A year of minimalism?

I have too much stuff! This became obvious during my recent move when I packed over 75 boxes. Some items are “keepers”, such as scrapbooks and my grandmother’s china tea set(s), but other stuff accumulated over the years and has become too much. I’ve enjoyed supporting other people’s home parties but have way too many kitchen gadgets that I don’t use very often, if ever. 

 

Near my new yoga teacher's place!

I’m issuing myself two challenges for the next 12 months: use it or lose it, and don’t buy anything that’s not consumable. I have never been interested in living in a “tiny house” or RV permanently, but there is something good to be said about streamlining possessions. As I unpack belongings, I will consider tips from www.flylady.net and Marie Kondo, rather than just dumping items into drawers or cabinets. 

 

I made several donation trips to charity shops this month, and gave many items to friends (before and after every move), and still have too much. It’s difficult to let some items go, so that is why I’d like to challenge myself publicly in this journey. I wouldn’t normally keep track of how many things I’m passing along (doesn’t that sound better than “getting rid of”?), but I will attempt to do so now as a pat on the back for working towards this goal. It will be a good exercise in using what I have before buying new (hello, scrapbooking supplies and soap-type products). 

 

Near my new office

As soon as I thought of this invitation to stop buying anything that’s not consumable, I worried about an exception! I will consider scrapbooking tape to be consumable because I used 4 rolls of tape this year alone, so those little boxes are not hanging around taking up space. But I have enough paper and decorations on hand from the wonderful online scrapbooking weekends that I participated in during the pandemic. Who doesn’t love getting a “care package” in the mail with fun supplies?

 

The term “use it or lose it” is most commonly associated with vacation time or sick time at work, but I have also heard the concept expressed by people who are trying minimalism at home. They pack up everything they own, even if they are not moving, and see what they miss. For example, I bought a gadget to remove pits from cherries. However, I only eat raw cherries one by one, and spit out the pit. I am too lazy to use the cherry pitter to make a pie from a bowl of fresh cherries. Ok, this tiny gadget does not take up a lot of space, but there are other gadgets in the drawer. I use the garlic press every week and love the microplaner for fruit peel such as lemons in cheesecake, so they are safe to stay. But the vegetable spiralizer may need to go. I will unpack things and if I don’t use them by Christmas, they are in line for donation. I will feel badly about not supporting friends who are having home parties for this year-long challenge, but I really have enough candles for now (I love my friend who is a candle company rep, and don’t plan to buy candles from anyone else- let’s see if I use up my entire inventory in less than a year). 

 

What are your tips for decluttering and not buying new things?