That’s Swell

I have been learning lately about living a simpler life. It is amazing how much, we as Americans, think we need. One of my favorite shows (when we had cable) used to be Clean Sweep. And it was essentially about people’s lives being run by their stuff. Their piles of stuff were so big, they would be in tears. I think the reason I enjoyed the show so much was because I could understand where they were coming from. I was always nervous that was going to be me someday, crying over getting rid of my old pair of shoes. But I feel I am finally starting to succeed over this materialistic mindset. And in an effort to live a simpler life we have been doing several things:

• Pitch it! We are not just getting rid of the old, we are also getting rid of the unnecessary, unused, unneeded…all of it must go! I have always been a materialistic girl, and in my efforts to be a “great American” I have succeeded in collecting LOTS of stuff. Well that is about to change. I am getting rid of stuff left and right! Goodwill is going to make millions on me (well, not really…). And if I could, I would Freecycle it, but that just seems to take too long, and I am anxious. Plus it isn’t very user friendly. I feel bad sometimes not just giving it away, and making people pay for my old stuff – but if I had furniture, I think I would Freecycle it (big stuff, ya know?). And if I keep things TOO long, I won’t really get rid of them. I have to make the decision and let it go right away!

• Downsize the closet – this was very hard for me to do – but I think I thinned out my clothes by nearly 50% and I STILL have things I could probably get rid of. Clothes have always been an issue with me – obsessing about my looks, etc. So this is a way to let go of that too. We recently gave away nearly 100 hangers to the thrift store because WE DON’T NEED THEM! Can you believe it?! I gave away my clothes to my friends (amongst several of them) – so they didn’t go to waste. Now I just need to work on the shoes and purses, well and the coats, jewelry…I am such an accessory girl!

• No TV? We haven’t had cable for over a year. We recently downsized to just one TV. We got rid of the TV in our bedroom. And we also gave up TV for Lent and put away the antennas too – so the only thing we occasionally watch is a movie (which we try to only do on the weekends, or on our date night). And the hope is that this won’t just be for Lent – that we will always practice no TV.

• Basic Food – we are not going to be buying Twizzlers, Oreos, Ho-Hos, etc. anymore. We are going to be having REAL food, which means simpler food, because we will be having food that is raw and real. Not preservatives. Already we have noticed a change in our health because of our better eating habits, so hopefully it will just keep getting better. Our cabinets just seem more empty – because I try to make things from scratch now – not pre-packaged.

• Water – I was a Diet Coke addict. And I kicked the habit! I used to drink only soda…usually about 5 cans a day…seriously! But around Christmas I gave up soda (amazing, seriously, I can’t believe it worked – I’ve been addicted to diet soda since high school), and even if I drink tea or Kool-aid now, I really just want water instead. And this makes things simpler. I got a few reusable water bottles (one for work, one for school – bought at thrift stores!) – and I just fill them up all day long. And I also have always had health issues – and the water clears up many of the – for real! It is better than any drug I’ve had. I think this is one example of “you are what you eat” – because I ate/drank crappy processed food – and I was sick and gross all the time.

• BYOB: Bring your own bag. To the grocery store. To the Farmer’s Market. To the drugstore. I always bring my own. This is so much simpler, because I don’t end up with 50 million plastic bags at home to clutter up my closet (or my garbage can).

• No Electronics! (in the bedroom at least) – some friends of ours said how they make a rule to not have any electronics in their bedroom, no TV, no computer, no iPod – your bedroom is supposed to be relaxing – a place to get a way. So we have adopted this practice too in our new apartment. I regularly would lie in bed checking my Google Reader before I went to sleep – and now I just read and relax – it does help your mind rest more. I have a place that is peaceful.

• Get rid of the Computers? – I have a confession – we have 4 computers between 2 people. We have 2 (old) laptops my dad gave us, plus our desktops. I haven’t even turned on my desktop since before Christmas because I always use the laptop (or I am at school, and use the computers there). So we have decided to downsize. David (just yesterday) took apart our 2 computers and made one great computer out of it – so the best of both computers put together. And now we have enough salvaged parts to sell the leftover computer. And with some of this dough we would like to buy a nicer laptop for me (for school, etc.) that we actually are going to buy used from a friend of my brother’s (don’t know if it will happen yet).

• What Make-Up Routine? – I realized that I had about a pound of make-up I never wore. I only kept it because “it is Mary Kay and cost a lot!” It’s funny, because a year and a half ago when we moved to WI, I have away a TON of make-up then – and I still have too much! I only wear mascara and some moisturizer. I have always had bad skin, so ditching the make-up was an easy solution to help with that (and drinking water!). And then the mascara I keep in my purse and car and I only apply it at stop-lights – so if I don’t have time, I don’t wear it. Or I will park the car, throw it on, then go, etc. Don’t worry – I don’t apply it while driving!

• Gifts Be Gone – I love gift giving, it is one of my Love Languages, however, this can get expensive and unnecessary. Do people really need more stuff? So David and I have downsized on gifts – around our birthdays/Christmas we are fortunate to have a wonderful family who floods us with gifts – so we don’t do as much for each other. This Christmas/Birthday we spent $40 on each other (our b-days fall around Christmas, so we combined the amounts) – and even then I felt I was stretching for ideas. So for Valentine’s day we did – nothing. We have a weekly date (Friday’s), so we just moved that out-to-eat night to V-Day (Noodles, around $12 for both of us). And then with friends/family I try to send cards for birthdays – but do gift cards or something they will use – instead of just buying some lotions they won’t care about. I also try to take that love of gifts and turn it into homemade items – I like to bake for others, or make something for them.

• Budget - at the moment I feel foolish writing this because I didn’t budget for this paycheck (and am paying for it now!) – but we try to budget our money out. This creates a more simplified banking situation – we use cash. So I know, we have $150 for groceries, $20 for allowance, etc. We also recently paid of our credit cards, so we have eliminated another bill – we have streamlined it enough that we only have to pay rent, student loans, electric, internet, cell phones, & car insurance – even sounds like too many as I write it out! But really it isn’t bad – we thought about downsizing the cell phones – but we don’t keep a landline, and the cost was cheaper and we get to have the phones with us at all times – and we each get one. Plus with me driving to school, it seemed safer. And I am still holding out that we can go down to being a 1 car family again – the 2 car insurance is killer! Not the mention the gas! But this summer, when I don’t have school, we will be ‘retiring’ the Oldsmobile for a few months and just use one car. We also went to online banking – less bills in the mail.

• Reduce the Busyness – also part of ridding our lives of clutter is decluttering our schedules. We were realizing how very busy we both were. So we have worked on having time to schedule “nothing” and to just have time to breathe! Also part of this has been having a weekly Sabbath.

As time goes on, I am sure we will add to this list, but I think it is a pretty good start for now! I just encourage you to look around and see how cluttered your life is – it is mainstream America to be busy, have lots of stuff, and basically be working ourselves to death. But this isn’t natural. Our bodies cannot sustain this kind of life. Think about what you can give up – I promise you won’t miss it (I can’t even remember the clothes I gave away – the ones I thought I couldn’t live without!).

Some great organizing ideas can be found on here.