have nothing in my house that I do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful

I’m in the mood to sort through more stuff. In the last few weeks, I’ve begun to dream of how beautiful this space could be with a few touches – new curtains, our artwork properly framed, and eventually additional pieces of furniture. As a lover of the site Etsy, I dream of purchasing a few key pieces from there – especially little things: pot holders, an end table, and serving platters.

Eventually, I need another bookcase; oh sign, I feel as though I’ve reached the core of my library which is comprised of the books which I hold dear and want to have available at any moment. I just wish there was one book case less of them.

Yesterday, I picked out several pieces of clothing to also give to a resale shop, and I made a small breakthrough. I realized that right now, I’m quite frustrated by my lack of well-fitting clothes. So, I decided that for every bag I give to a resale shop, I will allow myself to purchase one item of clothes (but it must be from a resale shop).

Yesterday, I brought 5 bags of stuff to my chosen resale shop. And in this little shop (which I picked for it’s very great community cause), I purchased a cute shirt from the Gap ($2.50) and a fantastic pair of Kenneth Cole dress pants ($3.00). Seriously, a win-win for me and them!

I’ve reviewed and purged stuff on Friday & Saturday. Last night, I reviewed my book shelves carefully and picked out about 20 books to resell.

My hope for completing this goal is rising, though I worry that the coming weeks will be even more challenging as I’ve managed to dig in quite deep already, yet I know there’s more that can be purged if I’m open minded and dedicated to my goal to create an opportunity for my fiance and I to live in a minimalist, beautiful space.

I’ve been not as diligent about this for about a week. I definitely need to pick it back up. Tonight, after my meeting I will find at least two items to purge.

Tomorrow, I will bring all of my resale items to an appropriate store for giving such things away.

Every opportunity I have, I sort through and discard a few pieces. I know that I completed this goal on:

6/1 – Threw a few odds & ends out, reviewed all lose bills & papers
6/2 – Reviewed both shirt drawers in dresser

And the empty storage crate was put to good use. My fiance and I stashed our winter-only sweaters and other clothing in there freeing up space in our dressers, so now I’ll put it downstairs for the summer and fall.

I headed down to the basement and sorted through a few storage crates. It was easier. I discovered one full of old boxes for products that I bought 3-4 years ago. The boxes went to recycling, the manuals and spare parts to a designated location and the packing materials went to the garbage.

Now, I have an empty storage crate… which is always kind of a difficult task for me. What to throw in there? Tossing a storage crate seems like a ridiculous proposition, because eventually I’ll need it again. So over the next few days, I’ll look for a set of stuff that would be better off in there, than in a box.

This has been a great day, if I count all the boxes, I purged about 20 items. If I don’t feel like sorting tomorrow, I’ll take the day off and still feel accomplished.

My mantra: My stuff is not me, they’re simply items I’ve accumulated to bring beauty into my life and help me accomplish life’s daily tasks.

I know that my destination is a clean, minimalistic space that incorporate his and my possessions, but as I look at all my possessions and try to determine what stays and what goes, it feels overwhelming. I feel desperate to purge and yet, what… what???? is not useful or beautiful to me.

My desk takes up space and is basically a very large printer stand. It should go now based on its lack of use… but perhaps someday again, I’ll want a desk. Perhaps when that room is not one giant cave of stuff even, I’ll want a desk.

I’ve already gone through and tossed, sorted and thrown away another small box this morning. So technically, I’m done for the day, and I think that’s how it may need to be, I’m not keen to this process after my daily purge.

I am not going to record everything that I give or throw away. It’s still hard for me to reflect on giving away my possessions. My mother definitely raised me to cling to everything that might have the slightest value, use or memory.

Also, I cannot go beyond five or six items because then it becomes a chore, and I begin to feel overwhelmed by it all. It feels a bit like exercising… if I decide to run 3 miles, I realize just how out of shape I am, but if I run 20 minutes each day, I see my progress and reflect on the good.

At least twice a week for the rest of the the month of May and all of June, I will find five items of mine to give or throw away.

5/23 – Complete!
5/25 – Another 2nd bedroom purge
5/26 – Kitchen got a bit of organizing and a few items are gone
5/27 – More from the 2nd bedroom
5/29 – Another couple pieces from both bedrooms

My fiance proposed on May 1st and we’ve begun planning the wedding, and as we chat about our future, I have realized that I don’t want all of my stuff (possessions, junk, etc.) to get in the way of us. This goal is becoming more important in my mind. Of course, I will keep anything that is:
important
beloved
essential
beautiful
necessary

Beyond that, I need to start sorting, tossing and giving away. We dream of living in a condo with our cats, and my stuff would be bulging out of the seams in real life.

On a funny note, my boyfriend is a middle school teacher and yesterday was a fun day. The kids who were finished with all of their homework and tests could choose from a few activities.

My bf led a blackjack and poker tournament… yes I know that sounds a little edgy for middle schoolers, but there’s no gambling. They just play with chips & the winners got prizes.

About those prizes, there wasn’t time to shop for them and as a teacher, he needed something inexpensive. Enter my heap of stuff for the resale shop. I dug through it and handed over to him a never-used purse and a Target mousepad, which I’d won when I worked there. The mousepad was first prize, the purse was second and third prize got candy.

He told me that night that the boys were all rallying for the purse; they said it’d be a good gift for their sister, niece, aunt, etc. And the kid who won the mousepad was excited.

I’m really pleased that two pieces of my stuff found excited new owners. Now, I just need to keep digging through it. Right now, I have a pile of give-away and another that I’m still packing up for storage. It doesn’t look good, but it’s a start.