607 Easter Eggs and No Hunt In Sight

I am in Missouri for Christmas vacation, and I am visiting my parents. They have retired in a small town in Missouri, with a population of about 1200 people; which they love. Also, they live in a 5,500 square feet home, and there are just three of them living in this massive home (my parents and my uncle). Last time I visited for the holidays, I disclosed to my parents that I am embracing minimalism. I explained to them how this "less is more" movement resonated with me and how much more happiness I have because of it. With this disclosure, I was hoping my parents would understand why I was requesting zero gifts for the holiday.

As with many of the individuals that inquire about minimalism (a personal lifestyle), I received some misconceptions from my parents. In red, is where I attempted to educate my parents on how I am interpreting and implementing minimalism into my life. My parents were not wanting to cause me to become defensive, they asked with the goal of being supportive in mind, they just didn't know the answers and wanted desperately to understand.

• So you spent all this money on things, and now you are just going to get rid of all them.
• This is a valid reality of minimalism. There have been times when I have been surrounded by expensive items that I used very little, or not at all (or just do not bring me joy anymore) and have been tempted to keep them because they were such a financial investment, but then this would hinder my removal of everything that distracts me from achieving my highest values on this highly personal journey. To be perfectly transparent, early on during my minimalism journey, I made myself sick with the waste of money on designer brands, duplicated items, and things I never used, that could have been utilized in a more purposeful and meaningful way/cause.
• What if you get rid of something, and then later down the line you need it, are you suppose to just go and buy it again. Seems like such a waste.
• I am not getting rid of something that I use often, but rather things that I do not use. If it comes a time when I need that item again, I could borrow it from a friend and/or rent it. The "what if" mindset can cause individuals to keep items that they may never use again.
• Are you going to be counting your possessions from now on? When we come to visit is your apartment going to barren?
• Being a minimalist you go through your home and remove anything that isn't meaningful to you; therefore, the items that are left are those that hold significance to your life. With this, guest can immediately realize what is important to me. Some minimalists do count their possessions, and some don't. I count the things I get rid of. Also, before I bring something new into my apartment, I need to be able to get rid of something.
• I cannot believe that you are going to get rid of sentimental things from your childhood.
• There are many items from my childhood (artwork, clothes, toys) that I have decluttered so someone else can enjoy them. But I have also kept the items that I remember wearing, using, making, and have them displayed in a significant place, instead of buried at the bottom of a box. This allows me to promote the things that are most valuable to me.
• I know that Seattle is environmentally friendly, but it now seems with the addition of minimalism to your life, you have become an extreme environmentalist.
• Yes, being a minimalist is good for the environment. Minimalists consume less resources, and discard less resources. But not everyone who embraces minimalism does so out of environmental motivations. For me, I was became overwhelmed with the amount of money, time, and energy that was being directed towards the stuff in my life. Contributing to the health of the planet along the way with minimalism, was an added bonus.

I am joyous to report, that since 2016, my parents have been on their own minimalism journey. They needed some support and initiation from me to propel them, but continue to make strides with downsizing their possessions, with the goal of eventually downsizing their home. My retired parents are spending a lot of money on maintaining their home (bills, and high taxes), and expending a lot of energy to keep up with the chores of a huge house, and this has also been a huge motivation to be more mindful of the possessions they own and new ones they want to bring into their home. 

Be on the lookout for an upcoming blog, with photos of the huge quantities of items that my parents have decluttered from their home. In this blog, I wanted to share with you three common things that happen when you have so much space

1. You buy things for a future event/activity that has no set date or time, and then you forget about having them or the event never happens.
2. You end up with so many of the same item.
3. When something is on sale, you tend to buy more of them, even if you don't need more.

These three things happened in regards to Easter eggs for my mom. She bought all of these eggs on sale, with the intent to use them to host a Special Olympics Easter Egg hunt with my uncle's bowling team. Unfortunately, the event didn't come to fruition, and the eggs have been sitting in two separate Tupperware containers. During a decluttering session yesterday, we discovered them, and my mom stated, "Oh, that is where they went to." There was a total of 607 eggs, which means 1 out of 2 people in my parents' town could receive an egg from their collection. To me, this is an astounding realization. My mom was also surprised, and she has decided to donate these unopened eggs and other unused Easter decorations to her church for their 2018 Easter Egg hunt. I am so proud of my mom on finding a meaningful way to repurpose these eggs and decorations.

Easy tips on minimalism: 

1. As we are entering the day-after-Christmas, if you are going to participate in shopping, try to be mindful on how many items you buy, especially if the sole reason you are buying them is because they are on sale. One of the greatest unforeseen benefits  of living a minimalist life is the opportunity to purchase possessions of higher quality. Unfortunately, for some reason, many people don't correlate owning fewer things and owning nicer things.
2. Still needing gift(s) for the holiday, how about gifting experiences instead of things. Such as buying someone a gift card for a rideshare, zoo pass for the family, or gift certificate for a cooking class. My parents were insistent on still giving me something for Christmas, so I asked for a Macy's gift card, not to buy clothes, but for coffee pods. I recently replaced my Keurig with a Nespresso machine. Macy's is the only store that carries Nespresso pods for my machine; also, Macy's has a drop-off for recycling of the Nespresso pods (Keurig's pods are still not recyclable, and I no longer wanted my pods to be added to the landfills). Therefore, my parents are giving me a meaningful gift for a usable item, which has the added benefit of being kind to the environment.

 

Where Does it Go?

Let's say you are decluttering, organizing, and simplifying your life, and now, you have so many things you no longer want, but have no idea where to take them (and be environmentally-safe); hopefully, this post will be helpful for you. Most of this information is Seattle-centered, but check your local resources too.

• Appliances
• Working appliances may be accepted at thrift stores.
• Pickup with weekly collections (fees apply) and you will need to schedule a pickup (206) 684-3000.
• Batteries and cell phones
• Rechargeable batteries and cell phones you can drop off at stores or Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW) which is free, or go to Call2Recycle.org or HazWasteHelp.org
• Alkaline batteries you can drop off to recycle at HHW and is accepted in the garbage.
• Building Materials
• Drop off for donation and reuse at building supply salvage businesses. Locations include SecondUse, Earthwise, and Ballard ReUse. Make sure you check store websites for accepted materials.
• Bulky Items
• Pickup with weekly collections (fees apply) and you will need to schedule a pickup (206) 684-3000.
• Drop off for donation and reuse (free). Clean, working items may be accepted at thrift stores.
• Furniture
• Pickup with weekly collections (fees apply) and you will need to schedule a pickup (206) 684-3000.
• Drop off reusable items for donations at thrift stores.
• Household Goods
• Drop off reusable items for donation at thrift stores.
• Put unusable items in garbage.
• Mattresses/Pillows
• Pickup with weekly collections (fees apply) and you will need to schedule a pickup (206) 684-3000.
• Pillows are difficult to donate because many places cannot guarantee to keep them hygienic for resell; however, in Seattle area, Value Village is a site you can donate them. Goodwill and even some shelters/churches will not accept pillows, sheets, and mattresses. 
• Clothes/Textiles
• Damaged items can also be dropped off at participating Threadcycle thrift stores kingcounty.gov/threadcycle
• Drop off reusable items at thrift stores.
• Electronics
• Drop off for recycling or reuse. Televisions, computers, laptops, and computer monitors are accepted (free).  Check ecyclewashington.org website for all acceptable items (fees may apply).
• Lightbulbs
• Unbroken florescent tubes, compact fluorescent and mercury bulbs accepted. Drop off for recycling (free) and to find locations go to lightrecycle.org
• Medicine
• Do not flush down the toilet or put in the garbage.
• Drop off over-the-counter and prescription medications for free and to find locations at medicinereturn.org
• Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
• Products marked "Caution," "Warning," "Danger," or "Poison" may require hazardous material disposal. Safe disposal information and drop off locations: call 206-296-4692 or visit HazWasteHelp.org.
• Do not place these items in garbage, recycling, or food and yard waste.

For more information go to seattle.gov/util/wheredoesitgo

Making Room For New Hobbies

"The objects that add value today may not add value tomorrow, which means we must be willing to let go of everything." --The Minimalists

An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure is a hobby. If you were to look around my apartment, you might assume that my hobbies were hiking (many trail books on my bookshelf and nature photos on my wall), reading (the many books that I possess), cooking (cookbook on my kitchen counter), drinking coffee (my kitchen is decorated with a coffee theme), photography (I have pictures and polaroid photos on my walls),and painting (I have several acrylic canvases on my wall). 

Then, if you were to open up my closets, look through my drawers of my desk and dresser, and open my Tupperware containers, you would add a few more assumed hobbies. One of them being scrapbooking. During 2005-2010, I enjoyed scrapbooking and I was an avid shopper at Archivers (a store that is a scrapbooker's dream and nightmare). I was regularly purchasing items to scrapbook life events (graduations, travel trips, holidays), and my scrapbooking began consuming more and more space and money. Since 2010, I have not scrapbooked ANYTHING, but yet, I have continued to move my scrapbook "hobby" around with me from Omaha to Missouri to Seattle.

Recently, I had my scrapbooking items stored in two separate places in my Seattle apartment, one location was my entry-way closet, and the other location was my hallway closet. My scrapbook supplies were not easily accessible in these closets; it would be quite a process to access my supplies to utilize them, so I just chose not to use them because it was such a hassle....how did I think this was logical? I made something that I considered enjoyable, inaccessible, so I was technically depriving myself from being happy.

So when I paused and thought about how scrapbooking added purpose and happiness to my current life, there were two options: 1) Scrapbooking was still a hobby I wanted to pursue, and needed to rearrange my setup, so it would be more accessible and not hidden from me, or 2) Scrapbooking is no longer a hobby, and I need to get rid of it to make more room for another hobby. I decided on option 2; scrapbooking no longer held the same value and interest it once did in my life, so it was time to find the majority of my scrapbooking supplies a new home.

My former excessive consumerism is fully depicted in the photos below. Many of the stickers, cardstock, accessories haven't been open; they are brand new. Some of these supplies were purchased for items that I "hoped" to do one day. Other items, especially stickers, were purchased in over-abundance. For instance, I had 10 different sticker books for New York City. I visited NYC in 2009, and I never scrapbooked that 3-week trip.

I was able to find someone in my life that enjoys scrapbooking, but does not have the financial means to participated it at the level that they desired; therefore, my former hobby has been repurposed. Recently, they sent me a photo of something they had constructed utilizing my scrapbooking supplies, and I realized that my former hobby still brings a smile to my face and warms my heart, just now in an indirect way.

When was the last time that you reevaluated your interests and hobbies in your life? How much time, space, and money do they cost you for the amount of happiness you receive?

Scanning Party in Seattle

Minimalism has been the intent of my life for a while now. During one of my main decluttering session, I recycled over 100lbs of paper and photos. The paper were random pages, class notes from high school and college, and notes/letters from friends. The photos I recycled included pictures that had people that I no longer see/talk to, fuzzy pictures from the pre-digital camera era, and duplicate photos (I had hundreds of duplicate photos from when I use to print doubles from photo studios like Walgreens and Walmart). At the conclusion of that decluttering, I still had stacks and binders of paper, and albums full of photos. Since this decluttering, I haven’t glanced at those photos again or referenced the papers I kept. So I wanted to implemented a way to see these photos more often, and enjoy them, and also utilize the papers I kept; and that’s why I attended a “Scanning Party.”

The Minimalists coined the term, “Scanning Party”, which is an event you invite a few friends over, have some food and drinks, and together, go through photos and papers from your childhood/adulthood, and then, you scan all of those items. By scanning these items that were previously hidden away in albums, folders, and binders; I could free up space in my apartment, and also, have these meaningful photos and papers at my fingertips.

Therefore, I bought a portable scanner (I purchased a Doxie Q) that has allowed me to declutter my paper life immensely so far. I attended a Scanning Party with two other fellow minimalists, and we prepared and scanned documents during the party and had dinner. Afterwards, I still had many papers to scan, but the party allowed me to take those first steps towards digitalizing my life. Some of those documents were from work, recipes, Broadway playbills, receipts, product warranties, and contracts, etc. My next scanning assignment is to scan all the maps, trail guides, and magazine pages for hiking and traveling that I have collected for my future wanderings. Currently, all these pages are contained in an expandable file folder, and weighs about 15lbs. So I am looking forward to ridding my bookshelf of 15lbs of papers, and then I will move on to digitalizing my photos.

Can you think of something in your life that you could digitalize? Your papers, photos, music, or movies? There isn't a need to purchased a portable scanner (it can definitely be an investment item); for scanning documents because you can download a scanner app for your phone or tablet for free or under $5. My recommendation is to make sure that you have the documents saved/stored in two different places (backing up files is important, do it on an icloud, USB drive and/or harddrive).

"If we decide to create more and consume less, the world around us will transform through a tidal wave of purpose."

-The Minimalists

My portable scanner: Doxie Q

Digitalizing my teaching notes and pages I have ripped out from magazines I use to be subscribed to a while ago.

When you digitize your documents, you are left with a lot of folders, binders, and clear document holders leftover; so these items have been donated for someone else to get use out of them.

Second round of digitizing my documents. 

Podcasts For Your Commute

Do you have music playing in the background when you are getting dressed, driving to work, typing on your computer, grocery shopping, or walking to dinner plans? Have you considered substituting or adding a podcast to your life? I have been listening to a few of the below podcasts for a while, but have included other podcasts that friends have recommended to the list, enjoy!

• The Minimalists Podcast
• http://www.theminimalists.com/podcast/
• People living meaningful lives with less.
• Like A Bigfoot
• http://likeabigfoot.com/
• If you are being active and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, you can listen to how others are starting and accomplishing goals.
• The Morning Breath
• https://soundcloud.com/user-845680325
• Hilarious podcast that take on the top five things you should know before you "wake up and smell your morning breath."
• Lady Lovin'
• http://ladylovin.com/
• Three women who tackle a variety of topics from relationships and sex, to health and wellness, to business and start-ups.
• The Skinny Confidential (Him & Her Podcast)
• https://www.theskinnyconfidential.com/podcast/
• This duo covers branding, wellness, marketing, and social media. I particularly enjoy their podcasts on wellness trends.
• Betch Slapped by the Betches
• http://www.betches.com/podcast
• This duo covers riveting pop culture topics, play games of "Would you Rather," and answer "Dear Betch" advice questions.
• The Simple Sophisticate
• http://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/podcast/
• Shannon Ables shares with her listeners on how  to live a refined life on an everyday income. From preparing a memorable meal to traveling the world.
• Lore
• http://www.lorepodcast.com/
• This podcast covers strange, dark historical anecdotes that we've forgotten about. Creepy and eerily interesting.
• Crash On My Couch
• https://www.crashonmycouchshow.com/
• Enjoy listening to ramblings about everything you need to know in your twenties.
• The High Low
• https://soundcloud.com/the-high-low
• If you love a good British best friend duo, these two present weekly pop-culture updates.
• Goal Digger with Jenna Kutcher
• http://podcast.jennakutcher.com/
• Best live-workshop style business podcast for creative girl bosses.
• Unqualified
• http://www.unqualified.com/
• Anna Faris's podcast is full of bad relationship advice and quirky stories of her past.
• Optimal Living Daily and Finance Daily
• http://optimallivingdaily.com/000-optimal-finance-daily-podcast/
• Join the O.L.D Family by listening to the spin-off podcasts of Optimal Health Daily, Optimal Startup Daily, Relationship Optimal Living Daily, and the original Optimal Living Daily.

Do You Still Have Napster-burned CDs?

80 CDs that have been decluttered today. Can you
imagine how much space they would occupy if they
were still in their cases?

Napster does not refer to a person who is an expert-level napper, but rather a music-focused online service that was a huge part of my middle school years, and it allowed sharing of audio songs for free, and it went extinct because of copyright infringement. As I am decluttering my belongings, I came across these music relics (burned-CDs), and ended up recycling 45 CDs that I have been moving from apartment to apartment, and haven't listened to in approximately 14-16 years.

As I ruminate about why I have kept these CDs for so long; I cannot think of a valid reason besides just holding onto them "because." I no longer listen to the same kind of music I did 15 years, nor if I were to listen to it, would it bring me the same joy or entertainment (or any at all) it once did. Also, I no longer own a CD player (besides my audio player in my car), my computer does not even have a CD drive, and my portable CD player was replaced by an iPod about 12 years ago.

Applying the same criterion to CDs I bought from music stores, I was able to declutter 35 more CDs. Yes, I still own some CDs, but I just made a crucial step with this initial purge of decreasing the amount of unused items in my apartment, no matter how small or their cost in price.

I have to remind myself to live simply and not overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world.

Thinking about decluttering, but you are wanting to ease into it, here are some recommendations:

1. Before you declutter, gather everything up together. Especially if you live with someone, you could end up having duplicates of the same CD/vinyl record.
2. Assess what types of formats your music is in. If you do not have a working cassette tape player, you could probably rid yourself of your cassette tapes and download music files of the songs you still enjoy.
3. Deal with your current music collection. You may need to ask yourself if you want to transfer your CD collection to strictly a digital music library, but remember, there is still such a thing as digital clutter. So take some time and evaluate an album, and how many songs you actually still listen to.
4. Maintenance. If you buy a new CD, you can get rid of a CD; therefore, you maintain the space your CDs take up in your home.

Year 31: When Less is More

I just rung in my 31st birthday with less stuff! For the longest time, I would view each new year of the celebration of my wonderful existence with the tangible items I would receive (and the cake I would devour, of course). If I was going out to dinner with friends, I would buy an outfit for just that occasion, and most likely never wear again. If I received a gift that was thoughtful, but didn't need it, I would still hold onto it forever, because it was a gift from someone I cared about.

Year 31, I took a different approach to celebrating my birthday. I was thankful for what I had in life and what I have accomplished, and looked at it as more than an occasion to receive gifts. In fact, this year, I was quite adamant with not receiving gifts and instead, commemorating it with experiences. It was a momentous occasion, where I spent it outdoors in Whistler, Canada. This getaway was a resort town, but I came back to Washington with no tangible items or tourist trinkets; instead, I came back with memories. The something special that happens on my birthday this year, is that I truly realized that with great friends/family, the outdoors, and plenty of non-chocolate desserts, I was beyond happy and looking forward to another year of when less is more!

It is becoming harder for me to notice items being recycled, donated, or trashed when I decluttered. Therefore, it has been helpful for me to keep a list, to remind myself, that I am continuously getting rid of items. It has helped me to remain mindful and motivated in my minimalism. Below is that list and photos of items that are no longer in my apartment.

• 29 books
• Books I have already read and do not foresee reading again. Didn't want to hold onto them for the "just in case," because if I decide to read them again, I can just check them out at the library.
• 4 cookbooks
• More and more I am just looking up recipes online; however, I still have 4 cookbooks.
• 1 game
• I have started playing board and card games more often. Unfortunately, some games once you play them a lot, you remember the answers, so the challenge is no longer there.
• 5 TV series
• Netflix and online streaming has made it easier to part with TV series. Again, the library is always a good option for checking-out movies and TV shows when you do want to watch them again.
• 3 unopened Wii games
• I haven't played a Wii game in forever! I use my Wii specifically to stream my Netflix.
• 129 DVDs
• Netflix and online streaming has made it easier to part with movies. Again, the library is always a good option for checking-out movies and TV shows when you do want to watch them again. So many of these movies, I have only watched once. I use to buy movies before seeing them, and if they were bad or just meh, I would still just hold onto to them.
• Mattress pad
• Wasn't being used, so it got donated for someone who could use it.
• Throw pillow
• Nonessential item that I don't need or use and was just stuffed in my closet.
• 2 cell phones and Garmin watch (not pictured)
• Holding onto old cell phones just in case a screen cracks is an idea I have abandoned. Unfortunately a smartphone is so critical for my job, that if it doesn't work, then I need to immediately replace it.
• Extra kitchen utensils, containers, Tupperware, and plates that I haven't used
• I now have all kitchen items in the kitchen, and cupboards that are inaccessible to me are now empty.
• Apple mouse
• No longer utilized.
• Nook
• iPad had replaced my nook years ago, but I held onto it just in case my iPad died.
• iPad cover
• Replaced this cover with a new one, but still held onto it.
• Office supplies
• I still have a my huge desk that got me through undergrad and graduate school. However, it has so much less items stuffed in the doors.
• Duplicates of magnets
• I tend to pick up magnets at places I travel too. When I evaluated what was on my refrigerator, I realized I have multiple magnets from the same place.
• 3 bags of clothes
• Continuing to get rid of clothes that I didn't wear in the season they were being held on for; I have also one bag of clothes that I still need to take to a consignment store.
• 10 pairs of earrings
• Earrings were the only jewelry I consistently wore. Now, if I put a pair of earrings in my ears and no longer like the way they look, they get donated.
• 2 necklaces, 1 bracelets
• Decluttering my jewelry box so much as made me need a smaller box that doesn't take up so much space.
• 10 scarves
• I just do not wear fashion scarves anymore. If they will not be functional while hiking or snowshoeing, they are getting donated.
• 2 headbands
• Headbands that I put on and then immediately take off because I don't like them or they give me a headache.
• 2 hats
• I thought I would eventually become a hat-wearer, but I haven't. If there is something on my head, it's either my coat hood or a beanie.
• Umbrella
• I kept this for guest to wear when they visit and it rains. But I just instruct them now to bring waterproofed jackets.
• 3 wall decorations (shelves)
• These were a pain to dust, and when I got rid off the majority of the figurines that sat on them, they were no longer useful.
• Hangers
• From the clothes I donated.
• Hair accessories, including a curling iron
• It baffles me that I have a curling iron, because I have curly hair.
• Post cards from places that I have traveled
• Recycling pile, and I sent some in the mail for others to know I was thinking of them.
• Figurines
• I hate dusting, so the two times I dust a year, figurines go through a test of "Do I really want to move this item around to dust next time?"
• Photo frames from places that I have traveled
• 9 tote bags
• Still decluttering the mountains of tote bags that I have kept and haven't used. Happy to report that I haven't gained any new tote bags since the last time I decluttered them.
• 1 CD case
• Decluttering DVDs caused this case to become empty.
• Makeup bags (the free ones you receive when you purchase makeup in department stores)

Shelving that held my figurines

This type of Tupperware seems like a good idea, but when you mix both cold food and items that need to be warmed up, the compartments/divisions are more a hassle than convenience for lunches.

Donations I got rid of in the month of June/July

Books, movies, and TV shows that I donated

Kitchen items that I decluttered.

Duplicate magnets, electronics, and office supplies

Hair and makeup donations

Hangers and umbrella

Large haul to donation