Deep storage: this is clothing we hardly use or don’t right now. Perhaps it’s outgrown baby clothes waiting for the next little occupant, or maternity clothes. Maybe you choose to put summer clothing in a box under the bed, or gardening shoes and gloves in deep storage until gardening season.

I love this inner, outer, deep storage idea. It works for bathroom lotions and potions, kitchen supplies, crafting/hobby items, books, household décor, linens, etc.

MODULES

These would be boxes and areas for like items and activities. For example, if you knit, you could have a tote with your current project and needed supplies. Everything needed fits in that tote. When you want to work on the project, grab the tote, work on it, and then put everything back in its box, back in your inner/outer/deep storage designated area. I already did this with a few things before I read Joy of Less, including a “craft” box with stickers, crayons, markers, paper and coloring books for Winston, as well as a box with current scrapbooking/paper crafting projects. It’s a nice way to keep it all together.

Modules can also be done in a variety of ways, beyond crafting and hobbies. Kitchen supplies could be put in modules based on supplies needed to make homemade pizza, or cake decorating, for example. Or a module of fine-dining linens and silverware. Possibilities are endless.

FLEXSPACES

My kitchen table is a flexspace. It is used to eat, to do crafts, to sit with our laptops, etc. Flexspaces are used, apparently, in offices frequently. It’s an area that can be used by anyone for anything, but must be cleared when done so that the next person/project can use it.

This is likely an area where we don’t store things, but we may bring a module to use. Reading about flexspaces kind of opened my eyes in a “well-duh” kind of way, and gives me more motivation to keep our table clear after and before each activity.

RE-EVALUATE STORAGE (and think outside the box...literally)

Once we have a vision of our inner/outer/deep storage areas, modules and flexspaces, (after we’ve decluttered, of course) then we can take a look at what kind of storage we might need to purchase or repurpose or build (or even toss). Perhaps what containers or shelves we already had don’t really serve their purpose once we determine most convenient homes for our stuff.

I can think of three pieces of furniture in my bedroom right now that is making my inner circle stuff less convenient to pull out and to put away. I’ve got a plan for those brewing in my head…

Pinterest is a great place to find ways to organize your storage places and modules. Check out some of these creative beauties from my pinboard collection.

>> Book"shelves" made of dowels and fabric.

>> Spice rack on wheels to slide next to fridge. 

>> Wrapping paper at tippy-top of closet, secured with string.

Tough Stuff: Joy of Less Part 4

I want to mention a few things about these Joy of Less posts.

•  I am not trying to summarize the book, though I am using some of its points to add to my own opinions and experiences. The book offers much more—I recommend for you all to at least skim it (I skimmed a lot of it). I look forward to following the author’s website to see what other insights I can gain.
• I don’t claim to have all the answers about decluttering, and frankly, there are no wrong or right answers. That’s the beauty of it all.
• I’m lucky to have a husband that agrees with my decluttering, with perhaps a few disagreements about what I keep and vice versa. My grandparents are probably the most extreme couple I’ve ever known when it comes to keeping and cleaning. My grandpa kept EVERYTHING, while my grandma keeps only small amounts of what she needs. I remember hearing about how my grandpa waited until Grandma was away from the house to dig something(s) out of the garbage can. Unfortunately, Grandpa passed away first, and now Grandma really gets to see (and clean and throw out) all he kept and hid from her sight.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I have a few more posts of topics to highlight. Before I do, I want to share some of the questions (some posed by the author, and some I’ve added).

1. If you were to move overseas permanently, what would you take with you? Certainly not your entire house of stuff—especially with baggage fees of today, you would be limited.
2. What are you keeping that you secretly wish would break or get a stain or otherwise become ruined so that you could toss it and no longer have to worry about it?
3.  Is there something you own that you hate, but fear throwing out?
4. Would you want someone else to go through all of your things in an event of your passing or incapacitation?
5. If you had to evacuate your home in a few minutes and never return, what would you take with you?
6. If your house was completely destroyed in a fire, tornado, hurricane—you name it—what things would you buy again to rebuild your home? 

Those questions motivated me to go through each (mostly) drawer, shelf, and box to really ponder upon materialism, and what stuff really means in this life.

BUT I MIGHT NEED IT ONE DAY

I sometimes think, and also know from experience, that it’s nice to keep things around because I might someday use it and it will might save me some money or time. How many times have you thrown something away only to find a need for it the next day? I can think of times, of course, this has happened to me.

So, I’ve been pondering the “might-need-it-some-day” syndrome and thinking about the conveniences of our world. There are a lot of things we don’t really need, and could quite frankly do without. When I teach financial management classes, we talk about needs versus wants and the importance of prioritizing. I often take the class back to our basic needs as humans—air, food, water, and shelter. That’s it.

I’m not advocating selling our homes and buying a tent. Not saying I’m going to give up my washing machine in order to go back to basic needs, but this puts things in perspective. We really don’t need a lot. The majority of the world lives with a lot less. Maybe living with more is a cause of stress—maybe that’s why heart disease is the number one (two?) killer in the USA. Perhaps the secret to health and happiness is living on less—less then we earn, less than can fit in the closet, less than we want to eat, less stuff than we really need in general.

Saw this circulating on facebook, thought it tied in nicely (on so many levels).

Somehow I came across this blogpost—a woman with a “downsizing” journey. I quote her,

“…our possessions carry not only a physical burden, but also a weight on our conscience and excess bulk in our creative thought processes, preventing us from moving forward… During this downsizing evolution of mine, going on for several years now, I have found that (for the most part) my possessions bore me, and that what interests me most is not in the physical realm at all. Instead, I’m fascinated by the absence of things — giving my self space to think, create, and act spontaneously in harmony with the stuff of life, which is simple, free, and weightless.”

Decluttering How-To: Joy of Less Part 3

The best way I know to declutter, based on experience and tips from others, is to do it drawer by drawer, box by box, cupboard by cupboard. One little bit at a time. The author of Joy of Less even suggests going a little beyond, in some cases, such as moving all the furniture out of your bedroom, and only returning what you really want to keep in there. Sounds a little extreme, but she walks you through with examples and then it makes sense (not that I’ve done it yet…).

>

Most of the time, however, she recommends to pull whatever it is you are going through out of its context completely to give you a fresh perspective. Pull all clothes out of closet, for example. ALL OF THEM.

At first I thought I could get away from doing so, but then I realized it was too easy to let things stay. At first glance my bathroom drawer looked clutter-free, but after dumping it out it was really a hiding place for all sorts of things I could donate and throw away. Sam didn’t want to pull out his shirts, because he already looked and there was nothing to get rid of. But when I convinced him to put them all on the bed, he threw out probably 7-10 shirts he didn’t wear or had worn out.

Get your stuff out—spread it out on a table, bed, or floor. It’s worth it. Really.

“Decluttering is far more effective when you remove items from usual spots and evaluate them out of context” (Joy of Less, p. 190)

Now it’s time for some serious evaluatin’.  The author states over and over again to only put back what you really want to keep. How do you know what to keep? Remember that things are competing for coveted space in your home (see previous post)—they have to prove they are worthy of taking up square footage in your home—they have to prove they are indispensible.

Here are some tips to evaluate their worthiness and indispensability.

• A TREASURE is something we rely on, cherish, or use on a regular basis. These things we keep.
• Ask each item: Who are you? How do I use you? Note: if you don’t know, chuck it.  How often do I use you? This final question helps determine proper location (more on that later).
• Some items we used to use, or have good intentions on using, but don’t currently use. Rethink what you do, why you do it, and if you want to continue it. Don’t be afraid to make a fresh start.
• Remember that you are not the stuff. Why are you keeping something? To prove you once traveled to Paris or you once were a high school football player? Just because you get rid of the Eiffel Tower paperweight doesn’t mean you never went to France. Tossing the football trophy doesn’t mean you never played football. And remember: you can always take photos of these memory-stirring objects, if you do want to keep them for memory sake.

Okay, okay, so it's a not-so-subliminal comic about how macs rule...
but don't you think the words ring true, anyway?

 So, what about those items we don’t use on a regular basis? “Regular” would probably mean more than once a year (perhaps holiday décor is an exception...still should get some good evaluatin'). Evaluate if it is worth storing. Maybe it would be easier to rent or borrow when needed instead of taking your coveted space.

Consider purging items and enjoying the atmosphere elsewhere instead. For example, maybe some gourmet, hardly-used bake ware could be given away and you could enjoy a lovely patisserie a few times a year instead. Not saying fancy bake ware is useless…just an example. Same could be said of many other things.

Of course, many of the things we decide to toss can be either donated, given, or sold to someone else who might treasure it more than we do. We’ll talk more about gifts and heirlooms later. Thankfully there’s someone who will love our stuff—that can encourage us as we clear the clutter.

Some stuff we can't decide. Put that stuff in a holding zone for a period of time. Within this last week, I've gone back to things I thought I wanted to keep and decided it wasn't worth it. But I had to give me time to really think about it. If it is something you think you will use, put the date on the box and if you don't go back to it within a year, toss it. All of it. You probably really don't need it. Why spend more time and energy fussing over stuff?

Remember, just because it is out of sight does NOT mean it is out of mind. People are less stressed when there is less stuff to stress them.

These are just a few tips from the book that I wanted to expound. The book is sectioned into main rooms in the home and goes through items and activities done in these rooms, providing tips on purging and minimal-izing. I’m really not summarizing the book—just bringing in my own thoughts in relation to some from the book.

Space: Joy of Less Part 2

Space. Isn’t that something humans always seek? That’s part of why the West was settled. That’s why NASA exists, right? That’s why people buy larger homes--for more space.

How many of us feel like we need a bigger house, because we need more square footage—more space? I hear my friends and neighbors talk about space (or lack thereof) often. One thing we don’t really consider is that our stuff takes up space, and when we get rid of it we have MORE space—more square footage. Ah-ha! (I’m thinking of Gru: “Liiight bulb” bwahaha)

When selling your home, real estate agents will recommend to remove some stuff to make it more marketable—to make it look like there is more space. Wouldn’t you love to always have a home that looked bigger and more open?

Then let the decluttering begin! Wahoo!

“By creating space in our homes, we put the focus back where it should be: on what we do, rather than what we own. Life is too short to waste fussing over stuff.” (Joy of Less, p. 36)

The author of Joy of Less described her bedroom. In it is only a mattress for a bed. Not even as much as this photo.

At first I thought that was ridiculous. She downsized her wardrobe and used some creative closet storage to contain the rest of it in her closet. She reads in other areas of the house, so no need for a nightstand. Bedroom is sleep time--no need for anything more.

While reading the book, I kept thinking “I’m not that extreme, but there are some good ideas in the book, so I’ll keep reading.” Now that I’ve finished, this minimalist bedroom description is what sticks in my head the most. And the more I think about it, the more I LOVE IT!

In fact, I plan on buying some closet hanging-type storage to put things like socks and underwear in the un-used space between the bottom of my clothes and the top of the shelves beneath them. Then I can get rid of my dresser drawers, too! I’d have that much more open space!

But really, what do you think of that idea? What emotions come to mind when you think about this image being your bedroom?

Sometimes empty space bothers us—and we feel the need to fill it. But think how nice it would be to open and close a closet or pantry or cupboard or drawer (you pick) and find SPACE inside—and not something falling on you. Think how nice and quick it would be to pick out an outfit, because the only clothes you own are those you like and wear frequently. Think how easy it would be to open a drawer and not have to shove stuff back in order to close it. Or think how much less stressful it would be to find something really quickly, because you’re not sorting through tons of stuff trying to find it.

Aww, I like the sound of space. And the look of it, too. I’m really getting addicted to feng shui and minimalist inspiration. I think I’ll start a board on pinterest.

In the mean time, ponder upon the quote above in bold. Life really is too short to fuss over stuff. How much time do you spend fussing over your stuff?

Declutter Bug: Joy of Less Part 1

I have the declutter bug.

And it all started because I read this book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay.

Well, maybe my declutter bug started with a comment from my sister-in-law who mentioned how much stuff we (Americans) have, after visiting Brazil and staying with people who have very little, but are so happy and so generous.

Why do we have so much stuff? And why is so much of it really just plain silly to actually keep and store? We can all get by on much less.

Maybe my declutter bug started when I moved to college and realized I didn’t have money to shop, and other than food and textbooks, I really didn’t need to shop, anyway. Or maybe I got the declutter bug when I started taking serious classes in family finance and realized I had major goals to accomplish (like paying off Sam’s student loans before they came due and never going into consumer debt). That’s motivation to avoid shopping-for-fun.

And during this time, I moved countless times (9-ish) from apartment to apartment to finally a home, and all that while we chiseled down on stuff we were sick of moving, and stuff we found we never used since we last packed it.

Now, I wasn’t always good at decluttering. Oh boy. I think it took until I was 15 to actually have a clean room. And that meant I could walk from my bed to my door without stepping on anything. My walls were always decorated with everything and anything, as well as my dresser top, desk top, window sill, etc., etc. I definitely had clutter.

Our "stuff" after unloading our uhaul in our previous apartment, a few years
ago. Most of what you see here was crammed in our 2nd bedroom

During the first 5 years of our marriage, we got good at purging! But probably better at re-organizing and re-shifting. Our last two apartments before our home had two bedrooms. The second bedroom only had our stuff in it. Stuff taking up the entire closet, stuff on shelves from floor to ceiling. Stuff. Stuff. STUFF! And to think how much time I spent un-doing our puzzle of stuff to find a more efficient way to fit in all the pieces so I didn’t feel like it was going to topple on me. What a waste of time (especially because a lot of that stuff we have since tossed)!

Okay, confession time. We moved into our house not quite two years ago. And we haven’t really done much purging. In fact, all of our stuff filled (almost) our four bedroom house (not to mention we have a living room AND a family room…which none of our apartments could boast). And we’ve acquired more stuff—you know, all that we’re-homeowners-now stuff. And where we did have empty space, it has been really easy to stow stuff.

Then comes a long a new director in my office. He’s from a different office, so he comes with a nice, fresh view of how cluttered crowded to improve our office. He wiggled funds around and did all sorts of things to open the space and clear the clutter, or as he calls it, feng shui-ed it. I spent the last two months decluttering my office. So maybe that’s the true source of my declutter bug.

Then add to that a discussion right after Christmas with a great friend of mine about gifts, and stuff, and organizing, and then she mentioned the book, Joy of Less. All the above things had been ringing in my head for weeks—maybe months and years.

So, I read the book.

And I have the declutter bug. Five fairly large boxes of stuff are waiting to be donated. Junk has been thrown away. Papers have been shredded and recycled. More stuff is on my list of things to sell.

It feels AWESOME.

I’ve read a few decluttering books before, but this one has a unique perspective. Minimalism.

My following posts will tell you more of what I find most noteworthy about the book, and perhaps you’ll catch my declutter bug, too.

Clutter and Junk and Junk and Clutter

A friend recommended to read a book called Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett. I ended up skimming through it, as it was all very familiar to me. I've moved 7 (going on 8) times in the last 7 or so years. Moving that many times into smaller-than-the-amount-of-stuff-we-have spaces practically cured us of our clutter and junk bug.

Here are some points Aslett brought up that I feel are worth mentioning:

- The Economy of Clutter: 80/20 Rule. "if all of a given category of items are sorted in order of value, 80% of the value will come from only 20% of the items" (p. 41).

Example: 80% of the space on our shelves is occupied by stuff we never use. 80% of beauty/hygiene routine makes use of only 20% of the cosmetics/potions we have stacked around. How much of the remaining 80% could be junked and we wouldn't miss it?

- Make no excuse just because you "own it." "Use is the only value a thing has" (p. 47). If it isn't used, or doesn't bring enjoyment or personal value--why keep it?

- Don't keep those things that are "too nice to use." "Something that is too nice to use is undoubtedly about the most ridiculous kind of junk one can own" (p. 68). I know I have things I've been saving to use until later because they are "too nice," but I've rethought that. Why wait? It reminds me of a talk I heard Pres. Monson (I think) tell about how his wife saved a blouse to wear for a "special occasion" but it was never worn. Why wait for the special day? Make every day special.

- Surplus society. We, as a society, have a ton of stuff. "Most of us have more of everything than we need: food, money, possessions, time, and attention. And after we've used what we need, we foolishly spend our time trying to use the surplus" (p. 204).

- "Simplicity doesn't mean hard times; luxury doesn't mean good times. But we too often think of more as better, convenience as comfort--and that isn't so" (p. 209).

- How to determine if something is NOT junk: it generates love and good feelings, it helps you make a living, it will do something you need done, it has significant cash value, it gives you more than it takes, it will enrich or delight the coming generation. If it is ALL these things, it is probably not junk.

- Avoid places that tempt you into getting more junk. I can attest to this--one of the ways Sam & I have been able to pay off our debts and save quickly is by avoiding shopping just for fun.

- "De-junking is the cheapest, fastest and most effective way to become physically and financially sound, emotionally and intellectually happy" (p. 269).

This book is probably worth skimming, at least. He provides good stories and examples of why we hold on to stuff, and how it adds stress and emotional fatigue unnecessarily to our lives.

While skimming it, I got rid of about 2-3 boxes of stuff (books, clothing, old magazines), and have a list of many other items, that we won't have to box up and move into our new place. Hooray!

It really is exhilarating to de-junk. Try it and see!