One step forward...

Wow, one month and not much has happened on the decluttering front.  Excuses...work at job #1 started, then I got offered job #2, and had to remove myself from job #1.  But, job #2, begun today, should be fantastic. 

However, I have begun to take photos of Grammy's handmade items, those that are too worn or dirty to keep, and are destined to the landfill.  Here's a peek (wonder who I inherited the yarn obsession from?)  The penguin is stuffed with Gram's used pantyhose.

Right now, these items and a number of others are sitting in a plastic bag, waiting for me to put them in the trash.  I still feel a little twinge of, "maybe I should just put them in a box and wait a while....".  But, they've sat in boxes for the past 20 years and is life in a box worth more or less than life in a landfill? 

That said, the decluttering also makes me think of our disposable society and how I don't want to unclutter my house, just to clutter up some other part of the globe with my discards.  I suppose that's part b of minimalism...getting rid of the superfluous and NOT replacing it with new things.

Working on it

This weekend I took a load of items to Value Village.  These items had been sitting in the basement in piles for, probably, two months.  It felt really good to get rid of the piles of unnecessary items.  Exhilarating, almost..., enough to make me want to do it again, soon.  And this is something I need to guard against.  I don't want to trade the thrill of getting for the thrill of getting rid of...and throw out something I'll regret losing.  Is that anti-minimalist?  probably.

My current struggle is what to do with all of the various craft items given to me by my grandmother.  I've always been crafty...cross stitch, sewing, knitting and other crafts have cluttered up my life (as well as providing necessary and useful therapy, in the case of knitting).  I come by this honestly, as my grandmother was a quilter and crocheter, and I have a number of stuffed animals and quilts that she made me as a young girl.  I wasn't particularly close to my grandmother.  She is one of the many women in my life that I struggle to distance myself from.  I haven't had a wealth of fantastic female role models in my immediate family, and have sought them in other families and in other arenas.  So why do I keep all of these things?  Isn't one or two items from my grandmother enough?  Why is it so hard for me to put a quilt, an afghan of hers in the pile for Value Village, or in the trash?  

I draw a blank

I have a birthday soon (a big one) and I was sent a generous gift card to Amazon by my parents.  I'm glad I have some time to spend it, because I can't, at the moment, think of anything I need.  Heck, I can't even think of anything I want, really, except a job and some security and stability for my family....

On another note, how many baseball caps, brimmed hats, winter hats, scarves and gloves does a three-person family need?  I went through the drawers that hold our hats, scarves, etc.  We have 14 baseball caps, 7 brimmed hats, 14 scarves, 10 knitted winter hats and at least 6 pairs of gloves/mittens.  I may even be underestimating here.  I certainly think this is one area of our life we can minimize...

What's your minimum for winter/summer head, neck and hand wear?

A new beginning

According to gardeners everywhere, when a perennial plant is transplanted, you expect it to "sleep, creep and leap".  In the first year, the plant is expected to "sleep"...not grow much, and become accustomed to its new home.  In the second year, it should "creep" as it begins to grow and grow into its new home.  By the third year, the plant should grow by "leaps" and bounds.

I have spent my life as a transplant.  First, as an Air Force brat.  The longest I lived in any location growing up was 6 years.  Unable to control my wanderlust once I left home, I continued to move on a regular basis.  I think this has made me resilient, if unmoored.  I have currently experienced what is likely to be my last physical move for a long time; after spending three fantastic years in New Zealand at my dream job, I've returned to the US to be closer to family.

Our family made the return to the US without secure jobs, which some called "brave".  I've used other adjectives.  We've spent the past 9 months either under-or unemployed, which has caused me to re-examine my life, and especially my desire for, and attachment to things.  I've always been interested in a low-impact life, and this may be the reset button I really needed to make this a reality. Not minimalism, per se...rather, minimalist-ish.