So anyone that's been reading along (though I certainly don't assume any of you hang on my every word. haha) knows that I'm in the midst of a purging. We donated about 10 boxes of books on Monday, I've been rounding up clothes and house items for sale and donation, and in some cases it's just to downsize. In others, it's to make room for things that I truly love.
I'm a pretty firm believer in the methods of Marie Kondo (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up is her book). Her basic premise is that you should only surround yourself with objects that "spark joy." That's really her only criteria. haha. And while it sounds cheesy, it has been enormously helpful in my efforts - and effective!
Or example, we were only left with the books we really enjoy. When I look over my bookcase, I feel less overwhelmed and am so excited to read some of the books sitting there, or reread others. Granted, many are DH's and I will never read them. haha. But it feels so much calmer nonetheless.
I've been slowly paring down the things that I don't really enjoy in our home. Our bedding was more of a necessity (our comforter was ruined). But since buying new bedding that I love (inexpensively, at IKEA) I make our bed every day and absolutely LOVE being in our bedroom.
Even when it just comes to paring down and not necessarily replacing, I find that clearing out the noise of the things that don't make me happy allows me to better appreciate what does. Clothes are where this makes the biggest impact for me. I would keep some "just in case" I lost that weight, or pairs of pants that I could barely squeeze into that made me feel uncomfortable and insecure when I wore them. Once I finally let go, I had one pair of blue jeans, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of black dress pants. They all fit well, and I didn't have to go through the stress of rifling through and being reminded that these other pieces no longer fit.
So call it minimalism, or KonMarie, or trying to adapt the Feng Shui of a room, whatever. Less stuff in general and more stuff you love is a great practice, I've found. And things I love aren't necessarily more expensive. They're just more joy-sparking
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So along those lines, I did another purge of clothes - and went off to sell them yesterday. I made $145 total. I still have some left that I may try to sell online, so hopefully that figure will improve. But the money I made yesterday was used to buy a new coat (one that fits me correctly!). I found one I absolutely love - and got the coat, then a matching scarf, hat, and set of gloves all for $170. The remaining $30 came out of my shopping budget. Then I went to Target and found a lamp I loved for $15 - to replace the wonky one in our living room, and then a throw pillow that was on sale for $20 that I've been eyeing for a couple of weeks now. The living room is slowly coming together now
We still could really stand to replace:
- Recliner (this has been a planned purchase for months)
- End Table
- Floor Lamp
- Area Rug (wont purchase until after the move)
- Coffee Table
These aren't needs, so I'm not in any particular hurry - except for the recliner. haha. It is this hideous green fabric, and doesn't match the rest of the room in the slightest. It was a hand me down, and we've already found a $200 chair to replace it. We just have to get the thing out and order the new one. Part of me wants to wait until we move so we don't have to move another one down south. But I'm not sure I can have that chair in my life for another 5 months. haha. The rest is harmonious enough with the room to not warrant any particular hurry
The nice thing, too, about only landing on the items I truly love is that I'm a bit pickier about what I do buy - and I'm happy to wait until I've found "it." Why spend money on something and let it take up room in your life if you aren't going to be super excited upon seeing it every day?
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In other simplification news, I disabled the mail notifications on my computer. Even less distraction from my tasks!
Hope you are all having a lovely day!
Making Room for Things I Love
November 11th, 2015 at 01:51 pm
November 11th, 2015 at 02:04 pm 1447250683
November 11th, 2015 at 04:12 pm 1447258321
Should you wish to try to have the recliner fit in better short term, you might look at SureFit type elastic covers at one of the Overstock, sale priced type sellers. I mention it as a compromise DH and I could agree upon.
November 11th, 2015 at 07:22 pm 1447269753
November 12th, 2015 at 12:19 am 1447287556