We get the bulk of our groceries delivered via SPUD, including not just organic fruit & veggies, but bagels, milk, eggs, cheese & juice. About 6 litres of orange juice a month. Which we actually don't drink that often. Sprout's not yet had orange juice & I don't think I want to give him juice of any kind any time soon. When I logged in to the SPUD site to eliminate this juice from our standing order, I did a quick calculation. We have been spending around $180 a year on juice!
The orange juice isn't the only thing I've been 'minimalizing. I think I'm going to take a second stab at my wardrobe & thin it out even more. The three garbage bags I pulled out last week are good, but I'm still left with more than I really need. Footwear is at the top of the list. I have a number of pairs of shoes hanging around the house that I haven't parted with for some reason, despite never wearing them. Quite a few of them are heels that I loved, but can no longer wear without inflicting serious pain on myself. I am never going to be one of those single-pair-of-shoes people. I regularly wear at least five pairs: runners, brown leather boots, black mary janes, red converse & my green Birkenstock sandals. Then there is the second string of red boots, peep-toe ballet flats, hiking/winter boots, gumboots & a few other pairs of Birkenstocks that I almost forgot to get out of storage this past summer. My coat collection is also a bit ridiculous. If I sit & think about it for a minute, I think I still (after weeding out a few) have more than ten coats of various kinds.
Hmm... you know, I've been trying to 'minimalize' in many small ways for a long time, now that I think of it. A while ago, I came across a post on Google Plus about Inbox Zero. Basically a habit to get into so that your inbox isn't the electronic version of a hoarder's home office. I've been more or less successful at this, having a fairly tidy inbox most of the time. Every so often, I add to my gmail filters to reduce the amount of mail I get that I'm not going to be interested in. I ruthlessly delete anything I don't need & I just click 'archive' as soon as I've read anything that I might want to hang onto. Now if only my actual paper filing cabinet looked as good. That's a project for another day: weeding out ancient documents, scanning some things & organizing what I do feel the need to keep. I suspect there will be a small mountain of shredded paper afterward. Anyone need any for packing material or something?
I don't think I'm getting too obsessed by this 'minimalizing' stuff, but it definitely has become a hobby of sorts. I delight in finding new & interesting ways to get rid of stuff. My latest discovery was the notice of an upcoming craft supplies 'free store' at Rhizome. I have already sorted out a large shopping bag of ribbon, fake flowers, beads & various other crafty items that I haven't touched for years. I realized today while watching an episode of Consumed online that I have several sets of paint that I could add to the bag: gouache, watercolour & oil. I will keep my acrylics though--I actually use those occasionally.
Think I'll sign off with an interesting TED talk I just saw on YouTube. Another way to cut back on the acquisition of stuff: Collaborative Consumption. It's about 20 minutes long, but worth your while.
I love that tv show Consumed. It's a good motivator for cleaning too. I've watched Hoarders and such, but they are so extreme, it is hard to find common ground. Consumed is filmed locally too-did you know?
ReplyDeleteThanks for these blog posts, it's getting me moving to get rid of stuff too! I started my closet, but got stalled after I removed 5 garbage bags. ;) I need to dig out my maternity clothes and turf them too-definately won't need them again! Shoes are a biggie too..and coats...