The minimalist quiche

[educatingarti]

This is a new thread to replace the minimalist journey one which is nearly full!

[bluecarrot]

I love having matching glasses all lined up! (Would also happily have a cupboard of all mismatched where every piece was picked because it is beautiful and different from all others on the shelf. Alas, I have the first option.)

Today is dump and charity shop. I'm feeling so under the weather today but maybe keeping busy will help :)

ive started a list of deadlines for things ive been meaning to get around to. End of Feb (3 weeks really as im away a while) includes the 10 frames I own that have sat for 2 years, some 6 months and one an Xmas gift I couldn't wait to get. Ill have to pick the photos for them today and get then ordered (today is now my last spend day of month). They then have to be in the frames and on the wall by Feb 28th.

End feb - photo frames filled and hung, playmats made or fabric recycled, mirror frame repainted or charity shop, 8 items clothing repaired or dumped.

[harrietspy]

Last night I spent an hour going through the vat of diaries, papers and notebooks that came from the Garage of Letting Go. I went through about a dozen books and threw away:

half-finished stories that I will never complete
anything relating to misery, depression or unfulfilled aspiration
endless lists of how to get organised or be different
diaries (although I tore out anything relating to ds1)
early drafts of my novel. I have my actual published novel on my shelf so I don't need to keep the early versions.

Still heaps to go but that all felt good!

[educatingarti]

Hi everyone!

You all seem to be doing well. Mammoth - well done on just getting rid!
Bluecarrot and Notquiteperfect - I still have wine glasses that were given away free with petrol in 1980's! I don't drink wine very often so they don't get used much. Maybe they need to be charity shopped and at some point I get a few really nice ones?

I didn't manage any de-cluttering yesterday - apart from taking out the rubbish but I've hopefully got a charity coming to pick up my chair this morning. I hope so as I've moved it into the hall in readiness and it is now officially "in the way"!

I do have another bag for the charity shop on the go though. Currently containing a few pieces of random bric-a-brac (or as one teenager referred to the church fair stall - "bric-a-crap"!)

I've just listed my phonics leaflet again on ebay. Not exactly getting rid of clutter though as it is an e-leaflet (and as I wrote it myself, it is obviously not rubbish!) I do have a box of stuff I want to ebay - so far this year I've listed one book! It did sell though.

[educatingarti]

Yay! Chair removed from premises. One more for my "out" list.

[wendybird77]

Things are still ticking over here. Mostly finished decorating the lounge and dining room - just need to touch up a bit. Got my taxes done (hurrah) and have been working though some paperwork today which I have been putting off for months. I need to clear out an upstairs closet this week which is being knocked through to make a bigger bathroom. It isn't overly full, but a dumping ground from when we moved in. Sadly our bookshelves aren't up in the study yet, so the stuff is just going to get moved around for a while until we can actually unpack. I'm also aiming to have the playroom decorated by the end of next week as my parents will arrive for a month - so trying to get as much done as possible before then!

[notcitrus]

Phew - entire car load of clothes and few other things is now at the charity shop rather than in our house - turned out we were the only car owners at the declutter party so we got all the leftovers. Which are now out of the house. Should be a few hundred quid for Cancer Research.

Some hideous toys went, too. Sadly house not looking more spacious as have emptied a whole room for doing up, but dd should get her own room soon. Now need to sort out yet more outgrown baby clothes - a never-ending job!

[BabCNesbitt]

harriet, that sounds very cathartic! How does it feel having got rid of those papers? And how far back did your diaries go? I shipped to NYC a (bloody heavy!) box of journals dating back to when I was 11, but just as it has everywhere I've lived, it's been sitting in the same box at the top of the bedroom closet, unread. The only time I ever look at them is when I'm about to move! Think I might be ready to get rid of them, finally - not sure that I'd want DD to know how much time I spent writing about my crushes in high school!

educatingarti, my parents still have loads of those petrol station wine glasses, all mismatched, even though they never drink wine and even though they're hideous! What was the mindset of petrol companies in the 80s - 'oh well, people are learning not to drink and drive, so we'll give them some glassware so that they'll think of us when they're having their Liebfraumilch at home'?

Going through books on the shelf at the moment and trying to be honest with myself as to whether I'll ever read them. (There's a lot of unread ones!) The books are another example of things I've bought either to show off to others how literate I am (though I wouldn't have admitted that at the time, of course) or to try and make myself into that smarter, more literate person. So much of minimalism, I think, involves finally being honest with myself as to who I really am and what my life is really like, and just having what I need for that.

[mazzi2fly]

I also loaded up the car for the charity shop yesterday. I got rid of
2 bags of maternity clothes (last pregnant in 2008),
1 bag of clothes
2 baskets
1 magazine holder
1 brick trolley
1 pair of boots
so I feel a lot lighter! It was all from the loft, so no noticable difference round the house.
sommewhereelse your getting rid of your spirits, has spurred me on to do the same. I've got a litre bottle of Vodka that has been in the cupboard for YEARS. I can't think of anyone that would want it, so I'm going to pour it away. There's also some other bottles -gin, bacardi, amaretto, that have just a little bit left. Then I could have some nice bottles of white wine there instead! Oops thats not the idea is it?

[QueenofWhatever]

mazzi2fly leave the vodka outside the house and cheer up some local teenagers!

bab your comment about minimalism is spot on. It's a way for us to live the lives we want not what others expect or we're told to need/want. I identified with somme I think it was about hearing her mother every time she put unironed sheets away. My upbringing wasn't like that but I'm aware I do certain things because I 'should'.

I got over the guilt of giving away unread books a couple of years ago. I'm very much a reader so it was a real struggle for me and it felt quite sneaky. Now I like having no fiction books around. I buy everything on my kindle and much prefer that.

Whoever started talking about glasses has given me some inspiration. I have a wooden shelf above the sink where all my cook books live and I have given three to the charity shop so far. I realised I've been holding on to the others because I don't know what else to put on the shelf - completely back to front of course! But beautiful glassware and bowls are what I really want to be looking at so that's what I'm going to do.

[QueenofWhatever]

I also went through a carrier bag full of photos today (such a glamorous storage solution!). Now that I have a plan to scan and make photo books, it felt much easier. I have far too many pictures of people I knew but didn't really like 25 years ago and out of focus sunsets.

[educatingarti]

oooh - before you pour vodka away - it can be used for cleaning!

eg - mix a little (couple of tablespoons) with some essential oil and put in about 500ml of water. This can be used for ironing spray (the vodka enables the oil and water to mix).

I'd guess it would also work as a solvent to remove things like biro and felt pen marks!

[harrietspy]

bab the papers go back 20 years, more or less, to when I was 20... I think there must be a stash of diaries at my mum's too... It's really, really great to be getting rid of sad stuff although today has been all about the tax return...

[SilentMammoth]

Wow, you are all being incredibly virtuous today!

Mon and tue are my work days but did manage to get charity shop bags in car so might manage to drop them off tomorrow with luck and a fair wind.

Dh away this week. The house is tidy and theres not boy clobber everywhere. Have de cluttered bathroom hugely and it's just so peaceful on there now, I get a little lift when I walk in!

[hobnob57]

What do you all do with unwanted toiletries? I have been trying to use mine all up over the past year but I've been stymied by a) being sensitive to a bunch of stuff and b) being given much nicer stuff in quite large quantity. Our en suite is a cluttered mess with no storage. Happy about the no storage, not about the mess.
The thought of spending hours emptying stuff down the sink and endless bubbles to recycle the bottles has prevented me dong anything about it. Anyone had a declutter toiletries party?

[SilentMammoth]

Hob nob, my local hospital used to accept donations of new stuff for emergency admissions. Maybe yours does similar?

[hobnob57]

Good idea, thanks. Any ideas for half used stuff?

[SilentMammoth]

If it's "safe" stuff id give it to the dc to make potions out of.

Probably doesn't work with teenagers though.

[sommewhereelse]

I love white wine and don't see a problem with replacing an unused bottle of spirits with wine you will enjoy.
White wine and good quality chocolate does not cause clutter in my house.

I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge because I am only on the very beginning of my journey to minimalism and suspect that I may stop my journey when I am decluttered rather than minimalist, however I haven't read anything which equates minimalism with going without the things you enjoy.

[SilentMammoth]

Nor have I. Quite the opposite, imho it's about focusing on what you enjoy, and reducing what you dont.

[educatingarti]

Unopened toiletries can also be donated to charity shops and school fairs.

[spongebobmum]

I had posted this on the other thread, then saw we had moved lol!!

Hi everyone, Id love to join, been reading through all the messages but I thought Id introduce myself, then go back to reading lol!!

So far, Ive got rid of about 18 black bags of stuff... a combination of rubbish, recycling and the charity shop.
Ive cleared out all my kitchen cupboards and thrown out everything I dont use or was keeping "in case"
Cleared out my sitting room, but ds toys and books are still taking up way too much space there, I have storage boxes but need to get more, then to find somewhere inconspicuous to put them as he plays with most of the toys!
Cleared out our room and ds room and the wardrobes in both, lockers, and got rid of anything I can
Ive done all the bathrooms, though there was really only essentials in them anyway.
Cleared out and tidied the hot press, got rid of old sheets and towels etc, and got rid of all the gift sets I "might use someday" (but really never ever will) and all the crap I know in my heart Ill never ever use but was keeping "in case"
Cleared out one spare room completely.
Ive got rid of every ornament and item I dont use/love, all the crap I collected as gifts and never liked, clothes I "might wear again someday" but never will, pots and pans etc that I never use.

Im feeling so much better with every step, I have loads more to get rid of and Im loving doing it!! One room Im dreading as its FULL of crap, but once I start Ill have it done in no time, its mostly just rubbish taking up space in there and when its done Ill have a lovely spare room with no clutter whatsoever smile
I cannot wait to get rid of all the stuff I dont want or need, the more I get rid of the more I want to get rid of too lol, its addictive!
Its also helping me de-stress which I find really hard to do... so heres to decluttering and minimalist heaven :D

[BoffinMum]

Spongebob, you are some sort of decluttering heroine!!!!

[educatingarti]

Spongebob - amazing! How long has it taken yo uto do this? I agree it can be a bit addictive!

[CremeEggThief]

Wow, Spongebob. I'm in awe!