At the same time as I went full on decluttering, I discovered the abyss that is youtube and started listening to youtubers and vlogs on minimalism, simplifying, and slowing down. I discovered podcasts as well. This was just ahead of the Marie Kondo craze. I will admit that I did binge watch all her episodes on Netflix last month. Interesting, but I was already way ahead of that concept.
In late November I began a thirty-day challenge where the goal is to get rid of five hundred things in thirty days. I managed to almost double that amount -- and I wasn't counting 30 thumbtacks as part of the challenge. I would just mark down, a box of thumbtacks. My family was not a part of the challenge, so, for the most part, their stuff was left alone. I ended up with 7 empty 7 litre Rubbermaid rough totes, three empty varying height plastic multi-drawer towers, as well as a number of empty banker's boxes. I think at least six car or van loads were taken to various locations such as Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, and St. Vincent de Paul. As I am sitting here typing there are two boxes of items that need to be dropped off again as well as several boxes of books that will be going to a fundraising book sale later this year.The reality is though, that I am still not done. There are still large amounts of papers that need to be sifted through, cards to be sorted, photographs to be gone through, more crafting items that need to be passed along, a garage to tackle when the weather warms up again, and still more books to be gone through.
What has all this purging of stuff taught me? 1) less stuff equals less work. Less to clean, less to look after, less to feel guilty about. 2) If done carefully, you will have no regrets. In other words, I have not regretted getting rid of anything that has left our home. 3) I am able to be more careful and frugal with what remains in our home and I truely like the stuff that is here.
Ultimately, my goal in decreasing the amount of stuff in my home is to free up time and yes, finances for other things. Things that aren't necessarily material, but allow us to slow down, enjoy being home and spending time together as a family. I want to walk into my home and the various rooms in my home and feel at rest. I want to be able to sloooowww down and read, sip a cup of tea, savour a piece of dark chocolate, and not be thinking to myself that I need to hurry up because I need to dust this, to vacuum that, to put all those things away that there is no room for because I have too much stuff already.
It is a process and it will continue to be a process. It is a matter of mindfulness and learning to embrace slow. Perhaps I will end up calling this the Year of Slow. I guess I am back to marching to the beat of A Different Drum. :o)
