Watch out: Minimalist about. Oh yes. I'm fired up again. Today I made another visit to the charity shop (Life, a charity I really believe in) and it felt so GOOD. Josh Becker ('becoming Minimalist.com) recommends finding a cause you really believe in and taking your things there, rather than selling them, if they're under a certain amount. So I did. Three more bags. And this time I involved Gracie - I told her what we were doing, and how the things would benefit other people, and even asked if she were happy to relinquish her green plastic garden chair. She said yes - a relief. In return, she picked a small Disney Frozen book from the shop where we dropped them off. A bit of a disappointing choice, but at least it was diminutive.
Anyway, what I tackled today and yesterday was clothes. Clothes, clothes, clothes. They seem to be everywhere. It's depressingly easy to get overwhelmed by them and I had thought we were doing fairly well, compared to how many we used to have. But I got a great tip from The Minimal Mom and and that was to simply pick out 5 tops and 5 bottoms (I think I may have mentioned this in my last blog), one nice outfit for church and a couple of cardigans. The rest can go in storage and you can review everything once 4-6 weeks has elapsed and there have been no tears shed over them (though I did try this with one of Gracie's Barbie dolls and she came to me the very next morning asking where it was).
I've now pared down both Gracie and Isaac's clothes and can't believe how much better the drawers look. I can basically see everything in there in about a millisecond and there are hardly any choices. Move over Marie Kondo.
I feel so free. The psychological impact is interesting. Previously, I thought that if I had the storage for stuff then there was really no problem keeping it, even if we didn't quite need it. But Minimal Mom recommends giving yourself a taste of minimalism and seeing how it feels. Don't think I'm turning back now. In fact, I've been watching even more Youtube videos and gaining yet more frightening, countercultural ideas.
I mean, it's ridiculous, really, that our appropriately-sized house was starting to feel small and cramped with four of us in it, when I thought that surely this shouldn't be the case. Back in the day, families were larger and I don't think houses were. I'm going to keep going, so - pardon the pun - watch this space.
Grace's phrase for the day:
'I'm not going to eat lunch. I'm not going to eat lunch ever again.'(in response to something she hadn't got her way over!)