MIP: Part 4 – Clothing

Wow I can’t believe I made it to part 4! Clothing!

This is my little section of the wall closet that I share with my fiance… His stuff takes up about 4 times mine! Along with this small section of hanging clothes, I use four dresser drawers.

haha Rock Band guitars = not mine! The spaces above and below the drawers are my things- my small book collection that I am working on reading through and my two family photos. On the bottom I have my Lunapads (still going strong two years later!), my Wii Fit board, large bags, black shoes that look invisible, box of kitty supplies, first aid box, and washbag- but all these items will count toward a different section.

I think definitely use my space well- here is what I pack into these four drawers:

It might not look like much, but the drawers are not very deep and my good bras + underwear (not pictured) basically take up the entire first drawer. I have: four pairs of scrubs for work, clothes for messy jobs (2 shirts, two pants), the pairs of pajama tops and 3 bottoms, 4 pairs of jeans, three sweaters, one pair of leggings, 3 scarfs, and 11 pairs of socks! Not pictured -because the internet does not need to see! haha- I have 4 good bras, 4 sports bra type bras for work, 1 hat, and 9 underwears (is that even the right word? lol). So like I said, the first drawer is good bras, underwear, and socks; second drawer is my jeans, leggings, and scarfs; third drawer is pajamas and sweaters, and fourth drawer is junk clothes and work scrubs. If I ever do find a new job the scrubs will definitely be leaving!

And here is the contents of my closet all laid out:

I have one nice dress, one owl poncho, one black jacket and one white shirt for interviews.

And my shirts include a hoodie, two sweaters, four long sleeve shirts, and my nice shirt and cardigan combo!

I didn’t feel like taking a photo of my shoes- so I also have a paid of work sneakers, a pair of converse sneakers, the boots pictured at the top photo, and a pair of black croc flats. And I also have one winter coat. So let’s see, 5 plus 8 + 4 +40…. Total clothing = 57! I don’t think that is so bad! I mean, considering I counted each of my socks as one haha!

To be fair, this is only my winter clothes. I like to organize my clothes on a rotation basis. So once it starts getting warm out I just switch my clothes. Maybe if I lived somewhere that was warmer all the time or always cold, I would be able to minimalize my clothes further, but when you live in a climate that has both freezing and sweltering days, it is a bit more necessary to have the proper attire. When spring/summer rolls back around I can count the number I have there and add them together, but right now my summer clothes are all packed away in one plastic bin at my parent’s.

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.

**Update** – Since I started writing the draft for this post (about a month ago) things have actually changed a bit! Since changing jobs I no longer needed my scrubs, so those are now in storage (aka my teeny wall closet in my room at my parents home) and I managed to fit all my clothing into the four dresser drawers and do not have anything hanging in the closet! Now I did cave a bit when I got my new job, since I could wear fun T-Shirts and such, I bought four new t-shirts, but I figure with all the clothes I have donated over the past year I think it is okay to buy a few new shirts. Besides, I have grown out of my desire to dress as sophisticated as I used to (not that I really did that much before…). And sorry ‘What Not To Wear’ but I realized fashion isn’t my life and I am okay with rocking some comfy jeans and a t-shirt 90% of the time… My clothes don’t define me and it just isn’t important to me or my self image. Maybe it’s different if you have someone come and give you thousands of dollars to spend but I don’t have that happening any time soon. So yeah. Down to four drawers. One for underthings/socks, one for jeans and scarfs, one for t-shirts and cardigans, and one for pajamas and hoodies. I’m not sure how this changes my count, but I will just go with the original 57 total, since that’s what I did for all the other posts- apparently making a list of everything you have really does help to let go of things… And once – if ever- my fiance and I get a place of our own, I will be re-doing this series of posts!

Minimalist Holiday: Decorating

I normally prefer not to post twice in one day (as it is rather silly to do that and then not post again for a whole month, which is what I tend to do! haha!) but since I finally have a bit of time to do so and this is a holiday post, I might as well write it now rather then later!

My new job has been going okay. I am happy to have left my old job, but I can tell that this new one won’t be all sunshine and roses. Store set-up was fun and I think I enjoyed that more than actually doing what my job is- cashiering. And it’s retail. So that’s painful, especially for a minimalist and someone with social anxiety issues. But I guess I have to do what I have to do… I worked 19 days straight with no days off- including Thanksgiving sadly-, yesterday and today being my first since I started. I don’t know how I managed it but I did… Right now I am struggling because I am scheduled on weekends, while my fiance has off weekends. And he is really having a very hard time. When I got the job I told them I needed off Friday/Saturday, and that I would be free any time for the other days, but I have been working weekends for the past few weeks. I was trying to be flexible though since the store was opening and there weren’t a lot of people hired yet, but now I am worried that the date I gave won’t be honored. So I guess we will see. My quest for a good job is never ending apparently. I just keep telling myself that at least I have something right now and at least my savings have gone up a teeny bit. But anyway, enough of retail talk! Maybe I will write a post about having to work retail while being a minimalist… If I have any time!

So back to the actual subject of this post: Holiday decorating!

Since I had to work Thanksgiving my fiance made me Thanksgiving dinner the night before, so then on Thanksgiving day I decided to decorate since it would cheer me up before having to go into work and feeling depressed about not being with my family whom I haven’t seen in months. I previously had tried to minimalize the number of decorations.

This was the set-up we had last year.

Honestly it isn’t a drastic difference or anything, but I think it looks less cluttered. The actual decorations on the tree are the same since we don’t really have a lot for the tree anyway, but there is less going on around it. And I decided to forgo the lightbulb lights, as it is just too much of a hassle to take down our little lanterns and put up those Christmas bulbs, only to take them down and have to put the lanterns back up. So we didn’t! Minimalizing!

I really love this tablecloth that I found at the thrift store- retro adorable-ness! It is simple and pretty. I also put up the cards I have gotten from my best friend since they are beautifully handmade and look so nice!

And of course we had to set up some candy haha… I blame my fiance for that one. But it’s okay, it is still simple and looks nice. I also have a little white light ceramic tree on my desk next to my Buddha statue that looks nice. But that’s it. It all fits into one small plastic storage container! I feel like in the future I would prefer to just continue doing this little set-up, rather than the hassle with decorating an entire house. I can see the appeal of chopping down the tree and stuff for little kids because I do remember that fondly, but until that day comes -if it ever does- I think this suits me just fine. And I know that I could simplify this even more and be ‘more minimalist’ but I am happy with how it is. I think that is what is the most important ❤

MIP: Part 3 – Make-Up / Beauty Products

Well this will probably be a short post!

All my make-up lives in my little yellow bird bag! So before delving into that, I have my glasses case, glasses cleaning pouch, and my weird hair comb and clip! So that’s 4 plus….

I was never really a big make-up gal growing up, so minimalism really didn’t change much. In the past I might have owned more eye-shadow or small things but not much more than what I have now. I do think though that because of minimalism I will not be replacing these products once they are done for, besides maybe just keeping some eyeliner and small foundation just in case. But I just really do not use make-up often. In the past year I have probably used it less than 5 times, and those times were all probably for job interviews! I never use the nail file haha… I will through that in with the nail clippers/tweezers as one. So that gives 10 things here.

And to finish up my ‘beauty’ supply list, I have my leave in conditioner, homemade baking soda shampoo and apple cider vinegar conditioner, and my homemade Castile foaming soap! So that’s 4, plus an additional 6 for my -not pictured- body soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, floss, homemade deodorant, and small container of liquid Castile soap for face washing! So that brings the beauty total to a whopping 24, the lowest number yet! And that’s with me counting almost everything as one!

I am hoping to maybe make a post about all my homemade stuff in the future sometime. I have been using the homemade versions for at least a year (the shampoo and conditioner almost two I think!) and have been very happy with it and the savings it gives me. Plus it’s all natural and less waste for the environment!

Next up: Clothing!!

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

Actually Embracing Change

Momentary interruption of Minimalist in Progress Series for an update!

You know what they say on Game of Thrones! Winter is Coming!

Thankfully this is a picture from winter last year and hasn’t reached us yet, but I am sure it will be here soon enough.

For once I have some good news to share: I found a new job!

After all my struggling and spending hours paging through endless amount of jobs and feeling depressed and worthless for not being qualified or not feeling matched or not getting called back (or getting called back to have an interview and then not hearing anything)… I finally found something! And I think it will be a really good fit for me. It’s a large used book/movie/game/comic store that is opening up soon. For now I’m just doing cashiering, but maybe in the future I can do other things… And if not, at least I really like the environment and the people I worth with so far are really nice. And I won’t have to monitor anyone’s anesthesia. That alone sounds great to me.

I just was never one who really cared much about what I do, so long as I enjoy doing it, and I am hoping that this will work out for me. And worst case, if it doesn’t, I guess I’ll just be back at square one and start over. But I really think this job will be good for me. It doesn’t pay as well as my Vet job, but the money I save in gas (new job is only 4 miles away! Versus 16 miles for old job!) and the stress on my brain/psyche is priceless. It gives me relief because I said I would not quit my old job until I found something else because I can feel my responsibilities weighing me down, and now I have found something. So I gave my notice. I am glad that I did stick through it even though I wanted to quit so badly. I am still working there today and next Monday, but then I will be done! I will miss my co-workers, but I know I have to move on.

So right now I just need to make it through until Thanksgiving. Since Monday the 10th until Monday the 24th I will have had a total of 2 days off between the two jobs. So right now I am struggling a bit, but I just have to keep going. So you might not hear much from me for awhile (haha not that you do normally anyway!),

So let’s just hope this change goes well!

MIP: Part 2 – Jewelry Box

I almost worry this post is pointless! When it comes to jewelry I am definitely on the minimalist side!

I scored this beauty of a box at a thrift store a few years ago for only $4. It says made in Japan and I just love it. The top part opens up and has a mirror inside. In my room at my parent’s house (haha maybe I should just refer to it as my storage room?) I have a stand-up jewelry box that is way to big for me at this point- a few of the drawers there are empty and the others just hold random things that I will need to find a place for eventually, but holds little in the way of jewelry.

This is the contents of the top two small drawers. The left drawer holds all my little pins along with a Sailor Moon USB that my fiance made for me last Christmas which has a bunch of old Japanese Sailor Moon video games on it! The right drawer just holds my hair accessories- bobby pins, ponytails, and hair clips. I will say the total here is 15 items (counting the different sized bobby pins in the same category).

The large bottom drawer holds a bunch of random little treasures. I have my Pride and Prejudice Box (see below), my engagement ring, lucky clover, business cards/drive-in ticket/artworks, manifold blessings, hair stick, and photo strip. I’m going to count all the paper/photos as one, so total here will be 4, plus the jewelry below.

This box was the box that my engagement ring was mailed in. I’m not sure is the artist who made the ring picked this on purpose because my name is Elizabeth or if it was just chance, but I kept the box <3.

Inside the box I put all my actual jewelry.

I have my baggie with some rings in it (college ring and two other rings my fiance gave to me), two necklaces, two pins, and two pairs of earrings. Total here will be 7.

I just think these two necklaces are so beautiful. The black and white one was from a craft show and I just love the design/artemis look of it. The locket was from a thrift store and inside my fiance put a picture of himself and my kitty Annabelle.

And if you were wonderful what the fortune cookie says:

🙂 I think that is pretty appropriate.

Totals for this part = 15 + 4 +7 = 26

*Update* I also wanted to say that since writing this post up in a draft I have actually lessened this even further… At this moment I’m not exactly sure number wise, but right now I am only using the Pride and Prejudice box with a few things in that, and took the jewelry box home. I think when I get the time I will redo this list in the future to more accurately reflect what I have/am using. I think this project is great though because it really does get me to re-evaluate and I have let go of even more because of it!

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