Wading Through

Slowly but surely we are getting through all of our stuff. I am amazed at the amount of stuff that is piling up in the spare bedroom. I've sold some stuff on eBay (ahem, several pairs of TOMS, ahem) but the rest of it is going to either be sold at our garage sale in June, or go to the Goodwill.

I wanted to share with you a few of the quotes I've run across when cleaning out things that have really resonated with me.

"When examined carefully, the fate that links us to the things we own is quite amazing. Take just one shirt, for example. Even if it was mass-produced in a factory, that particular shirt that you bought and brought home on that particular day is unique to you. The destiny that led us to each one of our possessions is just as precious and sacred as the destiny that connected us with the people in our lives. There is a reason why each one of your belongings came to you." Marie Kondo

"Everything you own wants to be of use to you. Even if you throw it away or burn it, it will only leave behind the energy of wanting to be of service. Freed from its physical form, it will move about your world as energy, letting other things know that you are a special person, and come back to you as the thing that will be of most use to who you are now, the thing that will bring you the most happiness." Marie Kondo

"Think of the life energy expended in the ownership of a single possession: planning for it, reading reviews about it, looking for the best deal on it, earning (or borrowing) the money to buy it, going to the store to purchase it, transporting it home, finding a place to put it, learning how to use it, cleaning it (or cleaning around it), maintaining it, buying extra parts for it, insuring it, protecting it, trying not to break it, fixing it when you do, and sometimes making payments on it even after you've disposed of it." Francine Jay, The Joy of Less

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

"When we're old and gray, we won't wax poetic on the things we had - but rather on what we did in the spaces between them." Francine Jay

"In order to be a good Gatekeeper, you have to think of your house as sacred space, not storage space." Francine Jay

"We don't live in a vacuum - the consequences of our actions ripple throughout the world ... If we understood the impact of our lifestyles, perhaps we would live a little more lightly." Francine Jay

"We use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time." Francine Jay

"The urgent things - such as the demands at the office, the demands of other people, and even our own "inner compulsions" - typically trump the things which are important like regular dates with our spouse, personal solitude, exercise, or meditation." Joshua Pecker Simplify

"Simplifying your life can be more than just removing physical belongings. If minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things that I most value, it is also about deciding what is most important in my life and removing the things that distract me from it. It is about removing the urgent for the sake of the important." Joshua Becker

So, just a few more nooks and crannies to go through. Then I will have handled everything that I own and decided what to keep. What sparks joy. I'm sure I didn't do a perfect job, but I did the best job I could do right now. Everything will have a place, and my next job is to keep everything in its place. And to prevent the re-accumulation of stuff.

Professional Work Wear

So, before I get into the meat of this. My Costa Rica 10x10 challenge went great. But it sort of felt like cheating bc the three days that I went to the OR I didn't wear anything other than my scrubs, lol. But, I did wear each piece and I didn't feel like I was lacking anything, so I'l take it for a win.

We recently decided to get matching embroidered scrubs for all the technicians in the office, and matching polo shirts for the front office staff. I got myself a pair of scrubs embroidered as well, but in a different color. I was toying around with the idea of just wearing embroidered scrubs to work every day. Some people do that. Ophthalmologists, as a general rule, are less likely to do this than other kinds of surgeons, but many people do this. I shied away from it because I was afraid it would look less professional. But, in my efforts to simplify things, a uniform that I wear to work would be very helpful. Not only would I not have to decide what to wear to work every day, but I also wouldn't have to worry about shopping for work clothes. Both are a plus in my book right now because I don't have time for either of those.

So, I was already going to get myself another pair. So I'm going to try it out and see what I think. I'm hoping I'll like it and I'll go that way. Asking around to other female colleagues, some say they don't like it bc they get confused with nurses. Others said that after they started to wear scrubs fewer people asked them how many surgeries they had done or if they were actually going to be the ones doing the surgery. So, we'll see...

Costa Rica 10x10 Challenge

Two posts in as many days, how about that?

As is the case with many frustrations, I woke up this morning with a sunnier outlook. Several of my favorite capsule wardrobe/minimalist bloggers have begun to occasionally do something called a 10x10 challenge. Basically you are challenged to wear only 10 articles of clothing for 10 days. You pick the articles ahead of time, then see what kind of fun you can have. PJs, underwear, jewelry, and workout wear are not included.

I've never joined in because I find it hard to mix my work and weekend clothes into 10 items I can realistically use/wear.

BUT, we're leaving for Costa Rica tomorrow. I decided to try a 10x10 challenge while we're gone. I think we're only technically gone for 8 days, but that's OK. It's a 10x8 challenge for me I guess ;-)

So, below you will see my 10 items that I'm bringing to Costa Rica with me:

Tops: chambray shirt, white tank, and my black Evolve top from Encircled.
Bottoms: printed shorts, bermuda jean shorts, navy linen pants, white skinny jeans
Dress: My JAG chambray dress from D. Diff
Shoes: TOMS wedges and black Birkenstocks

I did not include: my bathing suit, a cover up, a pair of PJs, a pair of scrubs, and my OR shoes in this count. But I think it looks pretty good! All the pieces mix and match well for the most part and it should cover most of my bases.

I figure the most important thing is for me to bring a bathing suit and my scrubs. So if I feel like I have nothing to wear other times, who cares. And with the average high about 95*F and low around 77*F, I don't have to worry too much about variations in climate.

I'm excited to see how it goes. If I get a chance I'll take some pictures of the different outfits I make and we'll see how it goes!