The Clutter We Carry

Whether you use a purse, backpack, computer bag, traveler bag, or even just your pockets, we all carry things with us on a daily basis.  Over the course of time we collect more items and before we know it, we are actually carrying around our clutter, lugging it around, dragging it around.  It weighs us down, makes it difficult to find what we need and drives us crazy.  I realized that my purse was overflowing with junk earlier this week:

Pads of paper, receipts, tissues, ticket stubs, coupons, multiple pens, medication, vitamins, you name it, it was in there! I had even unzipped the extension part of my purse to make more room, something I only do when I use my purse as more of a carry on when doing long distance travel.  It was time to declutter!

I sorted through the items and recycled all the paper, threw away the old, and got rid of the multiple pens and pads of paper.  I thought through my daily routine and kept only the essentials:

The essentials include: notebook, pen, sunglasses, glasses, wallet, business cards, make up bag, ear-buds, purse hook and winter gear (to be put away once spring finally decides to make an appearance!).

And VOILA!

 I was able to close up the extension and fit all my essentials in my light and spacious purse.  The rest of the week was much easier not sifting through lots of junk! I am now making it a priority to go through my purse at the end of each week to get rid of any accumulated clutter and keep the items I carry to a minimum.

What are your tips and tricks to keeping your daily bag clutter free?

Post Traumatic Moving Stress

As a mental health professional by training I do not take Post Traumatic Stress lightly by any means.  Recently my husband and I realized that we were saving unnecessary items purely due to the residual stress from two international moves.  While our physical possessions have slimmed down, we were holding onto every cardboard box that those items came in. Full garbage bags worth of bubble wrap and more gallon sized plastic zip-bags than anyone could possibly need in their life time.  Because of this our extra closet was stuffed to the brim, not with stuff, but with the stuff FOR our stuff.

At first I didn't even realize the issue and told my husband that I wanted to condense the boxes and packing materials to try and create more room.  My husband smiled and said "you sound like your clients," and he was right.  We sat down and discussed why we felt the need to hang on to the myriad of packing supplies. By hanging on to the stuff we weren't allowing ourselves to fully feel at home and settled.  We had already signed our lease for another year and are not in a rush to move (thank goodness!).  If we need to, we will find new boxes for our things when we do face our next move and in the meantime we can part with a good portion of the boxes.  So we went to work:

Before: Every box is empty and being stored for a "just in case" situation

Sorting through the boxes

Boxes broken down, condensed and put out for recycling

A full shelf is now free and open, life just got a little simpler!

We got rid of 75% of the materials and only kept boxes for key items that would need some extra support in the event of a move.  The rest we took apart and put in the recycling bin.  The boxes we kept only take up one shelf in the closet (as opposed to both and being ceiling high!)and there is room to spare if our guests would actually like to use it! Moral of the story, there is always room for improvement.  If you find yourself trying to condense your things to increase space, it may mean that it is time to declutter to make enough room to live more simply.

Simple New Years Resolutions

2014 has arrived....over a month ago! Wow time flies when you are having fun!  I was lucky enough to spend new years this year abroad in Israel visiting friends and family. I love times of the year where I can symbolically have a fresh start and January/February are a few of those times with the new year in January and my birthday (#28!) in February.  As I was reviewing International Green Minimalist - Best of 2013
 I was thinking how happy I am to have adopted a simpler life style and am proud of the progress I have made paring down my possessions and simplifying my schedule.  I want to keep up this simple lifestyle and also continue to improve.

So here are my simple new years (both for 2014 and for 28!) resolutions:

- Only make conscious purchases that are either necessary, truly beneficial and will bring me joy.
- Continue to recycle, conserve water and be mindful of energy use in the home.
- Look into joining a Community Supported Agriculture group to get fresh locally grown produce regularly.
- Work on my small business, Your Simple Home.
- Improve upon International Green Minimalist!
- Be mindful of my schedule to save time for family and self care.

I will be sure to keep you all up to date on my resolutions.  What are your simple new years resolutions?  Please share in the comments!

International Green Minimalist - Best of 2013

New Year's Eve is one of those times of reflection as well as excitement for a fresh start.  Since January 1st, 2013 my husband and I adopted a simpler lifestyle, traveled, completed our masters degrees, moved across the ocean for a 2nd time and started our careers.  All these things came with challenges, but we cannot wait to see where 2014 takes us.  I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts on minimalism, green living and travel with all of you and I look forward to continuing this amazing journey.

In this spirit of reflection I would like to feature the top 5 most popular posts from 2013:

Moving Overseas - The Minimalist Attempt

A New Trick To STOP Impulse Buying

Couch Or Not To Couch?

Couch or No Couch: The Decision!

My Year without TV or Cable

  

I hope this helps energize and motivate you as you enter the new year!  Happy 2014! I will see you there!

Paper Clutter Solution - 2nd try

Finding an effective paper filing system that works is tough.  Before our second move this year we did an overhaul of our paper clutter in Paper Clutter - It happens to us all.  After 5 months living in our new home back in the US, we found that the paper clutter was out of control once again!







 "Enough!" I declared! Time to try something different.

First steps:

1) Identify the problem:

Flat surfaces in the house were becoming a dumping ground for paper clutter and going unchecked for too long.
Unsorted piles made it difficult to determine what needed filing.
We were losing track of important documents.

2) Create categories of paper that come through the home:

Bills to be paid
Other documents needing attention
Receipts
Coupons
Junk Mail
Paid bills, pay stubs

3) Create a filing system:

I had files and bought a simple and cheap file stand for the desk.  I labeled each file according to our categories.

4) Create rules:

No papers are allowed to be put on a flat surface in the house, all papers when brought in need to be filed in the appropriate file folder.  Once a week we will go through the folders for documents needing attention and then will file documents that must be kept in an accordion binder.  This way, the folders will not overflow, we will know where to find the documents we need, and Junk Mail will be tossed once a week into the recycling.

As with all decluttering solutions, it is important to find one that works for you and your family's lifestyle.  The best way is to keep trying new ways if old ways are not working, be honest with yourself about why something isn't working, and make sure your solutions play to your strengths.

Revising a Minimalist Wardrobe

I ran into a dilemma recently as a minimalist.  I needed new clothes.  And I mean it, I actually NEEDED new clothing.  Entering a professional full time job, I needed to have appropriate clothing to actually look and feel...well...professional.  Most of my adult life has been spent in the military, college or abroad in countries where the culture is much more casual than here in the US.  But with my goal of fitting all my clothing into ONE suitcase, how could I possibly go buy more clothing?

After standing in front of my minimal wardrobe for a while, I came up with a plan. I do need to buy some key items to fit my new role in the workplace, however, I do not need to double my wardrobe in the process. So here are the steps I took:

1) I made a definition of what I want my wardrobe to look like:  I want to have a mature, stylish and professional wardrobe that can easily go from the office to hanging out with friends with minimal changes.  

2) I donated anything in my wardrobe that does not fit that definition.

3) I started shopping with purpose. I made a short list of items that I needed and stuck to the list. I needed dress pants, dress flats, a pencil skirt and a few button down shirts.  Anything extra I wanted to buy I had to think of an item I could give away in exchange.

So far this method has been working for me and my wardrobe is not growing, just changing to better fit a new phase in life.  

My Mental Clutter

Searching for a job is not easy.  When we moved back to the states in July I gave myself 4 days to get organized and then dove head first into job applications.  I had started the search while abroad, but orchestrating the move took most of my time and energy.  By September I was getting frustrated and a bit down on myself but I also enjoyed the flexibility of time and the ability to take on different projects.  I worked on my blog, created a small business, Your Simple Home and volunteered my time at a local elementary school and programming on the college campus where we live.  But as they say, when it rains, it pours, and soon I found myself with two part time jobs.  I was elated to start working and thoroughly enjoyed both workplaces.  However, I found that my mind couldn't stop working.  I tried to create a schedule between the two jobs and to focus on each one individually, but it was difficult!  To feel on top of things at both places I would check email at home and even work on projects.  My blog fell by the way side, as did my business and had no time to volunteer.  I was overwhelmed, stressed and felt like I was constantly running a marathon.  Luckily, I will be starting full time with one of the jobs this Monday and this should help me clear some of my mental clutter and my hectic schedule.  While going full time will increase my projects and responsibilities at work, I will have one office to go to, one supervisor and one set of staff with which to work.  I will be able to have a more steady schedule and focus more and relax more while at work and not be as worried about forgetting or missing a critical detail.

While I have focused a lot on minimizing my things, I now will be able to turn to simplifying my schedule and my mind.  I am hoping that I can move forward with my blog, and pick up a few new clients with Your Simple Home as well as get re-involved with volunteering in the community.  But, moving forward, I will choose more carefully which extracurriculars to take on and make sure I leave time for family, friends and myself.  My goal is to feel calm, serene and simplified from within.