I have decided to revisit a few of my most popular posts... for 2 reasons....
1) I have many new readers who may not have seen them....
2) I want to see if they're still true... a good way for me to evaluate if what I "say" does pass the test if time...
THE MOST popular post ever was "One of everything"
So here it is... the actual new version... and if anything changed I have put a note to this effect... in GREEN!
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 (actually there is 3 of us and we now have only 2 chest drawers... we have declutter our clothes even more in the last 6 months)
one blanket close to couch for those cold nights
one bath towel each
one pool towel each (I actually have 2 myself so there's 4 total... forgot about one... and I know they are only beach towels but I can't chose one over the other... for now...)
one couch that can sit comfortably the 3 of us
one rocking chair in bedroom
one leather chair in living room (this being leather and me now being vegan, I will have to rethink this chair I think... but my husband loves to meditate on it... since it's an IKEA chair, maybe I can get rid of the leather cushion and get one in cotton? - Gotta look into that!)
one TV (why is it so hard to get rid of that stupid thing? my son of course.... but even I have a hard time not watching it... althus if I did not have one, it would be easier!)
one computer
one iPod/iPhone station
one of each required pots and pans in my kitchen (sometimes, quite frankly, I wish I had an extra small pot...)
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 -Great news.. .actually went down to 3 chairs around dining table when we moved on Feb 1st... it is much cuter and original...
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! I decided against buying more Le Creuset items... they are quite expensive... so problem solved! And I did keep the 4 mugs!!! Of course!!!
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! This one desk is working out just fine!!! We never had congestion on it or argument over it!!! And it is onew less piece of furniture!
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! Got rid of one pair of jeans (the torn ones - they were too big! But found out I have 2 "summer" one that were not listed previously in my winter list of clothes... and because the adopted the casual dressing policy at my job, I can actually wear jeans everyday... YE!!!
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! Nothing changed here!
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!!! No change here either... I am very hesitant to get rid of my novels... for some weird reason that I am not aware off... as I know I never reread a novel... or very rarely... Of course my yoga. nutrition and self development book I need to keep for my coaching business. Gotta work on the novel thing...
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! This went great! Of course all that is put away now... ;-) I am looking into a more summery wardrobe... but still very minimal... althus I did buy a few tops lately... I still have this thing with clothes... not completely resolved yet... but working on it... I know I say it;s not easy and that you have to forgive yourself but I am very hard on myself! :-(
I also want to mention that any "decoration" items are gone.. unless they belong to my yoga practice... so I have some Buddha, Ganesh, prayer bowls, crying yogi... some incense and candles... and a "Globe terrestre" that helps me figure out where all of you guys come from!!! But beside that, nothing is just lying around... and this is GREAT!!! Unless you enter my son's room... but he's a teenager... so it's a phase... I hope! ;-)
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?
Well not much changed... or it did for the better!!! But I did realise that there are still some stuff that I need to work on.... will get at it soon.... I know myself....
I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!
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love and peace,
nath
xox
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