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| People were actually living in this bus, y'all! |
After spending most of Sunday at 30,000 feet, I decided to allow myself some time to recover before tackling these new daily tasks. It's Thursday now, so R&R time is over. Here's where I am:
1. Stop buying stuff. This one seems easy enough... While on vacation, I resisted the temptation to pick up any new things - Something for which I should get extra credit points, considering I was in freaking Portland. I failed to track the prices for these potential souvenirs, but that is mostly because I refused to physically walk in to the stores. Window shopping seemed to scratch the itch just enough, and I was afraid that the temptation to buy would be too strong to deny if I were physically inside of the shops. Instead of extra stuff, I have a ton of pictures of our adventures, and I treasure these so much more than I would a coffee mug or tea towel.
2. Start small. Monday night, I began the effort to consolidate my 6 drawer dresser, but I failed to follow step 3, so I was soon overwhelmed and allowed myself to be distracted. I'll give myself one star, for effort, here.
3. Set a timer. I decided to start fresh with this one - and with a bigger challenge: My closet. This week, I rotated between 12 minute de-clutter sessions and 15 minute rest periods. This worked surprisingly well! I was able to clear out three bins and fill two full-size garbage bags for Goodwill. This method inspires almost a competitive streak in me - I like the feeling of racing against the clock. Or maybe it's the knowledge that I can look at my phone and see that there is only 1 minute and 47 seconds left for the task at hand. Either way, I am well on my way, I think...
4. De-clutter every day. I win this one! As I was getting ready for work Tuesday morning, I started picking up things that I instantly knew I could live without. I had a feeling that I have a magic window of time in the early morning hours, during which my "throw away time" will be optimal... It seems that my feelings apparently take a little while longer to wake up than the rest of me, and this is something I will certainly leverage. Here are some of the items I no longer have in my life, as a result of this exercise:
All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well.
Of course, I very recently realized that I am inside of my 60 day window before my lease expires. I kind of need to step things up - I totally plan to leverage this as an opportunity to shed my life of unnecessary things and downsize into a unit roughly half the size of where I am now. It kind of feels like the stars are aligning - The universe is guiding me toward a much simpler life, and I need to harness these powers for the greater good.
In the meantime, since I now have an external timeline to meet if I want to avoid astronomical month-to-month rent fees, I am considering seeking out someone who has lived in an RV for assistance. I'm in need of someone to stand over my shoulder and shout at me, "YOU DO NOT NEED THIS. YOU HAVE NO ROOM FOR THIS IN YOUR FUTURE RV."
Perhaps I just identified a 5th approach.......
1. Stop buying stuff. This one seems easy enough... While on vacation, I resisted the temptation to pick up any new things - Something for which I should get extra credit points, considering I was in freaking Portland. I failed to track the prices for these potential souvenirs, but that is mostly because I refused to physically walk in to the stores. Window shopping seemed to scratch the itch just enough, and I was afraid that the temptation to buy would be too strong to deny if I were physically inside of the shops. Instead of extra stuff, I have a ton of pictures of our adventures, and I treasure these so much more than I would a coffee mug or tea towel.
2. Start small. Monday night, I began the effort to consolidate my 6 drawer dresser, but I failed to follow step 3, so I was soon overwhelmed and allowed myself to be distracted. I'll give myself one star, for effort, here.
3. Set a timer. I decided to start fresh with this one - and with a bigger challenge: My closet. This week, I rotated between 12 minute de-clutter sessions and 15 minute rest periods. This worked surprisingly well! I was able to clear out three bins and fill two full-size garbage bags for Goodwill. This method inspires almost a competitive streak in me - I like the feeling of racing against the clock. Or maybe it's the knowledge that I can look at my phone and see that there is only 1 minute and 47 seconds left for the task at hand. Either way, I am well on my way, I think...
4. De-clutter every day. I win this one! As I was getting ready for work Tuesday morning, I started picking up things that I instantly knew I could live without. I had a feeling that I have a magic window of time in the early morning hours, during which my "throw away time" will be optimal... It seems that my feelings apparently take a little while longer to wake up than the rest of me, and this is something I will certainly leverage. Here are some of the items I no longer have in my life, as a result of this exercise:
- Three hair dryer attachments with the plastic wrap still on them (for a hairdryer purchased 3+ years ago)
- Three pairs of shoes I haven't worn in years
- A couple of skirts and sweaters that I acquired through online shopping - Never worn, but kept "just in case."
- Several books I have literally no attachment to, whatsoever
- Instruction manuals for appliances I don't own anymore
- A collection of empty picture frames that have lived in a box for an embarrassingly long time
- All of the sweat socks. Seriously - Why do I always think I need 32 pairs of thick socks, when all I use them for is winter sleeping??
All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well.
Of course, I very recently realized that I am inside of my 60 day window before my lease expires. I kind of need to step things up - I totally plan to leverage this as an opportunity to shed my life of unnecessary things and downsize into a unit roughly half the size of where I am now. It kind of feels like the stars are aligning - The universe is guiding me toward a much simpler life, and I need to harness these powers for the greater good.
In the meantime, since I now have an external timeline to meet if I want to avoid astronomical month-to-month rent fees, I am considering seeking out someone who has lived in an RV for assistance. I'm in need of someone to stand over my shoulder and shout at me, "YOU DO NOT NEED THIS. YOU HAVE NO ROOM FOR THIS IN YOUR FUTURE RV."
Perhaps I just identified a 5th approach.......
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