I have a desk!

I first started this simplifying journey about two months ago, listening to my husband say "how long will this phase last".  I finally quit saying it wasn't a phase (we have been through many) and have just been quietly continuing on.  The areas I have already decluttered remain neat and tidy.  I think my favorite so far has been my desk.  You see, I work from home.  I have a very messy nest around my chair in the living room, my books are stacked beside me, my electronics are all around and my knitting is also within arms reach.  I do have a desk, but I rarely sit there.

My husband made me this desk a few years ago from an old Singer treadle sewing machine base and a large slab of wood.  It has no drawers.  I do keep a small filing cabinet next to it. Over the last few months it had become piled, (and I mean PILED) with papers, books and magazines.  I knew exactly what was there, but it took larger and longer amounts of time to find things because the pile had grown so much.  I finally tackled that space last weekend. Now it is neat, clean and orderly - I love this space.  I can sit at this desk and look out at our property.We have a family of deer, a mama and twin fawns, that I love to watch and the view from my desk is perfect.  Since cleaning that space I have found that I actually will go sit and work at my desk rather than in my messy nest.  I first started working in my 'nest' in the winter because I loved sitting by the fireplace.  My next area to tackle is that nest, to make it a place of comfort for relaxation instead of my all purpose place.  Work will now be done at my desk!

The journey to simplicity is getting more interesting each day.  We also spent two full days in our hot attic removing things that had been there for the full 9 years we have lived in this house.  Things we had forgotten about, items that we wondered why we ever kept them. The hardest boxes are the pictures and mementos, I will tackle those later.  But this weekend is a huge garage sale and many things are going away!  The attic is now clean and neat.  To the casual observer you would never know the amount of hot sweaty hours we spent cleaning that area, but WE know!  I know that I will never have a stark, minimalist home that is sterile looking and bare, but I also know that keeping things 'just because' is a habit that is becoming easier to break.  

One of my new favorite bloggers is Courtney Carver and her BeMoreWithLess.com website and blog.  I watched a video of hers yesterday and she had this list.  I wrote it out and I am working through it. 7 easy (?) steps to simplifying MY life:

1.  Write it down - what is your "why" for decluttering or simplifying?

2.  Discard duplicates  (clothes, kitchen etc)  I didn't need 4 sets of measuring cups!

3.  Declare a clutter free zone (if your family isn't on board with the simplification, start with your own area, declare it and ask them to respect it)  I have 2 so far: our tiny master closet that I have hated since we moved in, and now my desk!

4.  Travel lightly!  I will get to put this one into practice next month.  I will be attending 2 very different events back to back.  First a convention for Jamberry Nails (my paying job) - it will be in hot, summer Dallas - with events where I need to wear specific things.  Then I will fly on to California for my 40th high school reunion to the Sierra foothills. On to a couple of days at Lake Tahoe. Very relaxed and much different climate but all in one trip.  So I am planning this travel light concept.  It's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it!

5.  Dress with less.  Courtney has a plan called Project 333 - where for a season (3 months) you pare your wardrobe down to 33 items.  I'm not quite there yet, but with a tiny closet and this desire to not be a slave to 'things' I am slowly working toward this as well.  I have 5 or 6 pair of jeans, yet I find I always wear the same pair.  Do you think people really notice when they see you if you are wearing the same top that you wore 2 weeks ago?  Change it up with jewelry or other accessories.  Since I am a knitter and crocheter I'm now building a much smaller wardrobe and expressing my style in the small items that I wear with my basic pieces of clothing.  I'm more about enjoying the people I'm with, not what they have or what we are wearing.

6.  Eat similar meals.  This one has been easy for us, and we really have done this for a long time.  Finances dictate my shopping a lot, but I find I can be very creative with spices and nice vegetables - it is more about the flavor of a simple meal and since I also lost a large amount of weight 6 years ago it is also about being healthier and my focus is not so much on food.  And I LOVE to eat!  The other thing that is a benefit to us, since I am very frugal with our food budget  our meals are not on the 'giant oversize' portions that have become the norm. Last night I made a wonderful meal for two of us with one half chicken breast, a salad and a side dish.  We ate a small healthy meal, and because we weren't stuffed we each enjoyed a small piece of pie.  That is better eating!

7.  Have an emergency fund.  This one is hard for us - as we help support our adult daughter through hard circumstances while maintaining our own home and expenses.  But even by putting a small amount aside it adds up quickly.  Courtney shared about keeping $1000 on hand for things that come up.  I had seen the saving plan where you designate a time period and set aside money.  For instance - choose a year.  Week 1 put in $1, week 2 - $2 etc.  by the end of the year, when you are up to putting $52 on that last week it is amazing how much you will have saved.  She did it in the opposite, start with the large amount - on week 1 put in $52, then go down.  It becomes easier to save as you are putting smaller amounts.  Another one that we have been using is saving $5 bills.  Any time we get change and there is a $5 we put it in an envelope.  Then tuck it away.  The other day we got that envelope out and it had over $100 in it!  We were able to buy something that we needed and we had the cash.  So there are easy ways to build your emergency or play fund.  

Two months in to simplifying and it is getting easier.  I know this isn't for everyone and each person's minimalism looks different.  I will never completely do away with some of the things I love - but the things I love are changing, the things I value I keep for different reasons.  I don't miss those 4 boxes of cookbooks at all!  The one shelf of cookbooks that I  do have holds books that I use  regularly and I don't have to search through mess to find them.  

I'm finding freedom in "less". And you know another benefit?  I'm spending (or charging) way less too!  THAT I love!!