The Case Against falling for the Storage Unit

it may be a mistake to rent storage.  It costs a LOT of money, that they dont have to spare.   I rented storage when we moved, the intent was the stuff would be in there for 4 months…. 2 years later i donated or gave away half, 10% was ruined, 10% was sold—-so 70% was never bought back to my home —and i had made huge huge cuts in decluttering and only paid for the ‘important good stuff’ to go to storage.   Maybe 10% of the stuff I have currently re-incorporated into my life. The remaining 30% is clogging the garage (2.5 years since the rental). And I will need to deal. With it this summer.   Now that 10% I did re-incorporate, i can say without hesitation, i would have been better off taking the thousands $$$ i spent on storage, not to mention the mental clutter and frustration of dealing with it over the years, and just buying the few things i did want…and i have to say that of the 10% reincorporated- i likely would not have re-purchased any of it had the whole storage unit disappeared!!!

I try to justify the time money and aggravation against storage with the alleviation of the pain of having to make the decisions to let go all at once.  But 20/20 hindsight i know that that procrastination came at a VERY steep cost. I worried constantly about the money being spent, and already spent on all the stuff. Almost everyday i worried about having to get over. To the storage unit to try to clear it out.  As it became clear there were issues to contend with keeping the stored items “safe”, there are rodents, bugs, moths got into my wool rugs :(,water (the unit had a leak) then anything not damaged by water directly, you have to worry about mold, and if it is not a conditioned space you have to worry about mold and temperature damage, getting too hot and dry is also damaging to materials.  And of course there is theft, several times, despite the facilities security measures there were break-ins. Also, when eh facility does maintenance they will require you to remove your belongings-even if you just have to put them back!!!!! It was this last request that finally pushed my husband to help me get the last 30% out of the unit LOL! I know most of it will be going, honestly i dont even know what it is anymore!   It was a VERY expensive way to learn, and caused much relationship stress, i do not recommend it :) 

Keeping Things- My Daughter is Wearing my HS/College Pants

 I have always lived a frugal life.  It was just the way I was raised.  It is a theme that keeps coming up.  How to balance excess and waste not, want not.

Having recently moved, and now emptying out bins, has opened up a lot of items that have been in storage for quite some time.  My youngest daughter recently went through a growth spurt, and pretty much ran out of pants that fit.  We came across three bins of my clothes that were boxed up after the pregnancy of my first child-yup 20 years ago!!!!  I had some really sweet pants that I wore through the end of high school and college!!!  She was in heaven!!!!  My pants are not only being worn again they are LOVED.  Yes, I would totally wear them again myself if I could lose the weight- and am seriously working towards that now- though I do not think that she will give them back.  In all honestly, I was keeping them because I 100% wanted to wear them again, I would not have kept them in case a child wanted them.  Also, it is proof positive about the decline of quality items with longevity in our consumer stream.

About a week ago that same daughter told me that she wanted a dress for her winter formal.  I put out the word in the community that we were looking for a dress and was gifted a blue velvet dress from the 90's.  We spent many quality hours re-working that dress into almost the exact dress that she had drawn for me that first day!!!! I did have to spend $5 on rhinestones ;)  

Those rhinestones bring me back to the topic of frugally keeping things for longer then 90 days - as

suggested by The Minimalists.  When the kids were younger there were other dresses, projects, and costumes that required the use of the rhinestone setter.  I have not used that in 4 years, but I was so happy to bust it out and watch her joy of creation with it.    Will I use it again, I think I will.  It may even be within 90 days!!!  She has already drawn her prom gown!!! These days are fleeting and bring great joy!!  And the question remains, is it worth keeping the rhinestone setter...maybe I could just use a soldering iron?  

If this were the one thing that were causing clutter, i think i would test the soldering iron.   And perhaps the fact that everything is causing clutter, is all the more reason i should do that...LOL!!  because I have too many things.  If they were things that I did not think had use in my life, it would be so much easier for me to pass them on!!!

Just 2 things

 Some days i just cannot get a lot done in the decluttering front. it is easy on those days to just do nothing. And then those days are doing nothing add up to a whole Lotta nothing

so today I will get rid of just two things, but if I get rid of two things every day that would really add up. perhaps it would make up for all of these that I did not get rid of one thing. So here are my two things today.

We Moved to a Bigger House and We Don't Fit

 Ironic, yet I don't think this is a minimalist failure. It is a journey, some are rockier and steeper than others. If you are judging, at least hear me out.  And feel free to offer your helpful insight in the comments.

We moved to a technically bigger house and we don't fit.  I joke that the people who had the house built originally were claustrophobic minimalists.  More likely, they were quite well-off and had a different mentality, that they will buy it again when they need it, and they don't need the tools of our everyday life, because they hire people to do 'that'.  By 'that' I mean, cleaning, auto care, maintenance, repair, Lawn Care, House maintenance and repair, etc.  I don't think they spent winters here either (and the HVAC system layout suggests it was primarily a summer home, but i may be wrong). This house literally has minimal storage, but lots of open space (which feels great!).  

We decided to sell our previous house in order to give each child their own bedroom as they become adults and were intending to attend the local college.While we did not need as much living space as the new home provided, we did LOVE the location, and it was literally the only home that came for sale that fit our needs in the time-frame we had.  Unfortunately, we lost our workshop spaces as well as storage.  The last house had an attic, a full cellar that provided storage and workshop space, a mini-barn for storing outdoor gear, and a garage with lots of overhead storage. The new place has a finished basement, offering an exercise space, office, guest space/rec room, so it's great.  However, there nowhere to store our off-season, crafting, and workshop tools.  There is basically no attic space and the garage has REALLY short ceilings (we used to put bikes, skis, sleds, bins of seasonal sports equipment, etc on the ceiling racks.

 In the process of staging our last home, we found plenty to pass on.  We were pretty amazed by what we found to gift to others (Huge fans of Buy Nothing, but sometimes the best perk of living on a busy road was the ability to leave stuff at the end of the driveway and have it magically disappear!!) I probably still have some of the pictures from that time to add to this post.

Then came packing to move and we just kept shedding things that we decided did not make the cut! Again this was surprising.  Because of the timing of the move, and because we sold our house at noon and bought the new one at 1 pm, we decided to get storage and start packing into that ahead of time (thank goodness!!!) Honestly, we were still moving stuff a couple of days after the sale.  and seeing all of it in storage was eye-opening, but we really did not have the time to contemplate.

We had 2 units, but we did not fill either, we probably could have just tetris'ed all of it into 1 unit. If we'd been in a better place physically, we wanted to fill them so there would be almost nothing to move on the day of the sale, this just did not happen. Fortunately, our son's friends helped us a LOT on moving day!!! 

Well, we got our stuff moved and I had surgery the next day.  The plan had been for my husband to retrieve one box per day and we would deal with it.  At this point, we realized how little storage we had and knew that there had to be some deep cuts.  My husband did not get those boxes.  That task had always been mine in past moves, and so it waited until I could walk again, over 6 months later, but still unable to do a lot.  I wish I had done more prior to the move.  It is so hard to give stuff away LOL!  people want it, but they don't just want it free, they want it delivered LOL!  

Tonight I offered up those Tupperware pieces (I included the article about toxins in the offer...) someone would like me to deliver them. I could put them ebay - yup people are buying them! $20 +shipping  and I have the matching spoons to sweeten the deal, but then I have to pay all of the fees, shipping, and taxes, but I suppose it would net me about $5  towards my measuring cup replacement...

A year later, I have a pile of things in my living space that still needs homes (most have been passed on or put away as it comes in).  I still have both of the storage units, each about 1/3 full- yes I should combine them, but each has some large items that are too heavy to move without help- and no, there is no space for them here, so they have to find new stewards.  These are tasks that sound so easy to talk about but are much harder to accomplish.  Again I wish I had taken pictures of the workshop setup so that I could post them for sale.  My husband had wanted to get things to the point he could set them up in storage for pictures, but he was too busy and then it was cold...so here we are if you had told me 2.5 years ago we would be renting storage, I would have said sure we have some fat to trim, but it all fits comfortably in our home, I know where everything is, and my house is super tidy, why would I spend money I do not have on storage. Honestly, I have had a conversation with my husband about, if we had ditched/donated everything after the first month, we could have replaced what we truly missed with all we have spent on storage fees!!!  not to mention all the time heartache and arguments!!!!

This is all true. But in the end, we will have considerably fewer belonging here in our larger home we have added a handful of pieces that we did not have in the old house.  Yet we have passed on far more items than we have added.  It's been confusing and frustrating. Over a year later we still have both units, and we have removed the majority of things from them, but deciding to let go has been slow, tedious work. and finding appropriate homes for the materials we want to keep has been nearly impossible.  It has eaten away at our time and nerves, and slowly we let go...so much more work to do!

On paper, this situation should not be, more space should make it easier to organize our things without clutter. Though I am overall glad for the change.  I will miss our woodworking shop and my glass studio.  I will not miss all of that funky wood dust in our basement!!!  And we have kept a full kit of modular tools, but it will be a lot more work to do a project this way. They will have to happen in the garage or in the driveway.  same with a glass window project, which I would still really like to do for our new home.  So huge life changes yet we have kept moving in the minimizing direction on this journey. 

Toxins Reducing the Stuff Load

 

As we find ourselves both more aware of the potential toxins our family's stuff exposes us to, and in a position to do better we are able to move these items out of our home.  Today we replaced our plastic measuring cups with Stainless Steel measuring cups :)  I had originally attempted to just this when we bought our first set of stainless steel measuring cups, that was close to 10 years ago.  But we found that when we bake, we bake a lot, and 1 set was never enough!  Always, it seemed, we needed a second dry measure....and so we never let go of the plastic! and we had 2 1/2 plastic sets!  Today we added a second set of stainless and will pass on those plastic measuring cups!!!  and if we need more than 2 we are going to have to wash & DRY!!! *gasp* the necessary cups!!!  pretty sure we can make it work...and who knows one day we may pass a metal set down to a child setting up there own house :)

The real impetus behind the final push to get these plastic items out (especially when finances are tighter than ever) was this article about Lead in Tupperware on Leadsafe mama. 

I have lots more to reckon with.  For instance the Pyrex measuring cups (lead in the red pain)....but i need a replacement before ditching or my husband may not be 'happy' with me, and really i should not be spending at all!! I highly doubt he will agree to ditch the crystal chandelier, but....i can likely get him to wear gloves next time we clean it as a compromise.

ETA: just remembered I have the matching green measuring spoons :( and an orange funnel...i love that funnel...maybe it is newer and less toxic. Also food for thought is even unpainted vintage glass (like the old baking pans from my grams may not be safe- and yes heavy metals can leach out of glass, in case like me you were hoping that would be ok...)

Accountability - Reckoning Purchases after Black Friday

 After a very crazy week following Thanksgiving, I am sitting in reflection on purchases that were made during the sales.  Although we are needing to work some on the road to minimalism, we openly acknowledge that minimalism is not our destination.  If Minimalism is at the end of the freeway we are on, our true journey is the scenic byway of Optimalism.  I am using the freeway to get to the scenic byway, occasionally jumping off the freeway to enjoy other byways ;)

As we are unable to move to a temperate climate, and we lack the funds necessary to have others perform our personal (i.e. haircuts, cooking, exercise), House (i.e. cleaning, plumbing, wall repair, yard, etc), or vehicle maintenance, we have many tools in our possession.  Of course, there are likely some cuts that can be made in these areas as well, and as we find them we try to minimize, making it easier to use what we have.

By reflecting on the purchases we have just made I hope to take note of any mistakes made in overbuying.  Here are the purchases we have made in the last week, why they were purchased, and what they replace.

3 Stargazer Cast Iron Cooking Pans (2 skillets and a braiser); Purchased to replace failing non-stick cookware, and a lead and cadmium painted Le Creuset Braiser. We are tossing 1 nonstick saucepan, 1 12" nonstick Scanpan Skillet, 2 ceramic Coated pans, Non-stick braiser, 1 Anodized aluminum Calphalon Pasta pot that lost its anodizing on the bottom ( I may call Calphalon- as this was supposed to have a lifetime warranty- but i don't think we need it - as we have a stainless steel pan that is almost as big), also on the chopping block is our one 12" Calphalon cast iron skillet - made in China, so there could possibly be lead in it...we don't want to think so, but we are unable to be sure....it may be kept as the 'last pan used' for larger meals... depending on space. so that is 6-7 pans replaced with 3 pans...not bad even by minimalism standards!!!!  But I will point out that it will cost a tidy sum of money! $300!! and it would have been 30% higher if we had not waited and made use of the Black Friday sales! We have increased our joy of cooking with higher quality pans, benefited our health by taking toxins out of our diets, and reduced the number of things in the kitchen.  Note that we will be keeping our 15-year-old stainless sauce pans, stock pot, and small skillet.  Hopefully, we will never NEED to buy more cookware, cast iron should last forever!!

24 Window Blinds; Having moved to a new home with no window coverings a year ago, it was time.  sheets and random curtains were not getting the job done!  We found some blinds on sale at the local box and jumped on the opportunity we had been waiting for. There were about 10 incomplete blinds we found in the basement, after checking them out we passed on a few o to people for replacement parts, and tossed the rest.  The blinds will increase privacy, increase sleep quality, and reduce heating and cooling costs. By waiting for the clearance opportunity we saved 75%! 

12 Reusable Mop Pads:  This one is a little tough, One pad costs as much as 8 generic pads, and 12 pads were just a few dollars more.  1 pad is not enough to finish the floor. Also, as they are quite small they are easy to store and I do not really like the idea of running the wash for just a few pads, with 12 I can just wash them once a week, saving water, soap, and electricity.  Additionally, they will last a lot longer with a rotation on 12.  It may not be 100% minimalism, but I do think it is spot on for Optimalism! It was a thought-out purchase of a necessary item, factoring in cost, resources, space, and convenience.  Perhaps further down the road, I will weigh back in on these purchases and if my thinking has grown.  I guess these are 'replacing' future purchases of disposables. By waiting for the sale they were 20% off.

1 Doorstop;  Purchased to keep the blinds on the glass door in the bedroom from crashing into each other. Necessary.... 

Desktop mirror: Gift for my daughter, per her request 30% off.   Folds flat, slightly smaller than a piece of paper to put away easily when not in use.

2 Swimsuits: for my daughter to be on the swim team- these will replace last year's (too small/worn out)

Phone case:  this one is maybe a little trickier for me to justify.  when I bought my phone i wanted a case to use magnetic charging and phone holders, but they were crazy $ at the store, and i could not risk waiting for an order and risk breaking the phone, so I bought a $10 case with the intention of upgrading.  Over a year later, this case was 60% off on the sale and caved.....i do feel a little guilty!!  My current case works, this one will just add convenience...so i guess it's a splurge...but i can pass on the old phone case- if anyone wants it....so I am not adding clutter to the house, but perhaps the guilt is telling me to return this one....

3 Magnetic Wallets: Gifts per request of minimalist kids who don't like big wallets/bags but need essentials with their phones when they go out.  On sale for 30% savings- so basically buy 2 and go the 3rd for free by waiting (my daughter really wanted this at the beginning of the semester!  hopefully, the wait makes it all the sweeter when she sees it!!) 

Electric Mop Set:  this seems frivolous- and in my unbroken body I would not need this....but...i can not hire help, the family is super busy, and I really REALLY want to clean my home without turning into the Grinch. I have been contemplating getting a tool to help, this does not really replace my wrist...but, compromises must be made, soooo when this was 50% off I decided to try it.  I have sooooo much tile!  and the grout from the house being rented for 15+ years is soo- needing a good scrub ( I did a bit by toothbrush, but quickly realized I could not physically complete the task!)  I will also use this to clean the shower surrounds and tubs- hopefully it will make the job quick enough that I can do it all at once. i currently cannot get through a whole job, and often don't do it at all.  Hoping this will be a game-changer for me :)  if not it will leave the house! quickly!

Ugh, this reckoning is getting lengthy.  I felt like we were doing so well, not buying and then everything sort of accumulated into this purchasing....

While not buying an item does make it "100% off"  buying those items that are necessary to the comfort and functioning of life on sale is optimal.  Allowing yourself to only buy things you need on sale will in fact reduces spending and overall purchasing as long as you do not buy things BECAUSE they are on sale.

This is not all we bought, i lost track, there were some new PJs for the family ( and actually we all did need actual pjs), and a few other items.

ETA After trying, the electric brush went back

Optimalism Goal

 The optimal amount of possessions.   That is what I am after.  Not too many, not too few, just right.  This is a moving target!  

I love some of the tenets of minimalism, but it doesn't fit my family or even me for that matter.

Gorgeous...where are the hobbies?? Does anyone actually live here?

I am a creator, a maker.  I am resourceful and frugal.  I have long admired the streamlined Minimalist homes and homemakers online.  Here is the truth: I do NOT personally know a single, not 1, minimalist.  I am not doubting that there are true, real minimalists out there, they just do not reside in my circle. I have long desired to be a minimalist, at least while browsing the internet, knowing that I need to get up and clean up.

Maybe there is a happy medium?    Optimalism!!!!

In order to be a creator on a budget, I do not fit the minimalist ideals that abound, and realistically do not want to.  Wanting to do something is very necessary to succeed at a difficult task.  If I had a LOT more money I would be minimalist in a heartbeat! I would have a studio, separate from my home. Also, I would only keep supplies needed for the current project.  When I start a project I could go and buy exactly what I want regardless of cost, and when done I would donate leftovers to a local school and start the next. Unfortunately I do not have those finances, and so i squirrel away supplies as i can.  And yes, it is EASY to let that get out of control.  Constant energy is spent aquiring, storing and organizing supplies.  I will be working to find ways to implement some basic strategies and boundaries that will make keeping our homes functional, cozy and inspiring.  Expending fewer resources on this balancing act will free up time, money and energy to do the things we love!!

If rich, I would not have a kitchen full of appliances so that I could create yummy healthy meals with my physical limitations. NOPE. I would have a fully able chef come in and chop and cook and I would just enjoy.  I would not have vacuums on both floors taking up precious space, my cleaner would bring her own! along with all of the other necessary cleaning supplies.  And that garage half-filled with tools?  You guessed it!  My husband would not be on the way to the parts store right now to fix our almost 10-year-old Prius, we would have a new car that did not need so much work, and when it needed repair or maintenance it would go to the dealership.  the lawn tractor, the rakes, the blower, the leaf mulcher, etc. all out of my life if I could afford landscapers to come and do these things. and the snow thrower, yes that would go too!!!  Oh, just listing a few of these items that we would not need if....if we were rich, if we had no yard (yes, an apartment/condo could be an option but not for everyone. yes we could move to Arizona-oh wait we cannot....etc), just listing it makes me pine for the space.

Be kind to yourself!  You have likely acquired things for a reason!!!  And if those reasons no longer exist, or if the item has been replaced, it is easy to let go.  If the item is still useable, rather than dwell on funds spent, look at it as being a steward of resources.  The best stewards know that when their time is up, it is time to pass it forward.  If you have just one item you can take your time with finding a new owner; if there are many, do not get bogged down with this part of the task, find a group to donate to or an online group to post for a community member to claim.

The idea of not keeping and wasting your space and energyclearly falls in line with minimalism. Here is an idea that goes against the minimalist theory, but works with my idea of optimalism: If there is a great sale on shampoo I am going to buy more than I need today. However, I have limited space to allot to shampoo as well as funds.   I will ask myself- How much can I use in the next 3-6 Months, How much do I normally pay?  Often if I find a ridiculous deal on an item, I will not spend more than what I would spend on that item in the next 1-2 months if the budget will allow, and then I consider, is that too much for the space I have to store them?  

I have definitely been guilty of buying too much. Sometimes overbuying happens.  If I am careful not to spend more than I would have if I had not bought on sale. So financially I break even, space-wise, well there needs to be reconciliation and I can feel good that someone else will benefit from my mistake, for instance, buying 2 bottles of shampoo half-price and then deciding i don't like it. I can donate the second to the local pantry!  I just unpacked a box with lots of art supplies.  When the kids were younger an art store went out of business and they clearanced at 90% off!!  I went a little crazy!  I knew that this was a 1-time opportunity and "stocked up". Overall, I more than got my money's worth out of the purchase, even with the leftover, unused supplies.  Now the children really don't use crayons and I have so many new unused boxes LOL!  I have just sort of kept them...in case we have company? Honestly, my oldest could realistically have children, as that is not the plan for at least 4-5 years, it seems that my sanity and space is worth more than that- and we can get another box of crayons if I donate these. So it is easy to make this decision - though these missed opportunities are harder to release than say the broken/chipped mug you always hated lol! Not gonna lie, I think I still have them mostly because I open the box and think, why did I not take the time to color more with my children!  So these brand new items that represent missed opportunities can also carry some guilt- and no one needs any more of that in our lives!!!

So I have set for myself The Optimalism Goal. I aspire to the optimal amount of belonging. this will be different for everyone's individual needs. I would have enough supplies to be creative, they will fit in an organized and inspiring way in my home. I will have supplies for my children to keep their pets (fish and a cat), these supplies will have a limited amount of space, and need to be put away.  Cooking, car care, home, lawn, pool maintenance, sports, photography,  holiday decor, keepsakes, and self-care are other big takers of space.  I do not wish to completely get rid of any of these categories, I do need to look at my resources and balance the quantity against the space, but also the time it takes to keep it organized. An elaborate system may allow me to keep it all tidy...but once things are used in these systems they tend not to get put away, and then it is always a cluttered mess.  Perhaps my Optimalism Goal needs a stiff dose of Essentialism LOL.  My stewardships are constantly evolving!