thebeckybug

While I would love to move into a bigger, nicer, more open place, I am just going to have to deal with what I have right now. Two dogs make it extremely cramped in here, especially since I have the world’s largest crate to house them in. The crate is about as large as the only bathroom that 3 of us share. Did I mention it is a squeeze with 3 people in 2 bedrooms.

On and off, I’ve fancied the idea of moving, but there are just so many downsides: mostly, the moving part. Houses and duplexes right now are just so expensive, and doubling the rent would only afford about 50 more square feet, one less fenced back yard, two less covered parking spaces, and 5 less windows in a new place. Not to mention the fact that 2 dogs make for a really expensive deposit, fee, and additional non-refundable deposit. I’m wondering when it occurred to property managers that allowing a dog on the property entitled them to financially rape their tenants. Don’t dogs usually add to the safety and security of their property?

Never the less, I’m not moving to a new location, but about 50% of my stuff is moving to a new home in either the dumpster or Goodwill. It is a nice cleansing feeling to get rid of things I realize I never realized I had. It’s refreshing to use the closet to house the things I will actually use in the foreseeable future. Part of me is becoming a minimalist, and part of me is realizing that in order to organize things around me, I need to get rid of most of the filler. Surprisingly I have not found it hard to part with sheets that are too scratchy, a vacuum cleaner that doesn’t work, massive amounts of crafting supplies, books that were loved or forgotten, shoes that I can’t believe I actually wore, and purses from other lifetimes.

The hardest part of this is the wasteful feeling. It’s so easy to purchase something without a thought of how it will affect me for the next decade. It’s easy to keep things around in the top of a closet for a decade, thinking: well, I didn’t get much use out of it YET, better keep it around just in case. However, hoarding stuff is perhaps more wasteful than giving it away to Goodwill. In my case, the precious closet space that is occupied with so much STUFF is the biggest waste.

Long forgotten hobby supplies are the hardest thing to part from. However, I realize that right now my golf clubs and mandolin take up a lot of room. Though I use them frequently, they are not the kind of things I want to have displayed in the hallway or living room. It’s a clear decision that I need to part with the paint-by-numbers I was so fond of in college to make room for my new affections.

I’m hoping this purge helps me to be a more mindful shopper, to embrace how my habits change and to commit to hobbies that take up less room … like thinking with my brain.