I was at my partner’s house recently, and, while I’ve always noticed that she tends to be fairly minimal — buying smaller amounts of items that generally buy in bulk, and only owning two forks, for example — on this occasion we needed an AA battery for a new computer mouse. She did not have one.
Now, I cannot imagine not having an AA battery on hand. Or an AAA battery, for that matter.
But she didn’t have one. And we didn’t go out and get one, either. We did something else that did not involve using that mouse.
I want to be more like that.
I tend to have a lot of things on hand. Things I don’t need.
I have a full service of silverware that, as a single-person household that does not entertain, I just don’t need. I have so many CDs and DVDs that I don’t ever use. I have two colanders!
Oh, sure, all those things may come in handy on occasion, but for the vast majority of the time, they are simply things that clutter my life.
I want less clutter. I need less clutter.
As I look around my new apartment right now, I wonder how much of the stuff still in boxes and bags are just more clutter that I should remove from my life.
Part of my problem is that I’ve built my life around convenience. I like being prepared for any situation, because I like to avoid deviations from my intended goal, whatever it may be. I have so many audio and video and other miscellaneous cords on hand that it’s ridiculous. And I pride myself in that. What a bunch of crap! If I need a cord, I can easily buy it and have it in a day or two! Those cords gotta go!
And my stockpiles of batteries.? What a waste of space!
I have cupboards full of food. Way too much food for one person to have on hand. Off to a food bank!
I have clothes that I have not worn in years. OUT!
Maybe once I clear out the physical clutter, I can move on to other areas of my life. Like, what things am I doing right now that I don’t need to be doing? Ooh, what services am I paying for that I don’t really need?
This could be the start of something big.