The Great Bathroom Purge

A few months ago, I was in a clutter clear out mode and stumbled upon something quite scary. For the most part, I had two bathrooms FULL of stuff! Okay, so maybe it wasn't FULL quite like someone's bathroom from the television show Hoarders. It was enough for me to dive into a mental laboratory to dissect just how this happened and what the next step was.

1. Owning Up

I got every last bottle out so I could see just how much stuff I had accumulated. Next thing you know, I had a sea of bottles that took over the counter. I had lots of shampoos, several body sprays, face masks, sunscreens, hand creams, etc.

2. Vowed to Not Buy More
After taking this kind of inventory, I had a couple of choices. First, I could pick out exactly what I knew I would use and give the rest away (merely tossing stuff into the garbage is usually a last resort for me) . Sometimes I like the immediacy of a quick purge. In this case though, I would use most of these items over time if I didn't keep buying stuff in order to try something new or because it was on sale. I told myself that I would not buy more items until I completely run out! There were a few items that I decided MUST go! One bottle of lotion smelled really good in the store yet gave me headaches when I actually wore it. Then there was the bottle of conditioner that left my hair extremely dry. Luckily the local thrift store gladly accepts this kind of stuff.

3. Creating Even More Solutions

I also tried a different approach by buying reusable bottles and sprayers from The Container Store. This may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. I had several full-size bottles that didn't have much product left in it. I am less likely to carry a big bottle of something in my purse, gym bag or suitcase. Putting the remaining product into a smaller bottle created more portability which is something I love! Other advantages are the bottles being leakproof and clear. Working with clear bottles is a great motivator all around. If you are trying to be conscious of using smaller amounts, you can see your progress. In my case, I was able to transfer stuff into smaller bottles, recycle the big ones and utilize what I already had in a more convenient way.

The technique worked well with all the perfumes and body sprays I had. I received many of them as gifts, which is nice, but more than I can use in a reasonable amount of time! I purchased some purse-sized spray bottles and filled them up. Now I don't worry about the heaviness or danger of carrying glass bottles with me. This also saves a LOT of money of purchasing "travel-size" products and then subsequently buying replacements when the small amount inside runs out! Plus, my selection would be very limited since only certain brands make portable sized products.

4. Future Plans

I don't want to have this many products again! To me, having all those different bottles of stuff is wasteful and makes life more complicated. I have researched and found that there are several things I could buy (when the time comes, of course) that are actually multi-taskers. For instance, why buy a separate lotion and sunscreen when I can buy a lotion with a decent SPF already in it? There are obviously times when a dedicated high SPF sunscreen is essential, but for most day to day outdoor activities, the body lotion would suffice. I have also found a couple of brands that sell a 3 in 1 combo product (shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath). This will significantly cut down on personal product clutter.

Progress

I have made quite a dent so far. I usually throw a couple of bottles in the recycle bin every week. The simplification has improved my life and the awareness of how much was hiding behind doors in the cabinet has made me take ownership of the impact of my consumption. It has also made me motivated to tackle other areas such as makeup, nail and hair stuff. Look for those topics in future posts!

Thoughts On Time and Money

I have spent a lot of time in the past few days performing maintenance on things I own: myself, my dog & my car.

My stress levels have been elevated lately and thus been making me sick to my stomach. That ended up with a trip to the school clinic and a couple of prescriptions. The visits are free and prescriptions are reduced since we pay medical fees in our tuition. I lost about 2 days of productivity, but suffered even more days since I felt bad. It is pretty terrible how stress can wreak so much havoc on the body, especially when things happen that we have no control over. Money spent on Rx: $31.

The dog was WAY overdue for her vaccines and what not. I found a low-cost clinic that seemed like a good deal. My vet wanted $130 for an exam & shots plus the cost of heart worm preventative. The clinic charged about $40 for the shots and another $40 for the heart worm pills. That seems like a really good deal until you are standing in a line of people 20 deep and contending with a pit bull mix that has clearly not been socialized! It took the same amount of time for the low-cost vs. the regular vet, however, it was not even a remotely calm event. I don't think it would be worth the extra $100 for less chaos, but it is too bad that more realistic pricing usually equals craziness. Hopefully there is a happy medium to be found the next time around (like a vet with a real office that charges less than my regular one, but maybe more than the clinic). Money spent on dog: $84

I got my oil changed a few weeks ago and they informed me that my tires, alignment and brakes were bad! Well the tires were definitely ready to be replaced and I got that done last week. I was ready to tackle the alignment today. I have family that works in the automotive industry and they recommended a place that was pretty far away. I trust them though, so I drove the 20 minutes to get there, yet still worried about what the damage was (to the car AND my wallet). It turned out to be a pleasant experience with the tech telling me that nothing was wrong. Apparently the model of car I have ALL have slight camber (tilting) of the wheels. He informed me that if I ever changed the struts, that I could then have some work done to correct the manufacturers design flaw. Thank goodness for people with expertise! He totally had an opportunity to upsell me and hit my wallet hard, but he didn't. There wasn't even a charge for the inspection. And for the record, he didn't know about my family recommending them until after he gave me the good news. I wish there were more businesses like that in the world!

Money spent on car: $0 (not including gas to get there)

Conclusion:

The money spent was $115, but the time cost was huge. I think we pay an enormous premium for convenience in our society. I could have easily tripled my costs if I wasn't trying to be conscious of my spending. I feel fortunate that I have more free time than I did with my 9-hour a day job since I can better research and compare things. That is one of the best perks about living more simply and mindfully.

Is Minimalism Elitist?

I read a lot of blogs on "minimalism". Quite frankly, I am getting real tired of some of these blogs on minimalism! Suggestions on ditching your car to move to a car free city such as San Francisco or New York seem so utterly ridiculous. "Cars are antisocial"??? Seems to me that moving to a city where you don't know anyone and walking away from an existing social network for the sake of not having a car would be the epitome of anti-social behavior.

Let us now move to cost of living. I don't pay state income tax where I live. If I did pay state income tax, it may not be equal to what I spend owning a car every year, but it isn't nothing either. Is minimalism about the feeling you get when paying higher taxes which makes up the difference for all the non-consuming of tangible goods?

What exactly is a "minimalist" then? I don't feel that it is someone who needs to move to a particular locale or adhere to precepts such as being carless. To me, minimalism shouldn't have overbearing rules and shame on those who are trying to give it such.

Questioning Transportation

I was reading the blog Far Beyond the Stars this morning when I read something that struck a chord: Get Rid of Your Car.

Really?

I live in one of the biggest, if not THE biggest city in America without mass transit. I also happen to do travelling massage therapy. Can you imagine what it would be like to pedal around on a bike with a massage table strapped to your back? Even if there were buses, I am sure the riders wouldn't appreciate me lugging a massage chair on and off the bus, potentially hitting kneecaps with it.

Now what? Change professions, right? I should find a job I can do out of my home so I don't need a car! The problem with that idea is that I travel to people's home (75+ in age) when it is sometimes difficult for them to even walk! I go to places of business so that people can experience some tension relief at the place that is probably causing much of it: work! If I drive to an office and 10 people get a massage from me, that could potentially mean that 10 people aren't driving around town to go to someone else for a massage, thus saving resources.

It feels as if the blog is asserting that in order to be a "minimalist", you need to live in a high-density urban city. New York City, NO THANKS! I am not the type who thrives off of noise, lots of people and a concrete jungle.

I have been to some very beautiful and remote places that could only happen by driving there. I am not willing to forgo exploring for the sake of saving some money by getting rid of my car since it is an expense. The statement that the world will be car-free someday is incredibly unrealistic. I would definitely like to read about what kind of a world the author is envisioning. In my world, people aren't going to walk themselves to the hospital when they have had a heart attack. Essential items like toothbrushes, cups and clothing all need to be transported somehow.

One theme I keep coming across in this new "minimalism" is that it doesn't celebrate the many differences of people who can live minimally, just in different ways. I feel incredibly fortunate to be debt-free, however, I would rather have debt from owning a car since debts would be far greater without a car! Cars aren't inherently bad either, as a society though, we haven't pushed enough for better and cleaner technology which seems to me to be the bigger problem.

Getting Back On the Horse

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I last blogged! I am not happy with myself about that. I am still continuing down a path that I am satisfied with. There is one more class I need to finish my BA degree this summer. I make a little bit of money doing a very part-time job and have continued to uncover possessions that I no longer need.

I have been searching the web for as much I as can read about minimalism and how people work towards making it happen. I am digging deeper than ever before to shed anything that doesn't make me feel joy and happiness when I look at it, touch it, feel it, eat it, etc. My goal is not to ultimately become a minimalist (and definitions vary widely about what one is). The goals I have in mind are to become immensely aware of EVERYTHING I own and to break out of old thinking and habits I had that didn't bring me joy and happiness.

Shedding The Excess... and Now What?

This weekend was wildly successful in getting rid of "stuff". I started with a truck bed chock full of things to sell and came back with roughly 1/3 of it. The rest of it is going to be pared down by donation and there will be a few things that I will try once again to put on Craigslist or put on eBay.

I did a lot of people watching and saw a lot of consumer behavior at work during our rummage sale. It was so fascinating! There were a few people that literally could not walk away without buying something! They even expressed that sentiment out loud. Clearly there was nothing that they really wanted during the first go around, but they walked down the sidewalk again to check the tables in order to find something that they just "needed". One lady was so bothered by having fifty cents in leftover change that she stood at the table for a good five minutes to ponder what the best purchase at that table was for money.

On some level, watching people with this behavior was quite the painful reflection. I used to be like that. I never had that behavior at garage sales, but I would if there were loads of clearance racks at the department store. I would talk myself into buying stuff that I definitely didn't need but just wanted because "it was such a good deal". How many of us fell into that trap?

Over on the Get Rich Slowly blog, JD posted a blog today about impulse spending. I could really relate. The old me used to spend most of my paycheck at the retail establishment I worked at. Their clothes weren't of good quality and it was very seasonal trendy, not classic. I shudder to think how much money I spent durning my days of working retail. Those experiences did however make me who I am today. My only debt is a student loan. I shop with much restraint and don't buy anything that isn't on sale or a reduced price 95% of the time. This isn't a fad lifestyle for me because of the "bad economy". This is my life... for good and I love it.

Shedding The Excess

I have gotten to the point where my extra stuff just has to go. I am tired of looking at it even if it is in a separate room to itself! I have been shedding and purging to the point where I am looking in places high and low to find more stuff let go of. This time is more of a cathartic ritual for some reason. Maybe it was because of all the deaths in my family last year. Possibly the downturn in the economy and the subsequent shift of collective culture in living more simply spurned this. Who knows.

I'm always inspired by David Bruno's 100-Thing Challenge but wonder if I could ever truly get there myself. There is more than likely at least 100 things going out for sale tomorrow alone! These were things that I was never in love with. That is probably a good thing since I have been pondering the notion of attachment since I took an interest in learning about Buddhism.

I look forward to shedding this excess and in turn, slowing down. I know I will still keep sorting and processing, as I am a creature of ever evolving nature. I will keep growing and learning. The tools and possessions of the past will be let go of as needed.

Change is all around and I am glad to be caught up in it for once.