Aw man.

I never really thought of myself as a minimalist. I never thought I was TRENDY! What’s up with all the articles lately about people living in small places with few possessions?

I’ve been slowly unacquiring STUFF for YEARS now. With each move the boxes of books get smaller. With each move the stuff stored in the attic gets smaller. And with this last move? I seriously got rid of stuff and went smaller.

Really, I’m more thrifty if anything. I’m the one who chose to go to a private college and law school and acquire massive amounts of debt while working exclusively for non-profits the last 15 years. My lifestyle choice doesn’t allow for a lot of STUFF to begin with.

But actually, I realized I have been getting rid of STUFF the last few years. Stuff I already acquired. Maybe I do fall into this trend?

For example:

1. CDs/DVDs/Books – I sold a lot of these on half.com when I was unemployed. Made several hundred dollars and realized it wasn’t so hard to get rid of these things. Years later I only have a handful of CDs and DVDs and at least two bookshelves overflowing with books. I know I could do better with the books, still working on that. I can get rid of at least 20 more, I know I can the hard part is not acquiring more to replace them.

2. TV – For a very long time I always lived with a roommate who owned a TV. When I first moved into my own place I decided I bought one of those tiny units with a VCR  Of course I rarely used it. And after a while I realized cable was too expensive and the TV stayed in the closet. I gave this TV away a few years ago and my brother gave me a larger one that sat on a shelf unplugged. This TV is currently in my closet taking up far too much space and I promised it to my cousin Brenda. So yeah, no TV for me.

3. Stereo – Gosh I have no idea the last time I had a stereo. I have my wee iPod. I use the computer for music.

4. Bed – I have always ENJOYED having the mattress/boxspring on the floor in my bedroom.  I had a bed frame and chose not to use it. In my current apartment I have my bed resting on a frame made from an old futon and a bunch of storage crates. However even this is mostly because I need the extra storage area in my tiny apartment.

5. Other furniture? – When I moved I got rid of tons of those little shelf things that I didn’t really need. I also did a free desk listing on Craigslist for the huge computer desk I had and purchased a new compact one. I told my friend Maggie she could have my dining room table and she took me up on the offer. I now use a card table that with tablecloth instead. No couch, I have a loveseat and chair I bought off of Craigslist last year. And lots of folding chairs if people come visit.

6. Penguin collection – Gulp. I own a lot a lot of penguins. And yet you would be amazed at just how many penguins I have been able to part with over the years. Seriously. Especially the stuffed animal ones.

7. CAR -Well. I had a car once and it was stolen years ago. Since then, I’ve worked in the city where I can move around where I need to without much effort. The ex and I shared his vehicle when we lived together. When we split up I was given a free van from my Aunt and Uncle which I dropped $1,500 into and well…ended up parting with a few months ago. By the time it was up for a one year inspection I knew it was going to need more work, stalling, leaking etc. And it just wasn’t worth it for me. I’m lucky I live close to where I work. I’m also lucky I live in the area of the city that has buses that actually run frequently. Trying to get out to Williamsville from the city on public transportation when I first had my car stolen was not fun at all.

8. Pictures/Momentos – Surprisingly enough I have been able to get rid of a lot of *things* that I kept over the years just for the memories. I’ve tossed bunches of stuff that 10 years ago I never would have parted with. I guess I’ve learned over the years that the attachment is in the memory itself not in the item. When my dad died and mom remarried a year later and we moved everything to a tiny home my mom got rid of most of our furniture-  the dressers, beds, tables…you name it. For years this upset me. I would have loved to have that dresser. But in reality? It taught me that things are just things and are replaceable. It used to be very important to me to save something from that time of my life. I wanted so badly to be able to redo the buffet table that sat in our dining room…or the cedar chest that held all our scrapbooks but in the end, they were just large pieces of furniture that I didn’t need. And couldn’t save, and I have since parted with. I don’t have that many things left over from my childhood. The boxes of middle school yearbooks, stuffed animals, books I read as a child…all ended up getting flooded in the basement of the house when I went away to college. I’m ok with this, now. What choice did I have? But it took years to get here.

And let me not even get into the boxes of old magazines etc that I once thought I would do something with. Those were tossed years ago.

9. Kitchen – If I was going to move into my adorable apartment with the wee kitchen I seriously needed to purge. I got rid of cupboards full of storage dishes, glasses, coffee mugs, random utensils, duplicate pans and still I feel like I have way too much kitchen stuff. I know I don’t NEED 16 plates. Or 10 bowls. I’ve even questioned the usefulness of my microwave since anything I heat up I can easily do on the stove or in the toaster oven. And trust me. I have LITTLE SPACE. Also I shouldn’t be eating microwavable type processed food items and rarely do anyhow. And I can learn to defrost my meat ahead of time, with a little planning. I think I just talked myself out of the microwave!

10. Clothes and Shoes – Hmmm. Although I pride myself on being a bargain shopper there are still so many things I own that I don’t really wear and don’t really need. Again, ended up purging several things when packing this last move but when I look around I realize I could do much better. I have shoes I haven’t worn in YEARS but I still have just in case. I need to put all these items in a box and do the 6-12 month rule. If I don’t use them within a year, I give them away. I fear I could fill up several boxes if I really allowed myself to do so.

Wow. So this is me. All things not so much stuff after all! And yet after reading though this post I realize I still can do better!

To-Do List

1. Get rid of 20 more books. Add them to swap list.

2. Give TV to Brenda.

3. List free microwave on Craigslist.

4. Box up clothes/shoes that I haven’t touched in over a year.

So what about YOU? What things are you going to add to your to-do list to start minimizing STUFF?