Just Say No

Step one in the great Living With Less project is to be more deliberate in bringing items into the house. Reasonably easy to do while shopping, but what about the "free" stuff handed to you at various events? This weekend, David and I attended an RV show. The first 100 people through the door were gifted with free RV toilet paper. While in line, we decided we didn't really need nor want RV toilet paper to use in our imaginary RV, so I said no thank you to the t.p. man. He kind of looked at me funny, but we went on. One of the RV salesmen offered me a yard stick. Again, no thank you. "But it's autographed!" he protested while he still held out the yard stick to me. Smile, repeat no thank you! While we walked through the junk being peddled between the RV and boat section, a woman stuck out her hand with a small packet. "Would you like a sample of Scentsy!" It wasn't a question so much as an assumption. "No thank you!" She looked a little taken aback, as if shocked that I wasn't interested in a sample. Had I not been paying attention, I would have come home with RV toilet paper, a yard stick, and a Scentsy packet. I don't need any of those things, but they would have been mine to dispose of in some way, or to keep around cluttering up the place.

Today three boxes of housewares, a bag of clothes, and four coats made their way to an organization where hopefully they will be used by someone who needs them more than I do. One of my favorite declutter/minimalist type blogs is http://www.365lessthings.com/. Every week, she gives suggestions for mini-tasks like cleaning out your glovebox or pen drawer. Right up my alley!

Traveling A Little Lighter Update

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~William Morris

I'm still plugging along, cleaning up and cleaning out. It's certainly not my goal to live like this picture, but eliminating some clutter makes room for the things that I really like or use a lot. The fall swap helped rehome some things that I really liked, but no longer needed. Other things are going straight to the Goodwill pile, and some I'm posting on Facebook to see if friends want it. Feeling lighter already!

Picture credit: http://www.homedesignfind.com/how-to-tips-advice/design-dilemma-overcoming-decorating-paralysis/

A Bump on the Road to Living With Less

Last week, Christina and I went to the Ozark Craft Festival. Lots of really cute things...lots of really awful things. There were lots of decorative things that caught my eye and tempted me, but I stayed strong. We both did - we left empty-handed except for my Coke and burger for lunch.

Today, David and I went to Apple Butter Makin' Days. We ate some goodies - fried potatoes and a ribeye sandwich, homemade ice cream. And left, again empty-handed. But then I asked him to stop a neat little store that I rarely go to. Her hours just don't match up with the hours I am through that area. As always, I was the only customer which always makes me feel compelled to buy something. And I did. On impulse, I bought a cute sign to go over the kitchen sink.

It doesn't even fit over the kitchen sink - too long. I could hang it, but then could not open two cabinets. So now I have a stinkin' thing bought on impulse and I don't even have a place for it. I'm annoyed with myself for not exercising more self-control. I guess there will be bumps on this road to living with less. I will occasionally still make a purchase that I'll regret. I just hope there will be fewer!

Living With Less - An Introduction

This post swims around in my head from time to time, but always gets too lengthy. It keeps coming back to me, whispering in my ear to share it, so I've decided to do it a little at a time.

Stuff. My relationship with my possessions goes back a long way. I'm told that when I was little (3 or so), I cried on vacation because I missed my toys. For several years around age 12, I arranged my Christmas gifts on the sofa so that I could take pictures of my haul. If I can find any of those, I'll scan them so you can see. I really liked my stuff!

Recently, I've started to be a little more aware of the sheer quantity of stuff that I have. To keep the house from looking cluttered, closets and drawers have been filled to overflowing. I can hardly watch an episode of Hoaders without starting to clean out something. I've been reading several blogs on minimalism and decluttering - some extreme minimalists who can carry all of their possessions in a backpack to others who seem more like me.

People who know me and who have spent time in our house might think that me and any form of minimalism can't possibly exist in the same sentence. By no means do I have plans to scale down to a backpack, but I can let go of some things that I don't need and I can try to bring fewer things into the house. I can choose to live with less.