Excess Begets Excess

My house has been taken over by the clutter monster. But worse than that, my mind is full of clutter too. At least I recognize it, and I am working actively to combat the clutter.

Part of the problem is the LEGOs. As we work to rehome them, they have taken over the house. There are boxes of LEGOs we want to keep. Boxes that need to be completed before we sell them. Boxes of loose bricks that need to be sorted so we can use them to complete the kits we're getting rid of. Bins of sorted pieces. (I could just chuck them all in a box and donate them to Goodwill, but I'm not certain toys are resold, and I don't want all these LEGOs to just be thrown away. After all, they're still good.)

At the same time, things are not getting done. I have clutter on the bar, waiting for me to do something with it. I know, I need to make a decision about some of it, and some I know what I need to do, I just haven't done it.

What really surprised me was my desire to buy more. I haven't been interested in buying anything for a while now. But yesterday I had a few minutes after I finished grocery shopping, before my daughter's class was over. I had time to stop by the thrift shop. I didn't need anything. Then I thought I really could use a new dress for church. It's been a long time, and some of my dresses are pretty old. They're probably showing wear, and should be replaced. I'm not even sure they are showing wear -- I just thought they might be! I really wanted to stop by and just see what the shop had.

I held firm, and drove to the park. It was a beautiful day, and musician was playing Eastern European violin music. I enjoyed looking at the flowers, the water, feeling the sun, listening to the music. I know I made the right choice driving past the store and enjoying the peacefulness of the park. I had to make myself do what I knew was the correct choice. It was hard, though, for the first time since I'm started this blog and been focused on this project.

Does the household clutter make me want to buy more? I think so, but I don't have scientific proof. It would explain a lot about my history -- buying more when I want to improve my living situation. Making purchases in response to clutter -- which only makes the clutter situation worse.

I can't be sure of the causality of clutter and buying. I am glad I was aware enough yesterday to avoid adding to the clutter situation by "just stopping by" to do a little shopping.

I Need a Pep Talk

I have not brought anything into the house, except food, probably since Christmas. I keep getting rid of things. The house should be feeling less cluttered. But this week I feel a little overwhelmed.

I know part of it is food clutter (tangerines and the dehydrator sitting out), and part of it is being busy. I know it would be worse if I weren't actively trying to get rid of the excess around here. But it seems to add up.

I'm not certain how to deal with the daily clutter. The paper napkins that came with the burritos, which need to go out to the car (but couldn't go out at the time because that car wasn't home). The food donations that need to be dropped off at the church...Sunday. How do I keep them in the meantime, and not forget them Sunday morning? Band-aids that need to go to school with my husband -- I bought them Friday, and they have to sit out until he goes back to school Monday.

Lots of little things. I need to accept that things will get cluttered from time to time. This is the second time in a week, and it doesn't seem like that busy a week.

Hang in there. It will improve. Deal with what's in from of you, decide what's important, get rid of the excess, and recognize that it's a long road. Don't regret being where you are on the road.

(I needed a pep talk.)

Daily Declutter

I've been pretty all over the place lately. I do notice, however, that I get more done when I'm planning to tell all of Internetland what I've been up to. So today I will post my list, and hope to live up to it, or even exceed it. It's not a lot of decluttering, but the LEGO thing is kind of taking over the world.

Today I will:

• Grocery shop
• Put away Christmas decorations I found under my son's LEGO table
• Finish the LEGO sets we started and photograph them for ebay
• Make manicotti for dinner, and use up the two gigantic boxes of manicotti shells that are in the cupboard (yeah, space!)
• Pick the tangerines off the tree and put them away in the refrigerator.
• Play board games with my family while dinner cooks without needing my attention.
• Put away dried oranges, wash dehydrator and put it away.

I'll update this later with actual accomplishments.

Later:
I actually managed to:

• Do half my grocery shop and put the groceries away. I need to pick up dog food and a couple cans of spaghetti sauce, but that's it.
• Take my son for a haircut after school.
• Put away the Christmas decorations that were hiding.
• Made manicotti. Made enough for dinner, plus enough to put two additional dinners in the freezer. We'll be set for east dinners for three weeks.
• Picked tangerines, and put in the refrigerator all that will fit. The remainder are sitting on the bar, waiting for someone to get hungry.
• Played games with the family.

I did not:

• Finish making the LEGO sets. I can't find two pieces I need, and this has suddenly become a huge project that is taking over the house.
• Wash and put away the dehydrator. The oranges did not get done until late. It will be done today.

Daily Delutter

I got the house whipped back into shape after clutter happened. Sheets got washed. Normal things happened.

I also moved forward, even if just a little bit. I cut up all the dried mango slices, so they can fit on a spoon. Now they can be added to oatmeal or cereal even if I'm not around to cut them up. I'm hoping they'll move out faster now. Because who doesn't like dried, sweetened mango?

Sold a couple more things on ebay! I'm glad they're finding new homes. I need to photograph more clutter to post on ebay. I'm planning to put together an unloved LEGO set, make sure the pieces are all there, and post that next. (Yes, my decluttering plans include playing with LEGOs. But it will free up a shelf and a couple of plastic totes when I'm done!)

However, putting LEGOs together, so I can sell a complete set, takes approximately the rest of my life. I will be grateful to rehome these things. I did discover, in among my son's LEGO boxes, a box of Christmas decorations that need to go up to the attic outside. As it is dark now, they will go up in the morning. That way I will have room for the totes I'm using to sort LEGOs.

Tomorrow will be grocery shopping. I have my list, and my family lived through the week again without emergency grocery runs. So despite the LEGO explosion that is taking over my dining table, I have at least one aspect of my life that is minimalist-ing.

It May Not Be Easy

I spent more time processing oranges for the dehydrator today. It gave me a lot of time to think (my daughter was using the computer and I didn't have the escape of TED Talks today). Drying oranges myself is not as easy as just buying whatever dry fruit the grocery has to offer. So why do I do it?

Partially, I dry the wealth of oranges that grow in my yard to prevent waste. I hate seeing food lay on the ground and rot when I know there are people somewhere who would appreciate having food. I donate what I can, but I also put up some myself for future use. After all, avoiding transportation and packaging is less wasteful, and I'm interested in reducing my waste along with the stuff around me.

But I think I do it for other reasons as well. I like being intentional about what my family consumes, in both senses of the word. People consume food, and people consume "goods." I've been working to reduce the consumption of goods, but we really can't reduce the consumption of food around here.

Being aware and reducing consumption of goods isn't always easy. People might look at you as being strange, different. It's hard for people to stop swimming with the current and find their own way. My way probably doesn't look like your way, especially if you live outside the citrus belt. My way is right for me (and getting better) but it's not going to be right for you.

Twenty years ago I became vegetarian. This didn't make sense to my meat-and-potatoes dad, but he's come to accept it. It's gotten easier over the years. My brother-in-law doesn't understand why we don't watch TV at our house (we've even given up cable). But it works for us, and he doesn't live here. Many people don't understand why I don't buy clothes new, or shop recreationally. But they don't have to understand for me to feel more comfortable this way.

Becoming minimalist is different. It goes against the advertisers, against the marketers, against the social construct that says you are what you buy, what you own. You are the person your experience makes you. You might be the traveler, or the reader, or the volunteer. Starting the change might be difficult, but you're the person who has to live in your own skin. Don't try to live up to the expectations of people on the outside.

It might not be easy in the beginning, but it gets easier the longer you do it.

Choices

I've been listening to TED Talks today while I processed oranges. I can enjoy being mindful of the process of cutting, peeling and separating oranges for the first orange. After that, I need distraction.

The talks I listened to were all about choice, our belief that many choices are good for us, and the evidence that many choices may actually be bad for us.

Sheena Iyengar spoke about cultural perceptions of choice. In some Eastern Europe, after the fall of the communist block, were overwhelmed by too much choice. They saw seven flavors of soda as one choice, soda, not seven choices. She mentions that Americans train their entire lives to identify choices, to such a degree that we believe the distinctions are innate, not constructed.

Psychologist Barry Schwartz teaches that many choices make us paralyzed and unhappy. If we choose the wrong choice we have no one but ourselves to blame for choosing poorly. If we make the correct choice (for us) we still might have chosen something even better, and we are unhappy. Assuming we have enough choices to meet our minimum requirements, we are better off with fewer choices rather than more choices.

Minimalism is self-imposed limitation of choice. In many religions, people limit themselves in order to improve their spiritual condition. Consider the Buddhist monk who lives with very little, or the Christian who celebrates Lent by giving up something. Limiting choices limits the amount of distraction, and it allows people to focus on spiritual improvement. 

I have found that my life generally has been running more smoothly, more easily, as I simplify my choices. I have limited myself to one shopping trip a week, and this reduces my stress and busy-ness. I've taken away the choice from myself to run out whenever I want something. I have to plan better, but I have more peace overall. I feel like I have made a case study of myself. By limiting my choice to do certain things I am happier.

Perhaps I listened to these particular talks because I have been limiting myself and that is the reason they appealed to me. But I have always found it interesting that I find reinforcing information about an action once I am on the right path. Minimalist-ing my life is the right choice for me.

In Which Clutter Happened...

Yesterday was going well. I washed and hung out laundry. I processed a bunch of oranges for drying. (I dried some peels for Christmas potpourri presents, and the flesh as alternatives for raisins.) I was feeling efficient, and proud of myself. I even made it to a meeting on time.

Then something happened. I'm not sure what happened, but I know it made clutter. All. Over. My. House.

I have a laundry basket sitting in the living room. It should have been put away last night -- why wasn't it? Dinner dishes weren't washed. I know what happened there. My daughter had a huge homework assignment ,and she and I worked on it past her bedtime. Just before her final print she read that the text had to be 12 point font, double spaced. So I spent over an hour helping her to reformat the assignment, making the text fit and resizing pictures to fit in the pamphlet design. Neither she not I was inclined to wash dishes when we were done (it was her turn).

My wonderful, amazing husband made dinner, because I was late coming home from picking my son up at school. It took him an hour to work on his science project, longer than I expected to have to wait. My wonderful husband even used up leftovers to make dinner. Prevented food waste, I didn't have to cook (I'd forgotten to soak the chickpeas for the plan, so it would have been flying by the seat of my pants anyway). But the dishes are still sitting there, waiting for their turn, and looking ugly.

I could go on, but no one needs to hear the depravity to which my house can sink in a day, and I need to clean up, so I can't sit here typing all day.

But here's the point: I know I can get back out of this in one day, and I know that underneath the house is clutter-less. Not clutter-free, but less than there was. So there is less to deal with than there was in the past.

Once I get this layer of clutter cleaned up, we can go back to our routines, and we can go back to the level of tidiness we have been enjoying lately. Late night homework assignments will happen regardless of my schedule. But having minimalism as a goal helps these nights to be the exception, rather than the rule. And minimalism helps me bounce back faster.