Friday, April 7, 2017

The Joy of Less

So, it's been awhile, but we have been busy.

I did keep track of my outfits, and I did take a few hours one afternoon in Palm Springs and went to Marshall's and tried on as many things as I could get my hands on. I'm still feeling a bit lost, but starting to feel like maybe things are coming together a bit. I've learned a few things about what looks good on me and what doesn't, and it is not necessarily what I thought it would be. For example, shorts. Really short shorts don't look great or age appropriate. Bermuda shorts that hit just below the knee cap looks OK. But the in between can be finicky. The shorts that hit mid-thigh probably look the best. The ones that stop just above my knee cap look awful. As bad as short shorts, really. I had no idea. And I realized that ankle pants look a lot better on me than capris. Like a lot better.

So I haven't really had time to go in an go through all the pictures I took or anything like that yet. I'm hoping to be able to do that this weekend.

In the meantime I'm reading a book called The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify. I like it a lot. I am just over halfway through, but she sort of takes a different approach to the KonMari method of decluttering. Marie Kondo wants you to gather all like things together and then go through them. This author tells you to go through your house, room by room, drawer by drawer, and dump it all out. Start Over. And decide which things get to stay. It is useful? Do I find it beautiful? Does it make my life easier? Marie Kondo has a method to her madness, but her method is overwhelming to me. I have to have a good block of time to do it. Whereas I can go through a drawer in a few minutes. We've been putting everything that we don't want to keep but don't want to throw away in one of the spare bedrooms. I'm hoping to get thorough enough stuff that we can have a garage sale this summer and get rid of it. What doesn't sell gets donated. And in the meantime, she talks about being a Gatekeeper. You have the right to say what does and does not make it into your house. The key is to stop in the influx while purging what you don't need. I've discovered that I have a lifetime supply of dental floss. Like actually a lifetime supply. I may never need to buy dental floss again.

And she talks about Modules. Putting like things together. So if you want batteries, they are all in the same plastic container. Or drawer. Or box. Or whatever you decide to put them in. All your sewing stuff is together etc... And she talks about keeping all flat surfaces clear. Clutter begets clutter. When you are done with something, you need to put it away. Which is a good idea, but occasionally falls apart when you live with a two year old ;-)

So, every chance I get I try to empty out another drawer or cupboard or box or whatever. When you have a big house with lots of storage it is really easy to get a lot of crap. You have to be a good Gatekeeper to keep the extra stuff OUT. That is not always easy...


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