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I took this photo in January 2003. I was staying in a hostel in Sydney, part of a round-the-world trip, and these were my room-mate’s toiletries. I never saw him/her (venus razor in blue, right guard deodorant: gender unidentifiable) in the two nights I stayed.
But this little collection of the bare essentials really impressed me.
I’ve been slowly decluttering for around 10 years. In fact, the photo above probably marks the point for me where I realised I wanted a much simpler life (it was such a major moment that I took a photo of someone’s toiletry bag so I wouldn’t forget it).
I come from a hoarding family, so keeping things “just in case” was second nature.
It’s taken 10 years, but now I live with a much reduced collection of items, instead of like this:
My problem is… I still think there’s too much of it.
I’ve been reading Tammy Strobel’s new book, You Can Buy Happiness, which talks about how she gave away everything to live in a tiny house.
I think I’m ready to take the next steps.
My possessions at the moment fall into the following categories:
- Clothing, shoes and bags
- Exercise gear and equipment
- Toiletries
- Jewellery
- Books
- More books
- Electronics and gadgets, including cameras, computers, mobile, ipod, etc.
- A large collection of sentimental things
- Some ornamental bits and bobs
- Joint household equipment (from hoover and ironing board to cutlery, DIY and gardening tools)
- A large, 4-drawer filling cabinet of household filing
- DVDs
- Computer games
- Everything children-related (this is actually a massive amount of stuff, as many mums will agree)
I don’t really own much in the way of obsolete-hobby equipment (I gave it all away after having kids and realising all hobbies would have to wait at least a decade). All my music is digital. I’m not a collector of “things” (like owls, or mini houses, or stamps).
But it’s still too much.
I crave simplicity.
So I think I’m going to pare down my things beyond what I have already done, to free up time and emotional energy.
