Before!
And after!
We moved into a fairly small space last year- "we" here meaning Antho, myself, and our two rat cages full of squeaky little sweeties. This meant consolidating two fairly full wardrobes into one small closet with a few additional drawers and cabinets thrown in for good measure. When we first moved in together back in 2015 we had a two bedroom townhouse with two stories and a garage, so we had a TON of space for just two of us! We converted our spare bedroom into a walk-in closet with one wall for each of us to hang all of our clothes...and something about all that space made us feel compelled to try to fill it. We'd go to thrift stores and have a lot of fun picking out furniture, new ensembles and finding things that we might not have shelled out the cash for brand new... and while that was all fun, it was really quite expensive. Not only did we have to pay for all the clothes and STUFF we bought- which, while relatively cheap enough having been purchased primarily at thrift stores- but all that additional space we "needed" every month. It really added up! And really, we barely used most of it. When I moved to Korea to pursue my art for awhile, we decided that the financially wise thing to do would be to have Antho move in with his grandma so that he wasn't shelling out all that additional cash for all the empty space we weren't utilising. She had gone through a tragic loss around the time, too, so our intentions were for Antho to help her out around the house and with the bills while saving cash until I returned... It didn't quite pan out that way, but such is life. That process started us towards reducing our accumulation of stuff, however, as we went from having an entire townhouse to ourselves to having a corner of a garage, a single room, and a little bit of backyard space for our tie-dye, which meant condensing.
While I was in Korea I pretty much lived out of a single suitcase and a small closet in the room I rented from my employer. I ended up paying about $350 a month for a big comfy sofa to sleep on and a closet with access to a kitchen, bathroom and laundry. It wasn't a bad deal, all told, and I really enjoyed my stay. Food is amazing and affordable in Korea, and transportation is reasonable and efficient, too. Having moved overseas several times now (first to Japan, then back to the US, then to Korea, then back to the US) I've found it really refreshing to re-appraise my attachment to material things from time to time. I always feel so much more refreshed and at ease when I have less, which seems counter-intuitive. I was in Japan for over two years and while there accumulated a lot of stuff to fill my little apartment with, and when I left I had to spend quite a bit of money shipping all that stuff back to myself. It was expensive and inconvenient, but I guess for the most part I'm glad that I went for it as I've accumulated a collection of Japanese fashion and cooking magazines from that time that I hope to eventually translate and share. While in Korea I stocked up on cosmetics, skin care and sheet masks because they are bountiful and affordable...but again, this is an accumulation of stuff, which it is quite beneficial to sort, organise and purge several times throughout the year. We have a goal of eventually living out of our van and traveling, so we'll need to get rid of quite a bit more before we can do that. I'm viewing 2018 as my year to reduce, use up, and reappraise my things. While I've bought a few skin care items (sorry, not sorry) I'm trying not to indulge in any of the new makeup or stationary pretties I might want and reduce my overall shopping. I want to use up the sheet masks I have taking up residence in our fridge (rather than food), use up my insane collection of pens, use up all my BB and CC creams, so on and so forth. I'm grateful for the bounty and the opportunities that availed me the possibility of acquiring so many things, but I think it's high time to trim the fat. I like the Mari Kondo (aka KonMari) approach of asking whether each item sparks joy in you before deciding what to do with it, but to each their own. Whatever organisation method works for you is the one to use!
When I first began condensing my clothes, I wrote up an inventory list of all the things going into the tote so I would have an idea what was in it should I go hunting for a specific item. I like to be organised and stay on top of all my things, which is generally an uphill struggle, but I try.
For this particular session, I sorted all my sheet masks and sorted through my clothes until I filled three large garbage bags with donations. I could still donate more, but this was a step in the right direction and some advancements taken in the right direction are better than none, right?
Until next time!
💖
XOXO,
NAU
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