Cleaning out my "storage unit"

...also known as my parents house.

One thing about traveling and living in various places means that in order to keep track of things, one stores crap in their parents house. At least I do, and I know my brother does! Being latin, I never went through the whole "your parents eventually expect you to actually leave when you turn 18" thing (I'm pretty sure they never expected us to ever move out), and I have stored and kept a bunch of things there over the years (and yes I've lived with Brian since 2007 and yes I haven't really lived at my parents in a looong time and yes this is the first time I'm actually getting around to doing this). This includes my travel stuff, skis, clothes, paperwork from undergrad and god knows more. I finally went over and cleaned out the boxes of stuff my mom has in my old room. Most of it was clothing, some instruments and stacks of music, and lots and lots of books. As it turns out my mom has been slowly cleaning out my books and sending them to goodwill (sob!) which is just as well since I cling to books like Paula Dean clings to butter. If I really want them I can buy them again. 

So from my parents I cleared out: 

5 pairs of dress pants since I have't worn since I was at the state senate

3 wool and silk sweaters

2 dresses 

1 AWESOME Indian jacket I bought in 10th grade (yes, that long ago) that I am keeping cause it is awesome. 

2 coats

I also recycled most of my papers etc. I can't bear to get rid of my flute and piccolo so I brought them home with some music and my new goal is to start playing again. I think I'll look into local woodwind groups etc.

I took the clothes to the consignment shop in Columbia City, Gather Consignment, where I had taken my last batch of treasures and left most of it there. Almost everything I had taken a few weeks ago has already sold so I had a credit of $60 (or $50 in cash)! I love this getting rid of stuff I don't want and making money off it! I did find a GREAT mod silk dress and brought it home. Since I just cleared out 20+ things I figured I could get the dress and I love free (is this the start of the slippery slope?)! It feels good to clear things from my folks, but somethings remain, like the dresser in my old bedroom, which I'd love to take one day but we just don't have room right now. Technically its my mom's but she said I could have it :-) I have a soft spot for beautiful, handmade 100+ year old furniture (and I hate IKEA, which I'm slowly purging as money allows). We still have two things at my mom's actual storage unit, but technically both are Brian's and so he is going to have to decide what to do with them. My mom has his grandparents' desk and his uncle's speakers. There is no way we have room for these, so I'm not sure what he plans to do with them.

I have bought a couple of new things, including a new winter hat, new ski gloves and a pair of "trash me" ski pants to wear to the ski school (did I mention I'm teaching 5 year olds to ski this year?  I love kidlets, it's going to be a blast!). The old ski mitts are already in the goodwill bag, I need to clear out the hats the new one will replace but I don't have a pair of "trash me" ski pants. I figure since I got rid of 20+ items in the last month though, it will sort itself out. Slowly we are making progress!

I'm currently waging a war with the only closet in the house, which somehow has the same properties as Mary Poppins' handbag. That one deserves its own post. Stay tuned! HMB folks will find it entertaining. 

Stuff. Too much damned stuff.

So I'm home again. I came back in spring 2011 and was lucky enough to land with an awesome job in place and I have no plans for extended travel for a while. To be clear, by extended travel I mean more than 6 weeks, I'm never going to stop traveling. I'm really happy to be home, as I've finally been able to do somethings I've been waiting to do since 2002 (yes I've been keeping track), namely spend more time in the mountains and learn some new tricks.

Mt. Baker summit

Mt. Daniel climb

First triathlon! I hate swimming. 

Night skiing 

A normal weekend excursion 

My closet on my back.
Proof you don't need a walk-in closet.  

However, being home for such a long time (I haven't spent this much continuous time at home since...1996 maybe?) also made me realize how much STUFF accumulates over time. When I travel/live abroad, I basically live out of a backpack with one pair of pants, a few tshirts, a dress and a couple sweaters and one coat. In fact, if you look over my travel photos, I'm wearing the same clothes on almost every trip since I have a "travel wardrobe" that basically never changes (if curious, it's basically quick dry clothes in neutral and darker colors. Scarves and earrings you pick up along the way are your best friends for accessorizing).

I live pretty easily traveling and yet when I'm home I have SO MANY THINGS.  So many that I wonder where most of it comes from. This is not just clothing, but random stuff I've collected over the years. This is a problem. Not only is this problem because I just don't need this much crap, but I also share a 750sq. ft/69.67sq. m  house with Brian and his respective pile of stuff. I think if we were to move into a "normal" American home of 2300sq ft/213sq. m we wouldn't have enough to fill it, but what we have is still too much for me! (I still can't believe that is the average size of an American house, that is straight up ridiculous.)

Courtesy of Ram Dass

However, I don't ever want to live in a house that big with crap stuffed to the rafters. I want to know that everything I own has a purpose, practical or aesthetic. Our global consumerist culture of growth for growth sakes, which spirals into debt that people pile up and ultimately cannot afford, does not create a path to happiness or wellbeing. The whole thing is ridiculous, wasteful, can easily destroy your life and is a distraction from the things that really matter in life (personal opinion). Now to get off my high horse I admit I'm not imune to consumerism. I don't think anyone is and despite Americans being particularly bad at this, the rest of the world does it too. Go to any shopping street in any major city in the world on a Saturday afternoon and watch consumerism flourish. And all of you should watch the Story of Stuff.

The Story of Stuff 

I'm also not an ascetic. I'm not interested in owning only 10, 30, 50 or 100 things. If you search around for minimalism people have distilled their life into very small inventories. For me its not about numbers, but about having a purpose for the things I own. So I've resurrected this blog to help me track my little project. I'm planning to get rid of at least 10 things every month for the next year. Even I don't think this is very ambitious, but it's mostly to get in the habit of regularly assessing what I own and clearing things out. That said I do have rules:

• No replacing. I can't get rid of something, then change my mind and buy it again, or buy the "newer better" version. I'll make an exception for things I've worn out, like the pair of jeans that are worn through and have been extensively repaired/fixed but are finally at the end of their life. 
• Reuse/fix as much as I can. Said jeans? Yeah they are worn but I've taken them to the tailor several times and have managed to resurrect them. Use things until their lifespan is really finished. Then recycle them. 
• If I do buy something randomly, I have to get rid of something. Ex: said jeans. When I buy a new pair, I need to get rid of the old ones and not hang onto it. I think this is how most of the accumulation occurs. (This is going to hurt when I buy new skis) 

This is my own personal experiment (I'm sure I'll break the rules at some point for an exception I can't think about now). I'm not looking to judge how others live their lives, I've just been feeling overwhelmed with all the STUFF I have and need to assess what I have and why. Living simply when I'm abroad reminds me of how little things we need to be happy. I'm happiest when I'm traveling and in the mountains, when all I have is literally on my back.

I'm planning to start with "sections." I'll start with clothes/shoes, kitchen, bathroom, gear, books, office materials, and so forth. That is the easiest way I can think of organizing things but I'm sure I'll come up with other ways to tackle the mess. I can already tell what will be the hardest, books and outdoor gear. I admit I have a lot, and I love all of it!

So what have I gotten rid of so far this month? Some stuff goes to consignment (I don't mind making money off things I don't need!) and the rest went to Goodwill.

Consignment clothes:
1. J.Crew tweed coat
2. REI pullover
3. Red silk dress that I haven't worn since 2009 (why did I hang on to it?!)
4. J.Crew mustard pencil skirt
5. J.Crew merino pullover

Goodwill:
6. Black silk skirt
7. Khaki pencil skirt
8. Gray wool pants
9. Brown purse
10. Cheap brown heels I've never liked
11. Banana Republic black leather kitten heels
12. Furla leather flats

I actually still have #11 and 12 if anyone wants them. Size 8.5

Onward!