Last year, at the end of September, my fiance, kitty and I made a small move from my mother’s attic to our own 415 sq.ft. studio apartment. Before that move, I discovered minimalism and was sorting and purging my things as if my life depended on it. I had mountains of clothes I had never worn, every school assignment from 5th grade and random items that weren’t even opened because I didn’t want to mess it up by actually using it. I was a pack rat who believed that I loved the items. I took good care of them, but now, more than a year later, I can’t seem to remember what on Earth I gave away. I have only regretted one thing: losing a wooden box my uncle made when he was a youngster, but someone accidentally threw it away after I had already moved.
By the time that move came, I knew I wasn’t done. I had given up 10 trash bags of clothes, all the items that were still in its original packaging and over 70% of my paper clutter. It took 3 trips using my fiance’s compact car and my mom’s soccer-mom van to move all of our stuff over. For just two young adults in their early twenties, I’d say that is a lot of stuff. Granted, we had a couple items of furniture and a bed; it was still no excuse. If my ultimate goal is to move around and travel, I have to make this moving thing easier. And, that means getting rid of more stuff. The less stuff you have to move, the easier your move will be. ( tweet this )
I continued to purge over the last year and started a challenge to motivate myself to reach my goals. But, a strange thing happens when you live on your own. You need stuff. And, I mean you actually need said stuff. We needed some odds and ends in the kitchen, a plunger and one of those toilet scrubbing things. We accepted things from family such as a vacuum cleaner, microwave and pots and pans. But, this added more things to the mix. I never really got the apartment to a state where I liked it. It was constantly a mess. So, I continued my challenge. I was afraid that the move would be worse, but yet again, it took three trips. It sucked because I thought this time would be better and simpler. It wasn’t and I thought I had failed. I didn’t want our room to look like the last time we lived here (we moved back in with my mom). Last time, boxes were everywhere on the floor, I couldn’t walk, it was in constant chaos and I ever felt at ease. My cat even hated the place and spent as little time as possible in the room. This time, however, is much better than last time. The room actually looks cozy and clean. There’s room to walk; the floor is clear. I have a space to work and so does my fiance. I always have sleeping kitties on my bed and there’s even room for them to play. There’s even room for me to play! I got a mini trampoline, and I have space to jump and be a kid again. Even though we came over with what seemed like more things, — kitchen items, bathroom items and an extra kitten — the constant purging made a huge difference. The items we are not using at this time are packed up neatly in boxes which are stacked away in a corner. The items we are using have their own space and nothing is in the way. It feels so good to be ridden of the burdens of hauling around items. It feels so good to sit at my desk and work without having to worry about the state of the room. Because the state of the room is clean and cozy! I’m not done yet. I’m going to continue with the purging and slowly dwindle down to where moving is such a breeze that it only takes one trip, or better yet, just as simple as grabbing our backpacks, kitties and heading towards the car. But, for now, I’m going to enjoy my new, less stressful living quarters. How has minimalism impacted your ability to move?