Making Room
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: de-cluttering, living simply, tiny house, yurt 12 Comments
I’m on a war path. Everything I own better look out. If it isn’t useful or pleasing in some majorly impacting way. It’s out of here. I can no longer be weighed down by my possessions. It is time the Walrus said, to get rid of your crap!
We are geared up to finish our yurt and make it our home. It is beautiful, round and magical. It is also small. My entire family (5 of us) will be residing in the space of some people’s great rooms.
Reasons I’m looking forward to sharing 706 square feet with my family:
- Less cleaning. Seriously, I know everyone hates to clean, but I hate it more than most. I’ve had a house with three bathrooms. I won’t ever do that again.
- More family time.
- More time for outdoor activities and creating.
- It’s easier to live simply.
That about covers it. There are the obvious bonuses of living lighter on the earth, spending less on housing and the potential to use less electricity. All very good and noble things, but I’m focusing on the immediate things that we’ll benefit from.
I’ve de-cluttered some, and then de-cluttered some more. It’s a process. I think there have been a few times in my life that I could have been considered a hoarder (total honesty here). I absolutely have had a hard time ridding myself of possessions.
- What if I find a use for it after it’s gone?
- I spent good money on that.
- So-and-so gave that to me.
It’s strange to me that I have emotional connections to inanimate objects. I really do wonder where this stems from. Why I feel the need to hang on to things that I find no beauty in or have no use for. While I’m sure I could spend the rest of my days searching for the answer of why I feel that way, I’ve decided that it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that I change. Moving forward into the place that I desire to be is infinitely more valuable to me than wondering why I do it.
My goal for the month of May is to get rid of a bag or box or even a piece of furniture every day. To look really look at the value of a thing, and then at the cost of owning it and weigh it’s benefit in my life. Let’s face it owning things has a cost.
I’ll leave you with a quote I read on Durango Mom yesterday. It sums thing up beautifully and was such a timely read for my de-cluttering heart.
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
William Wordsworth
this bewitching life 
I spent a good amount of time decluttering last summer. One day I opened a box of memorabilia I’d kept from my wedding in 2001: magazines, notes of speeches, some satin flowers my mom made for my hair, etc. I wondered why I’d felt it so important to keep this stuff, “to look at later”.
It was a rather poignant moment when I realized that that moment, ten years later, WAS the “later” I’d saved those items for. I still have the satin flowers, but I recycled the rest of it, after having a good walk down memory lane.
This summer, Eric and I have several “memory boxes” that will be closely scrutinized for usefulness….
I know exactly what you mean. I have a box of things that I’m holding onto just in case the kids want to look at them when they are older. I suppose these thing would typically be put in an attic somewhere, but I don’t have one. The pictures should be scanned I suppose so they aren’t lost forever.
How very sweet that your mother made the flowers for your hair. I would have kept those as well.
How inspirational, I’d like to find the time to do some similar de-cluttering, myself!
It’s the best Ellen! I just dropped off two giant tubs of books at Half price. We did bring home 5 new books, how could we resist?
we live in a fairly small home, and i love it! i love that it’s quick to clean, forces me to declutter and think about any purchases, and economical to heat! although yes, admittedly i am probably a borderline hoarder when it comes to my craft supplies 🙂
Ahh craft supplies. Luckily for me, and the rest of my family actually, I have a special space for art that isn’t in the yurt. My art and craft supplies are a little out of hand, I’d say. 🙂
I keep thinking about your yurt..am totally intrigued!
Can’t wait to see the yurt done! I used to participate quite a LOT in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and a lot of people used yurts at events. Those things are cool and can hold a LOT more than you’d imagine.
I’m thankful I’m not a “packrat.” I moved so much as a kid (military) that I never learned how to hold on to stuff. If I didn’t use it, it got tossed.
Will definitely be following your journey—and it really is a journey that never ends. We downsized about 15 years ago; got rid of half our possessions and moved to a one-bedroom cottage. I might be in good shape once again—IF I once again got rid of half of what we have. Never ending. But exciting. Good luck.
You touched on so many good points. We are currently living in a one bedroom apartment for about 4 months. There are five of us and we had to really think about what we brought along on the trip. there are many nice to have, but not a whole lot of needs. Good luck.
Life is change and growth, things that do not change are not alive, I have come across that same question about “why” I feel a certain way about a direction, sometimes it seems like there is no answer, we just are. I don’t have much other then my tools and work spaces, couldn’t live without those 🙂
I am on the same path…..