The wall in my bedroom used to be one solid collection of shelves. Now there is one less.
I would like to tell you that it was easy but frankly I would be lying if I did.
Don't you love the lists that bloggers like myself post, saying today I eliminated this list of things from my life? At times it seems so easy when we put it down in words. Perhaps it is easy for others but today I found it terribly hard. It was hard going through the stuff, hard to decide what to keep and what to toss, hard to consolidate the leavings and just plain hot while I worked!
So today I'm not putting up a list or even a picture. I am just glad that I'm done.
The end result of all of this work is that now I am able to leave my bed unfolded during the day. I folded the full-size futon in half lengthwise to make a narrow but serviceable twin futon pad and placed the head of it in the newly-emptied space.
I can actually walk around in my room now regardless of whether it is day or night. No longer will I have to fold and un-fold my bed for sleeping--this is a boon for this lazy woman!
I really didn't get rid of one specific thing. Instead I went through papers and boxes and stuff and just thinned out. Duplicates were tossed along with things that were no longer needed. Newspapers that had been kept whole because of the article on the front page were stripped of the keepsake article and tossed.
Ancient bank records and bills were also added to the pile along with a lot of memories that were no longer important to me.
All of my books are now consolidated upon one wooden bookshelf in my living room, and three binders containing junk were discarded along with the mountain of junk. I even eliminated the phone book that I never use!
Slowly this place is starting to shape up but each new elimination session gets more and more difficult. I am honestly not sure how much lower I can go. One complete shelf is filled with blankets that will be needed and used this winter while the other shelf still has a few things that I haven't been ready to let go of yet.
I think of one lady I heard of somewhere who just called Goodwill and had them come and pack up everything when she decided to pursue minimalism. I don't think I could do that!
I think of the gentlemen who can keep their most important things in a single backpack, ready to leave at a moment's notice. I don't know if I can do that either.
I think of the empty shelf sitting in my hallway ready for me to carry outside to the building and I wonder if I should just place it in my packrat daughter's room instead. She has a lot of stuff.
I think of the few outdoor items I tossed today, the pictures that were illegible, the papers that were obsolete and the silly stories I penned as a young child.
I think of the books that I used to save because of a page or two--a recipe or a note, tossed now except for those few scraps of paper.
I think of how clean and open the floor looks in the living room and throughout the house now, and compare it to the years when maneuvering anywhere in my home was a chore.
I think of the dining room of a dear friend, one side of which was covered in a pile of Large storage totes two and three deep. I think that if I had the money she spent on those totes alone I could pay my bills and live easily for a month.
I think of all of the totes I own, all of the crates and Banker's Boxes--of the time I was worried I may overflow the apartment dumpster with all of my discards.
I think of the storage building I used to rent and of the routine shifting of things back and forth between that rented space and my home.
I think that I may not be ready to downsize into 500 square feet yet but I can at least see some progress!
I'm tired guys. I'm tired and I really really need a shower. Thank goodness I'm alone tonight cause I'm sure I really stink!
So with that I shall close, place the shelf in dear Daughter's room for when she returns, wash up and head to bed.
If anyone has any suggestions that would make the next round any easier I would greatly appreciate them!