Today is the day. Today I declare my independence. No longer will I be pulled down. No longer will I be tormented in my dreams. I will stand up. I will say no. I will take control and push aside the things that are holding me back!
I am, of course, talking about stuff. Things. Clutter. They are taking over our lives!
Before you walk away from this blog shaking your head and saying ‘the girl’s gone crazy,’ hear me out. Do you ever feel like your stuff is controlling your life? Or that the need for more money to buy more stuff is driving you mad?
I do! I do!
So I hereby make my Minimalist Proclamation. I will no longer let advertisements and others dictate that I must buy something, or that my kids cannot be kids without something, or that I simply won’t be beautiful enough without this potion. Hello, this is my face. Deal with it! (Name that movie.)
Usually I downsize before and during a move. I mean who wants to move stuff if you don’t have to. But, since I am pretty sure we will be in our current house for years to come, I am slowly trying to reassess what we need and get rid of things that we don’t.
Kids clothes for example. I am slowly selling or giving away clothes that no longer fit. I really cannot foresee a day (now that I am done having kids) that I will long to look through garbage bags full of baby clothes. Really – get rid of it.
Kids toys. Yikes! Do the kids really need three large tubs of old toys – what someday they are going to run out of toys and I am going to be thankful that I kept those toys from years ago that have just been eating up space in our closet? I don’t think so. Hey kids – go outside and make a toy out of a tree limb or something!
My clothes. Let’s face it girls – we have a lot of clothes. We have clothes from years ago because it was a special item. We have clothes that haven’t fit for years because ‘someday that will fit again.’ Um, really? If I lose weight, I will buy new clothes! I won’t be crawling around in a cobwebby attic to find that bag of clothes from five years ago. Let’s be realistic here.
Furniture. Well I actually don’t have much furniture, but I do have some furniture that is holding VHS tapes. (I’m looking at you, Mom.) Are we ever going to watch those tapes? No. We are not. And, the reason I know we won’t is because we have not watched them since we moved two moves ago. They are taking up useful space. If we really want to watch a movie that we had on VHS, guess what we can probably find it on Netflix or OnDemand or something… or check on the internet – they have everything there.
Getting rid of the clutter can really make you feel lighter. So far, I’ve gotten rid of a bunch of our stuff and I really do feel better. And, there are many online places (through Facebook or eBay) to sell your old items and actually make a bit of money. It’s not a lot of money, but $5 buys Mommy a couple nice lattes!
Here’s the challenge: Try to get rid of one thing every day for 30 days like these guys did (Slate article link).
Let’s check back in and see how we all are doing. What’s the first thing you are getting rid of?
See more like this at www.adventuresindrool.com.
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Real Parents. Real Food. Real Fun.
Welcome to Adventures in Drool! Talking about green living, getting rid of plastics and toxic chemicals in our homes and raising happy kids on a budget. Join the conversation (www.adventuresindrool.com) and don't forget to Like us on Facebook!
Rachel Swick Mavity, author of the blog, lives with a reformed drooler (Droolface), who at age 3 loves to get muddy, drink homemade smoothies, giggle and flirt with old ladies. Her current drooler (Birdy) enjoys spitting up on work clothes and leaving drool trails as a way of showing her love.
Mavity previously worked as a journalist for seven years at newspapers from Pennsylvania to Maryland and Delaware. In Sussex County she worked for several newspapers, including the Cape Gazette. She lives in Lewes with her husband, Ryan Mavity, their son, "Droolface," and daughter, "Birdy."
