Day 3 - Nail Supplies

Today's post goes back to my great bathroom purge. I had a medium sized train case that was entirely dedicated to nail supplies. Tweezers, files, brushes, nail polish... all the things to do a mani and pedi! That would seem like I actually did my own nails, right? WRONG!

My work consists of hands on activity and I also do stuff like rock climbing in my free time. Trying to keep with fingernails is futile and so I have never done it. I do LOVE a good pedicure though! I have all the supplies to do them, but I realized something about myself. Not only do I not like to do it myself, I am terrible at it! A professional can make their paint job last about two weeks while mine lasts about two days! The funny thing is that we use the same products too. Most of the items in that picture were, once again, gifts. I know some of the ladies out there can relate when we are given huge sets of makeup or nail stuff as gifts. I kept some files, a pair of scissors, nippers and only a couple of polishes to either take with me to a nail salon or so I can practice my pathetic technique. There is no more dedicated box of nail supplies! These implements were happily donated to the thrift store.

Day 2 - Flat Iron

I received this flat iron as a gift although I really have no need for a professional version. My hair is quite flat and straight already! The only times I really used was when I went on vacation or at home for a rare touchup. I bought a tiny Conair model that also curls ends which really fits my needs better. The new one will pack smaller in my suitcase and take up less space in the drawer at home.

My sister, on the other hand, has hair that does get straightened on a regular basis and so I am sending it to her. She will get much better use out of it!

Day 1 - Watch

I sold this watch on eBay and today it starts the journey to the post office! I like this watch and to some degree, it is hard to part with. It is so pretty! I find that I haven't worn a watch in years though. My cell phone is always in my pocket or purse and that is how I find out the time. When I first started analyzing all my watches, I had least six and sadly found that none of them had a battery that even worked! There is maintenance in owning the watches I have and it is not something I am willing to keep up. In my mind, that means they need a new home.

Thing-A-Day Challenge

I have been inspired for quite sometime by bloggers out there on the interwebs. Some have decided to limit only their personal belongings to a limited number like 50 or 100. Others have decided to find one item every day to get rid of. I like that idea, but after a couple of big clean outs, I am not sure how many days I will last. I guess the challenge will be to see how many days it will last. Note: I already have an entire laundry basket full of stuff, so I have a bit of a head start!

I might even post some pictures of my space since I have read that people like that sort of thing (admit folks, we are all a little nosy about how other people live). Hopefully I will keep this project up although I am taking my final class this summer so I need to be most preoccupied with it.

If you are doing the same sort of challenge, post a link to your blog!

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.