I'm going to assume since you're reading my blog, that you have kids, so your kids toys are probably a huge problem. We have so many toys... SO MANY TOYS!
So this year, we're getting rid of all the shit that we've been tripping over for the past few years.
Am I going to be a minimalist? Yes and no. I love stuff. I mean, I really LOVE stuff. Nice stuff. I want to spend my money on the best. And that doesn't mean the most expensive. The "best" is relative to each of us. For me, it's a balance of quality, cost, and necessity. It may be different for you. I want to live a practical minimalism lifestyle. I say practical because I like gadgets that make my life easier and I want to balance stuff with ease. I don't NEED most of the stuff we have, but it sure does make things easier and faster. Time with my family is something I value above anything else, so I won't sacrifice a tool that helps me achieve more time.
My main hurdle is the fact that I'm frugal. I'm cheap as shit. If it's something I can use later and not have to rebuy, I'll save it. I have to stop. For the longest time I thought minimalism and frugality were the same, or went hand-in-hand. It's just not at all the case. While you can be both, I think you need to understand what drives both lifestyles and find your own balance. I'll tell you about mine down below.
After Christmas is a really good time to start this purge as we're struggling to find places for our new stuff. Cory and I have always been very particular about the items we bring into our home, especially for our kids. How can I say this nicely? Most of the time our families, not so much. And I get it, people love to buy stuff for other people - especially the girls. It's just not us. I feel like a big snob when I say this, but I HATE everything. Seriously. I hate crappy toys, I hate toys that make noise, I hate any movie/tv merchandise, I hate clothing with words on them, I hate toys that don't encourage creative play. I know, it sounds awful and I sound like a total bitch. Here's the thing, I just think toys are crappy. Some of Kendall's favorite and most used toys are her easel, play kitchen and blocks. Brooke's favorite? A pill bottle filled with change. So I'm going to share my cut-throat method for weeding out toys. Here is a list of things I secretly hide away:
- Anything I hate.
- Anything that makes noise.
- Anything that they can't play with on their own.
- Anything with missing/broken pieces.
- Anything with a lot of pieces that never stay together, anyway.
- Anything too young/too old.
- Anything too messy.
- Anything at the bottom of the toy box.
I said it was cut-throat. I was serious. I take these toys and toss the ones that really just need to go (missing/broken pieces) and I put the rest in a "holding cell" for later review. If the offspring ask for the toy, I suggest they look for it. If they don't really look or don't ask again, I toss the toy. If they really look or ask again, I bring it back out. I should also say, I don't take away toys that they love, even if I hate them. I'm not that cold. But I am pretty brutal about the things I remove. Most of the time they never notice. Full disclosure, I had put away all of these toys to donate in a big tub in the basement since we never go down there, but Cory set up a TV and VCR and he spends a ton of time down there with the girls now so they discovered the toys. I don't really care because they're out of sight, but I will put all these back in the donate box and take them away someday soon!
The kids toys aren't the only thing that I'm fed up with. We have way too much stuff and most of it is mine. I identified the areas I struggle with: Bathroom Stuff. Make up, shampoo, skin care, other bath stuff... So with the make up, shampoo and skin care, I have to take 100% of the blame. I'm using one product when I see another that promises to work better, so I buy it, even though I still have half full bottles of the old stuff. Then it happens all over again. I never buy bath/smelly stuff for myself because I never use it, but when I get it as gifts, it just sits there. So I'm initiating the "Use it or Lose it" Campaign. All half full bottles are to be used, at every opportunity until they're empty. This appeases both urges to be frugal and get rid of extra stuff.
I wrote above about finding the balance between those two ideas: Frugality and Minimalism. This is really personal. I keep things around for "just in case" purposes. Clothing tags, gas receipts, instructions for everything we own, old socks. The only thing I've ever used again are instructions, but only for electronics. To satisfy my "just in case" mentality, I have started putting all of that stuff in a holding container for 30 days. If I didn't need it, it goes in the trash. That's my balance.
I also decided that for my craft supplies, if I don't have a clear purpose for something, it goes. This is not to include fabric (but does include items I'm saving for the fabric and before you roll your eyes, I made this shirt for Brooke from a pair of pajama pants), ribbon or things like glue, markers etc.
What works for me isn't what works for Cory. We put personal limitations on our criteria to toss because we both view this differently. We also agreed when we made our personal guidelines that it needs to follow a certain path and we are allowed to keep an object we LOVE regardless if it meets any of the other criteria. The first question we ask is, "Do I love this item?" If the answer is yes, you can keep it. If the answer is no, then we ask ourselves, "Does this item improve my life?" If the answer is yes, the item stays but if the answer is no, we ask, "What purpose does this item have and would I miss it if it were gone?" And there is no judgement on what we keep or toss.
If you think you'd like to get rid of some of your stuff, you can follow my suggestions. I also suggest starting in a few places in your home. These seem to be the areas where most stuff just accumulates and it's the easiest to clean out.
Kitchen: Duplicates (do you really need 3 sets of measuring spoons?) and seldom used items
Bathroom: Half used items, old make up, stretched out hair ties (or is this just me?)
Bedroom: Worn, outdated or (sorry) ill-fitting clothing, worn socks, jewelry, mismatched bedding
Office: Mail, magazines, instructions, pens that no longer work - why do we keep these and why are they the only ones I grab when I really need a pen?!
Toys!
Garage: Seldom used sports equipment, old paint
I'm also taking advantage of Apartment Therapy's January Cure, which we've done for the past 3 years. I encourage you to try this out (any time of the year) because it's a really good and doable way to get your home in tip-top shape. and we're only 2 assignments in, so there is time to catch up! I like to do this in the same notebook from year to year because it's a really good feeling to see what improvements we've made through the years and how many of the items on our lists have been completed. I'll try to do a weekly post to document our progress.
I really hope this encourages you to be happier in your space!
No comments:
Post a Comment