I got a new roommate, and that meant I had to deconstruct my art studio / office I had set up in my spare room. I should have taken before and after pictures, but imagine a somewhat tidy room with a big table, and my computer on it...and all the paints, papers, materials, etc, in the bedroom closet on shelves. Allll nice and everything all in order. Well. I had to move a shelf into the hallway and try to cram every single thing I had into my bedroom or onto this shelf. As I emptied the room, I realized I still have SO MUCH STUFF even though I am constantly trying to downsize.
Here is some of my stuff crammed on the shelf in the hall in a haphazard way
I got overwhelmed and decided to take it little by little over the next couple weeks rather than spend 10 hours picking through it all. I did fill up a huge garbage bag of old mail and weird random items that I had no idea how they even were in my possession. That felt good. But I still have all these things that honestly I am not using a lot right now, but when I do get creative they come in handy.
Take for example, this little tray of vintage thread
I got this at a garage sale like 8 years ago. There used to be a ton more of it but I slowly use it over the years. In fact I hav e never had to buy thread at the fabric store in all that time, thanks to the 50 cents I spent 8 years ago. But its a thing that takes up space.
I am always trying to balance out my desire to save money, with my desire to not have things.
I have been very low income for most of my life. So an item like this box of thread, gets saved for a long time, so that I don't have to spend $2 to fix torn clothing. Its pretty nice. I am like this with paint too. I have paint around for years and years but its so nice to not have to go to the store when I want to create art. I actually kind of hate going in stores. So its not just the expense of money, but the expense of time spent hunting around stores for affordable items and tools.
Also, like 5 years ago I bought a whole case of paper from Staples, and I still havent used it all. Its just all here waiting for me when I need it. But it turns out to be kind of a lot, and it takes up space. For the past year or so, I dont even let myself go to garage sales, because even though I am an excellent bargain hunter and do use the items I find, it might take me 5 years to use that thing up... and meanwhile where do I store it?
The emotions of stuff
One of the biggest reasons we all hang onto stuff is because it has some sort of emotional value. Maybe it just provides security and comfort to own way too many soft bath towels. Maybe a full kitchen makes you feel good, even though all the cabinets are bursting with stuff, and you cant ever find things you need, and theres stuff you havent touched in years. The emotional value is that sense of comfort and security.
However, when you let things go, it can also be so freeing and liberating. Its a balance though. You cant just dump everything without applying a little thought, and this process takes time.
So I just try and spend a little time each day tending to Minimalism. Having to move all my crap out of my studio, and into my bedroom and the hall, has shown me some new crap i need to downsize, and instead of being overwhelmed, I am just going to keep picking through.. little by little...
The emotional impact of trying new habits
I wanted to note that its good to pay attention to what your emotions and thoughts are doing when you adopt new habits. I tend to get really a lot of shame and guilt. OH NO I SHOULD NOT HAVE ALL THIS STUFF, is an example of how those thoughts work for me. Or if I only spend 20 minutes sort of getting through one area in the house, the rest of the day I might see some little clutter thing and my thoughts will beat me up "I should really take care of that, i suck because i am just sitting here writing instead of decluttering! " Or something like that . I am trying to address these thoughts in the same way I address my piles of shit.
Negative thoughts are just like physical stuff
They are just there. They dont have to be kept. You can choose which ones motivate or inspire you I suppose, but really, you can also chuck them into the trash, or turn them into something else.
Are any of you Minimalists? What kinds of emotions do you go through in relationship to your stuff?
See you soon
xo,
