Desk Drawer: Before and After

Because sometimes it is just satisfying to have a good ol’ before and after comparison!

Before: messy, unorganized, clutter filled. Ugh!

After! Neat, organized, minimal!

I always had problems with keeping my desk neat. It’s just so easy to throw something in the drawer rather than deal with it. Sort of became my junk drawer. Honestly the best advice I have is pretty simple: empty the drawer completely to start with a blank space and go through all your things. I recently finished Marie Kondo’s book and it had a lot of good tips (will be writing a blog post about my thoughts on the book soon!) and I think along the lines of what she suggest- to do everything at the same time rather than in little increments, is especially helpful with a desk.

Once I emptied out my drawer I knew what space I had to work with. Having a blank slate is a pretty great feeling sometimes! I decided I wanted the desk drawer to be my charger cord location. I think giving drawers a purpose is a lot better in the long run to prevent the ‘junk drawer’ situation from happening (although sometimes there is always one- we have one small drawer in the kitchen is kind of the kitchen miscellaneous drawer!). Since I knew what I wanted the drawer to hold it was easy getting it together. I fit everything I needed and just left the small paper area under that kitty paper weight for my ‘to go through’ stuff. And since it is a small pile and right there it is easy to see and know what I have to do.

As for the cleaning process, like I said taking everything out is definitely the way I think is best to start. Then I threw out any junk papers that I definitely didn’t need. Essential papers that I did need along with books that I had in the drawer got moved to my bookshelf. Hair accessories got moved the bathroom. Receipts got moved into the heart accordion file I had in the drawer, organized by month (and then at the end of the year they will be emptied for the next!). 3DS was moved to my bedside tiny dresser to be in a drawer with my ipod nano… etc, etc… I feel like my rambling on about where I moved what isn’t exactly the most exciting haha!

But I hope you enjoyed the before and after and take comfort in knowing you can do it too!

Mid-Afternoon Blogging 5.5.15

It’s not bedtime but I really needed to post something since I just posted “I feel like when it gets to the point that I am crying my face off from feeling inadequate and hopeless when looking at jobs that maybe I should stop…” to my Facebook and after doing that I thought I should do something that I actually enjoy doing to make myself feel better… So, here I am, writing on my blog that no one probably reads anyway! (If you do, thank you and you are awesome!)

And here is a nice picture of my little Buddha shrine on my bookshelf. I would call it a meditation shrine, but I am horrible and never seem to actually be able to get myself to meditate. Maybe that’s my problem?

I’m not sure what this post is going to be about… Maybe I just need to vent?

I know I am not perfect. I don’t eat all healthy foods and I don’t have a good job. I am terrified of using the phone about 90% of the time. I am only good at talking to people for brief periods of time (unless they are my friends whom I could probably talk their ears off- sorry friends!). I am afraid of putting myself out there. I am afraid to do something unless I know all of the steps involved. Sometimes I am lazy and spend all day on my computer or watching something on Netflix. I don’t really exercise at all. I have no clue how to be a functioning adult. There are so many things I know I should do but don’t. I don’t know why. I never seem to be happy. Also don’t know why. Maybe it’s just a flaw in my genetic code that I cannot be happy. I get upset easily and cry even easier.

Well, there is a long list of faults already and I only thought about it for 2 minutes. Imagine if I made myself ponder it for half and hour…

Yet, if I try and come up with positive things about myself I takes me 2 minutes just to come up with one, and even then I question it. What purpose do I serve? Why the hell am I here?

Maybe I just worry about ‘I’ too much.

Or maybe my self esteem is just crap.

Or maybe both?

I guess I just have to keep reminding myself I am doing the best I can right now. I think letting go of past regrets is getting easier and the biggest regret, my student debt, is mainly still there because it ties in to the future anxiety of paying it off. Letting go of physical clutter and possessions definitely does help with letting go of past regret. To let go of an item you once loved or maybe spent a lot of money on without judging yourself but knowing you know longer need it? And then to tell yourself when you are shopping that you don’t need x or y because you literally just got rid of x or y and bring another in would defeat that purpose? That helps. That is progress.

I regret that I have student loans without fully understand them or really understanding money and where it comes from. That sounds like I was oblivious when I entered college, I mean, it’s not like I thought money grew on trees or anything. But I just didn’t get it, and everyone tells you that you need a degree to get a good job and blahblah. And I guess at least now I do. And I have learned over the past few years that just because popular notions say one thing, does not make it true. To take the positive away from this negative experience, I know I will never want to take out another loan in my life if I can avoid it. I learned to save my cash, started my own -albeit small- budget sheet. Even though I loathe the financial state I am in, at least I am somehow making it by, and know that I have support if I need it. A lot of people don’t have that and I should be grateful. Even though I barely make over $300 a month, I make enough to make my loan payments and even pay a little ahead. I can pay for my gas (since I don’t work much I don’t drive much so I guess that’s a positive!), pay for some groceries, and save a small amount. It’s not much, but I am trying.

I think it just sucks that I want to help people and make a difference and do something meaningful, but I have no idea how to do so…

Maybe if I had been a better net worker or been more outgoing or done something differently I would have a better job. Maybe. But I didn’t. And I guess I need to accept that, along with all my other faults. Maybe I can just accept them and acknowledge them, I might be able to better them. Because if you spend all your life denying something about yourself you will never try to fix it.

Well this post was a bit all over the place… I hope maybe someone got something out of it! But if nothing else writing this did help calm me down I guess, so that’s good. I hope everyone is doing well, or at least well enough. Till next post!

MIP: Take Two! Clothing

Look what I have finally gotten to back around to! As I said in February, I had to put Minimalist in Progress project on hold with moving into the apartment and continuing to sort through my things. But now I’m back! And I took enough photos for at least a few posts, covering almost all my things except make-up/hygiene stuff, which hasn’t changed drastically (but is definitely less!). So yay! And the photo above makes me very happy to look at because it pretty much shows almost everything I own, all in one space. Aside from the closet (picture below), my small end table next to my bed, and everything my fiance and I share in the apartment, that’s most of it right there. It is still a bit too cluttered for me, mainly because everything is all in one spot. But I also like it because it’s all in one spot! It’s my area in the apartment! Maybe one day if we ever get a bigger place I will have more room to spread things out, but for now I think it looks pretty cozy and tidy!

Back to the previous list:

Part 1 – Purse = 20 items
Part 2 – Jewelry Box = 26 items
Part 3 – Make-Up / Beauty Products = 24 items
Part 4 – Clothing = 57 items
Part 5 – Bookshelf
Part 6 – Art Supplies
Part 7 – Misc.
Part 8 – Kitchen

Crossing out old numbers and will be adding new numbers, and I also added a Part 8 for kitchen things. I find kitchen stuff is kind of a grey area because my fiance and I both make use of everything in the kitchen so everything in it would be more of a ‘shared’ count than an individual count. So I will go through things just to have record, but I don’t think I would count those toward my personal belongings.

Soooo first up for this second take will be clothes & accessories! (see first round here)

Here is everything! Aside from my two jackets hanging in the hall closet, this is all of my clothes! My winter clothes are in the bag on the floor there, and unfortunately I did not get to photographing/counting them because it would have been a hassle and I was already going through the effort of taking all my clothes off the hangers to photograph that I just didn’t want to bother! But the beauty of a capsule wardrobe is you’ll come around to the winter stuff soon enough, and honestly there isn’t a ton there, probably a few sweaters and warmer shirts.

I have to say, one things I really love about doing these posts is that it causes me to question my belongings even further. The closet picture isn’t even accurate anymore because while positioning things to take pictures of I decided I really don’t ever wear them! Helps with the process of letting go…

First up, tops! 4 T-shirts (one not pictured due to being in the laundry!), 4 nicer tops, 1 cardigan, and one bolero jacket. Also not pictured are my faux leather jacket, owl poncho, and two dressy jackets, although the one jacket I really only ever wore 1 time in the 4 years that I have had it, and it will probably be going to donation (plus it’s dry clean only! phhff!) Total tops: 13

Next up, bottoms! After taking this picture I tried on some of the black slacks and they just didn’t fit as well as they used too, so I have them in a ‘to donate’ pile. So minus 2 from this! I realize having so many bottoms might not be as minimalist as some others wardrobes, but honestly I definitely use the jeans! The slacks are mainly for going to interviews, and I feel like I hold on to them hoping one day maybe I’ll actually get a good job. But now that two of them don’t fit great anyway, I am putting them on hold. I’ll probably put the skirt in the donation pile too if I am honest with myself because I know that I have only worn that skirt maybe 2 times in the past 5 years. Yeah. So that will probably go soon as well. I love my jeans. Have three full length ones, one capri length, and one short length. I could probably go with just having 3 pairs of jeans total, but it is conveniant having a bit extra just in case a pair gets dirty faster than expected. Since I don’t have a washing machine in the apartment I have to go across the street (or when I visit my parents) and I really wouldn’t want to have to do that more than necessary. And again, I do actually wear all of these jeans so to me that’s all that matters! Also not pictured here (but is in the final picture) are 3 pairs of leggings. Total here = 10

Dresses! I have 4 lovely dresses! I love that the three on the right are super comfortable and I think look pretty nice on me, and the left dress is nice because I can easily dress it up or down. Being a bigger girl dresses are definitely easier to shop for, especially when one is heavier on the bottom than on the top! I tend to hate shopping for pants. Dresses are wonderful because I just throw ’em on and that’s it! And if it is cold I just throw on a pair of leggings! So while these tend to be what is switched out with sweaters come colder weather, I can still keep the darker two for winter just fine! Not pictured is my fancy black dress that my mom bought me for my college graduation and is rather formal…. and, kind of sadly, has become my funeral dress… But it is a lovely dress and fits me very nicely, hopefully I will have the chance to wear it again. If I was going by my minimalist standards of getting rid of things I don’t use often enough it would definitely fall under that category, but it is my exception. Dresses total = 5

So there you have it (for the most part!). So missing from this picture are my coat, poncho, and formal dress. And since taking this I have let go of two of the black slacks and most likely will let go of the tan jacket. I love looking at this and knowing that if I had to I could make it all fit inside my suitcase!

I’m going to count a top and bottom PJ as one rather than two. So that’s 5 (one not picture because I am wearing it! 🙂 ), plus 5 additional t-shirts, plus my bag of junk clothes. Honestly I am only holding on to that bag of clothes in case I need to go back to my old job. Eventually it will be gone. So I will count it as 1 item because it says tied up in that bag under my bed. So that’s 11.

 

To be fair to myself my older MIP posts were when I only have a portion of my things with me where I was staying. Now, in these new posts, it is everything I have total. Nothing left at my parent’s house or anywhere else.

With that in mind, here are my shoes! I know, it seems like a lot, and it is more than I need to be sure. Someday soon the white sneakers are going bye-bye because they are pretty worn through, but for now they are my work sneakers. The black ones will be their replacement. I love flip flops and had to keep that one pair (I got rid of a bunch of other ones). My problem here seems to be black flats! I love my cutout crocs- my mom just bought them for me last week since my old ones were looking pretty bad- but they lasted me a couple years and I wore them babies out! But the other black flats are one too many… I’m just not sure which pair I want to keep. Will probably let go of the croc flats since the other black flats are at least a little bit different looking and slightly more comfortable. The cutout crocs are nice since the heel doesn’t irritate me, but I can’t say the same for the croc flats. And I know I don’t need the formal heels because I never ever wear them, but for the time being I just can’t seem to let them go. And that’s okay. I feel like 8 pairs of shoes (plus winter boots to be fair) for the whole year really isn’t as bad as I seem to think it is. And I know they will get whittled down as time goes by, and I most certainly won’t be buying any new pairs anytime soon now that I just replaced my crocs. I never have fun shoe shopping anyway because my feet are so wide! So that’s 9 including winter boots.

And finally! I decided to include bags in this section since they are basically a clothing accessory. I will count my 4 grocery shopping bags as one item though, since they pretty much go together and are stored together. I know I don’t need that many, but the bags are also nice if I need to move something or carry anything down or up to the apartment. Plus saving plastic bags from being used is always a good thing. So 4 bags here!

Also not pictured since I would rather not post pictures of my underpants online: 12 pairs of underwear, 8 socks, 1 swimsuit, 3 spring scarves, 1 belt, 8 bras, 1 undershirt, 1 pair of gloves, and 1 hat.

And that’s it! Assuming I tallied up correctly the new running total here is 89 things!
Part 4 – Clothing = 57 items, now 89!
So although the item count is actually higher than before, they are definitely not on even playing fields since before I was only really including what I had with me at the time, not an accurate number for what I actually own. Now I am accountable for everything. And honestly I know a lot of times when people count their clothes they don’t count lounge wear or undergarments toward the final number. In order to be more accurate I am. And it is making me honest with the amount I have (and when I get the chance I will add in the extra winter clothes not counted.)

Well I guess that’s all for this post! Sorry for it being sooooo long! Honestly clothing is probably what I have more than any other category (the only close contender would be books!) personal item wise, so that’s why it’s so long! Will hopefully post again soon!

When Shopping Doesn’t Bring You Happiness The Way It Used To…

So yesterday I was feeling bored and my fiance and I were looking for something to do. I suggest going to the thrift store so we can at least get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather a bit…

Let’s just say it did not go well.

Before starting my minimalism journey I used to love going to the thrift store- LOVE! I remember we used to go on Thursdays and get lunch at the Chinese buffet since it was cheaper then eating out anywhere else and we both love Chinese food and then we would drive down the road to the thrift store. I mean, of all the places that I could’ve gone at least going to the thrift store was not expensive and I would, on average, not spend more than $10 probably. I loved finding interesting a unique things and storing them for some future use! I really used to enjoy those days.

But now back to yesterday – I did not have such a nice time.

First off there were way too many people in the store for me (I should’ve known better since Wednesdays are half off days) and that got me feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed. Then the entire store is cluttered with things and usually not in the neatest manner. Which I understand completely, but it just made me feel overwhelmed in a way that I never used to feel when going there. Now that I have come so far on my minimalism journey I don’t want to step back. After all the time, effort, and energy to pare down my things would I add more to it? More that I might get some happiness from after first purchasing it, but would then become accustomed to (thank you hedonic adaptation!) and not appreciate as much and would just want to pare down later, because I know I don’t really need it. I just look around and all I see is junk…

Now I am all for being green and recycling and I love that buying at the thrift store makes use of what others would’ve thrown away and is not contributing to the cycle of buying things new at the store. But I just am not sure I can keep shopping at the thrift store, or at least maybe I should limit my visits. At least when I go to a regular store things are a bit more organized. Although, the more I think about it, the more I can remember lots of shopping places being disheveled messes. Again, working in retail, I can understand that- understaffed and overworked. I also have a hard time at thrift stores when looking for clothing because I would fall under the plus size category. So having clothes sorted by color instead of size is a big pain for me, in addition to the fact that the selection isn’t great (although, that’s pretty much true of every store in existence). I have had luck when looking for jeans though. Maybe I will limit my visits to the thrift store for when I am looking for jeans and when I need a specific household item to try and find.

It is just soooo tempting to browse through the whole store! My problem is that I love looking at things. Like, I could spend all day at the mall just browsing. But throw in the masses of people and hurriedness and I just get overwhelmed very quickly!

Anyway, after the bummer that was the thrift store, we went to TJMaxx because I wanted to look for a butter dish. It is so stupid but I hate the one that we have! Unfortunately, once we went into TJMaxx I wandered and started looking at soaps and then at the super small women’s section. Which I am sure lowered my self esteem. I should know better- looking at clothes and not finding any that would fit makes me feel depressed and definitely knocks me down a bit. So I tried wandering through the household goods to find an elusive butter dish that I actually liked. No such luck. But I kept being lured by the many things in that section making me think how much better my life would be if I had this or that. In the end I put everything back and walked out of the store empty handed.

That’s the problem with shopping- thinking your life will be better with x or y. Which makes you think that you aren’t happy with your life the way that it is right now. Like I can’t be happy if my butter dish isn’t perfect! Pff! Or, on a more serious level, that I can’t be happy if I’m not a size 2- which is ridiculous! Happiness comes from the inside, not from the outside, and with living in the moment- not with an imperfect past or a fantasy future. And that’s what I need to remember when I feel low after shopping… Or anytime really!

After the TJMaxx downfall, we decided to stop at the library up the road. We love walking to our local library, but the book I had been waiting for was overdue by about a week and I was tired of waiting, so we checked and this other library had it! It was really nice because I had never been inside this library and it felt good to find the book that I needed! So we got library cards for this library and I got to get my book (and two others!)! It was better than shopping and I felt really great afterwards. We then went to our local Rita’s since ice is half off on Wednesdays and enjoyed a nice treat sitting outside in the sun. Then, go figure, our local library leaves a voice mail saying that the book we wanted is back in! I guess life’s just funny that way. But at least I now have a new library I can visit and our day ended nicely.

So I think my lesson from yesterday should be:
1.) Only go shopping at the thrift store when you are actively looking for something, not just to waste the day away even if you once thought that was fun. You will just feel overwhelmed and leave with nothing.
2.) Only buy clothes if you really love them and how they look on you. I do want to go clothes shopping soon, since I really have pared my wardrobe down so much getting rid of clothes and I want to build it up with pieces I love and look great and are good quality. Not just because I got it for a great deal. Build my capsule wardrobe when I have more income.
3.) If I am bored/feel the need to shop, go to the library! I can shop for all the books I want there, and they are free! Gives me the chance to flex my browsing muscles and get something that doesn’t cost money and ultimately won’t clutter up my space. And support the library. So many positives. I think going to the library can also curb other spending habits- I don’t feel the need to buy anymore books or DVDs unless I absolutely love them and plan on reading/watching multiple times, because I can get them for free/cheap from the library! I think knowing you don’t need to personally own everything is a great understanding to have.
4.) Just go outside. Instead of shopping go for walk. I feel much better after a nice walk outside then after a shopping session.

Here’s hoping I can remember my own lessons!

Paring Down a Collection

(…More than one post this month? Wowza!)

This is probably going to be a shorter post because I don’t have a ton to say but did think it was an interesting topic. I think one of the hardest things for people to let go of besides super sentimental items is their collections. Granted, I am sure some collections also fall under the ‘sentimental’ category. Which may be why they are so hard to let go of. It is hard to let go of these items because we worked so hard to cultivate them together. And I think people let pride get in their way. We are proud of what we have collected. And I totally get that. While it wasn’t large, this was my collection of Maneki Neko (or Japanese waving/lucky cats). I loved collecting these and had wanted to have a large collection of them since it was the only collection I really had to begin with.

And where is my collection now?

This is it! I have narrowed it down to 7 figures (one figure is on my desk), plus the one pair of chopsticks there.

Some of the waving kitties were easy to let go of, but it was definitely very hard to let go of others. But here are my six tips for making things a bit easier for you:

1.) Always easy first! When tackling a collection, always first pick out the thing/things that you honestly could care less about. When I started my collection there were a few cats I just always disliked the ‘look’ of that I also didn’t have any big sentimental hold on me and really my only reason for keeping them was…? To add to my collection! So they went first! This kind of goes along with the idea that if it isn’t beautiful or useful, let it go. Most collections are less of a ‘use’ though, so I would say if it isn’t beautiful or meaningful, let it go.

2.) If you aren’t sure, put it away. I feel like this is the best tip ever for minimalizing for just about every area of your life. If you don’t know if you can get rid of something, but it away in a box. If you don’t miss it or take it out in a designated amount of time, just let go of the box without looking back inside. I really think that a lot of my progress was made because I had stuff split between my parent’s house and my current living location.

3.) Set a number to curate your collection. Again, just like the last tip, this is a pretty generic minimalizing tip that can be applied many places. Pick an arbitrary number that works for you. Much like Project 333 with limiting clothes, give yourself a number to stick to and remove items until you hit that. And then in the future you just have to decide if you really want to buy that new something because it means giving up one of your other treasures in your collection. It forces you to ask yourself if it is really worth the loss of your money and an object you already knew brought you happiness from you streamlined collection. Will a new / different object really make you happier? Probably not.

4.) Don’t hold on to things because they were gifts. I understand that it is hard to not feel guilty when someone gave you something as a gift, but if it isn’t serving a purpose in your life, get rid of it. It is just a physical object that has already been given to you, no matter how much it cost or how long ago it was. If someone does get upset that you let it go all you can really do is explain why and maybe they will see things more from your perspective (as well as help discourage them from buying more things in future if you tell them you are just going to give them away!). I did really struggle with this one when I first started letting go of things, but by this point I just figure if it isn’t serving a purpose in my life I don’t need it. And for the most part it’s not like someone is going to come into your house and inspect / make an inventory of it you still have gifts they gave you. Plus, if you have less things and do keep something that was a gift, it will be more prominently displayed in all it’s glory.

5.) Don’t hold on to things simply for sentimental value. Take a picture of something instead if it is just cluttering up your life and your space. Of course if the object is not taking up space when you have less items around it you can appreciate it better. I look at what is left from my collection and can tell you that the white cat on the right was the first waving cat I ever bought and was from my high school New York City trip. It brings back a lot of good memories. And the cat on the left was also bought in New York City from Chinatown from my senior college trip. And that the reallyyyyyy tiny cat was from the Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival my senior year and that my fiance bought it for me because it was the tiniest waving cat you could find! Some the collection I let go had memories attached as well, but I can just as easily look at that picture in this post and remember.

6.) Let go of bragging rights. I think part of the appeal of a collection is to show off to other people how much of something you have. This is obviously not true for everyone, but is probably a reason for some people. If nothing else, if you can’t bring yourself to pare down a collection because you are too proud of it, then you should re-frame to think of that positively. Be proud of what you already have, and try to accept that you don’t need to add to it. If we accept what we have we won’t spend so much more trying to make it ‘perfect’ or ‘better’ when it already can be. And then maybe once we find that acceptance we can find that little voice that says it’s okay to let go of one thing here, one thing there. That a collection is really only a group of objects held together, nothing more. It doesn’t define you as a person or make you a better person or fan of something than someone who has less. It’s all just physical objects, and it’s kind of like one person having a big pile of rocks and being proud of that big pile, while another person could have just three rocks and be just as happy. You don’t need the most to be happy or proud.

It does take skill to cultivate a good collection, but wouldn’t having less make it even more of a challenge you be proud of? Like having an art gallery stuffed full with paintings that is just overwhelming- just because you have a lot of something doesn’t mean it is a good collection. But if you limit yourself to five paintings then you really need to think hard to curate that collection. Of course I can understand also that only having two items isn’t really a collection for some people, and that is okay! Collections are definitely a personal thing. But this post is obviously more to help / support those who do want to shrink their collections.

I think it just really boils down to the same thing as minimalism in general: to not let your stuff own you.

Well I guess that’s all my thoughts on this for now. I apologize if this post is a little rambly- I honestly had a bit of a hard time writing it… But I hope maybe it will help / inspire someone if they need it, or even just give people something to think about!

Also, I need a nice positive message to end my posts with… Not really sure. I really like the phrase ‘No mud, no lotus’ so maybe I will go with that from now on (unless I think of something more original haha!).