For the last couple of years or so, I've had this idea in my head of becoming minimalist. I guess just the idea seems kind of romantic to me; only owning the things I need or that have real value, the ability to pack everything up and move at the drop of a hat, never having to worry about an excess of stuff, etc. It kind of goes along with my rather unrealistic dream of living a nomadic life, roaming around the world with only a suitcase and a backpack. See, totally unrealistic, though nice to daydream about.
Unfortunately, as much as I have wanted this, I'm a collector. I collect books, mugs, maps, posters, stuffed animals, clothes, kitchen supplies, even food. Everything seems to collect in my room, no matter what I try. It's like my brain can't stand empty or unfilled space so I unconsciously buy things to fill those spaces.
This is a big problem, because my dorm room, which was small to begin with, has now become cramped and so full of things I don't use it's almost suffocating. And on top of that, this tends to cost a bundle of money because I'm buying things willy nilly.
Something has to be done.
So this coming week, which is a short work week and a long off week, I'm going to focus my attention on getting rid of as many things as I can. I'm going to do it one drawer at a time, one shelf at a time. If I haven't used it, don't need it, don't like it, or can make due without it, it's going into a bag and being taken to the local thrift shop before I can change my mind.
My ultimate goal is to be able to pack and carry most of my things in two suitcases and a backpack. Except for my books, of course, because I'm making that exception, and my desktop computer, because it will never fit anyway.
In order to keep myself motivated and on track, I will be taking before and after pictures of everything and at the end of the week I'll have a nice big blog post to document how I did. So. Here's to a week of casting off the unneeded load and to becoming that much closer to being minimalist!
Tell me, have you had any experiences with minimalism or dejunking? Tell me one method you used to let go of your things.
Thanks for reading!
Well you come by your keeper tendencies honestly. Grandma Fern was a keeper, Grandpa Warren is a keeper and I'm a keeper. Aunt D. is more of a tosser. It's good to do the decluttering when you are motivated. That's when I do my best work. A good question to ask is "Would this be meaningful to my grandchildren as something of importance in my life story?" What would you like to have of your grandma's? I have taken pictures of things that were too big or awkward to keep. The picture will fit in an album and I can write up why it was important to me. I'm still working on getting myself dejunked and organized. I think I'll be done when I die! LOL
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