One of everything

Recently I have come up across a few blogs or articles that claim that having one of everything is great...
And I have been thinking...  as always!

In my minimalism quest... which I somehow always think is coming to an end... (but somehow is not!!!) I have given away many many things I had in duplicate (or even more)...  not necessarily identical items but that somehow served the same purpose!

Keep in mind that there is only 3 of us in my apartment...

We have:

one table for meals
one bed for my son and one for my husband and I...  no extra bed!
one set of sheet per bed
one extra warm blanket for cold days per bed - I do live in Montreal
one chest drawer each to put our clothes
one blanket close to couch for those cold nights
one bath towel each
one pool towel each
one couch that can sit comfortably the 3 of us
one rocking chair in bedroom
one leather chair in living room
one TV
one computer
one iPod/iPhone station
one of each required pots and pans in my kitchen
one of each utensils required for cooking - except for wooden spoon which I have 2 of
one bicycle each as a mean of transport

so I think this is not too bad however, there are some areas where it causes me problems...

1) 4 chairs at the kitchen table - thought about the possibility of having only 3 chairs (one each)but did not made my mind up yet... it could be possible as we have other chairs elsewhere in the apartment anyway if ever we are to have visitors ... but the table is so small that I cannot sit more than 4 anyway!  The fact that the table is round is convenient to having only 3 chairs

2) dishes, glasses, mugs and bowls... I decided right before Christmas to keep 3 of each.... and a few extra mugs as some I was not ready to part with... which I did and my kitchen cabinet feel much better that way!  However, at Christmas I got 4 really nice Le Creuset mugs which made me part with some of the extra mugs I had kept...  but it also makes me want to get the 4 matching desert plates and bowls...  but that would be 4!  It brakes my 3 rules...  I do not see why I should have 4 of something so one will always be left out!  I thought about getting only 3 plates and bowls..  which is probably what I'll end up doing... and keep the extra mug...  as an extra!

3) 2 desks to work on... one was in my son's bedroom to do his homework and one for my in the corridor...  however when we move in a week, the apartment even thus smaller is layed out differently... and I will keep only one desk where my son will do his homework (not in his bedroom as this is not ideal for sleep purposes) and I can also work on it... we do not really need it at the same time anyway!

4) clothes - as you can see in a previous post I do not have much clothes... and I am very happy about it!  Most of them are not duplicate.. yes I may have 3 long sleeve t-shirt but that are different color... so technically it is one of each!  I do not have 3 white t-shirt and 4 black for example!  My area of concern is my 2 pairs of black pants...  but they are what I wear to work almost all week...  and my 3 pairs of jeans...  I don't think I can do without any of them as they are all very different: one is skinny and fits well in my boots, one is larger and is perfect for my somewhat bohemian look and one is torn which I love but is not appropriate for work and in some other situation.. so I really feel like I have to keep all of them!

5) CDs and DVDs - I am in the process of putting all my CDs on my iPhone so that will be resolved soon... (I may have only 6-7 left and in the process of doing so I only keep on my phone the songs I like) and as for DVDs (maybe 20 of them) they are mostly my son's... gotta check with him before I pack them away if he wishes to keep all of them!

6) books - we have very few books...  including my nutrition and yoga books, it may add up to 30 - 35... which is the bare minimum I am willing to have now!!  I look at 90% of them on a regular basis... just a few novel (6-7) that I am keeping because I read them recently and I am not ready to part with.. even thus I know I should as I never reread the same novel!!!

However, I must say that for the 1st time in years, I am spending the winter with only one winter jacket and one pair of boots!!!  I also have only 2 hats and 2 scarves - depending on temperature and need to wash!

So all in all, I am getting quite close... and the "Only one" does sound extremely appealing!!!

What about you?
Would you consider giving away stuff that you may have double off???  or even more???
How much stuff do you REALLY need???? Aside from them having sentimental value and collecting dust?

love and peace,
nath