We had a friend come over yesterday who was last here a few months ago. She came in, looked around for a minute and then said, "Your place looks so clean! It looks great!" I was over the moon!
The fact is that our apartment DOES look cleaner and great. Since getting rid of clutter out front and minimizing the amount of things that "live" in the area, the front part of the house is a cinch to clean up. A piece of mail here, a coat into the closet there...viola! It's so nice!
Not to mention it makes vacuuming easier...even though neither of us fight over being able to vaccum.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Paring Down - The Monster Email Inbox
One of my greatest sources of stress recently was my HUGE inbox with overwhelming numbers of emails. I had over 15,000 saved emails in two main accounts!! 15,000!!!
It took a few days and a bit of stress to be clicking constantly on "Select All" and "Delete" but I finally got rid of almost ALL of those emails. BUH BYE!
Here are a few tips I discovered when paring down my own email inbox:
1. Don't become overwhelmed. If you're like me and had 8,000 emails in an inbox, chances are that you don't need most of them. Think about emails that you may want/need to keep before starting and then like other things, be ruthless!
2. Important things will come back to you. A friend gave me this tip. Ongoing conversations in Gmail will ALL come back to you when the other person replies. So, if you don't need those previous emails right now, delete it and the whole thread will show up again when they reply.
3. It's all about upkeep! To keep my inboxes clean after the big purge, I have to continually get rid of things each day so the inbox doesn't get cluttered again. It happens easily with email but if you try hard to maintain a clean inbox, it feels so nice to have less emails floating around.
4. It seems silly but you'll feel so much better when you're done. A clean inbox is a happy inbox? I don't know why, but once I got rid of all those unwanted emails, my brain felt less cluttered and I felt like I had accomplished a decluttering action. It felt great!
Anyone else done a big purge before!? Any tips I missed here?
It took a few days and a bit of stress to be clicking constantly on "Select All" and "Delete" but I finally got rid of almost ALL of those emails. BUH BYE!
Here are a few tips I discovered when paring down my own email inbox:
1. Don't become overwhelmed. If you're like me and had 8,000 emails in an inbox, chances are that you don't need most of them. Think about emails that you may want/need to keep before starting and then like other things, be ruthless!
2. Important things will come back to you. A friend gave me this tip. Ongoing conversations in Gmail will ALL come back to you when the other person replies. So, if you don't need those previous emails right now, delete it and the whole thread will show up again when they reply.
3. It's all about upkeep! To keep my inboxes clean after the big purge, I have to continually get rid of things each day so the inbox doesn't get cluttered again. It happens easily with email but if you try hard to maintain a clean inbox, it feels so nice to have less emails floating around.
4. It seems silly but you'll feel so much better when you're done. A clean inbox is a happy inbox? I don't know why, but once I got rid of all those unwanted emails, my brain felt less cluttered and I felt like I had accomplished a decluttering action. It felt great!
Anyone else done a big purge before!? Any tips I missed here?
Monday, March 3, 2014
Letting Go - The Hope Chest
As I continue down the path towards minimalism, I find that for me, letting go of bigger items remains difficult.
My husband gave me a hope chest in 2004 or 2005. It is from Ikea so we're not talking expensive or antique but I had always wanted a hope chest and it was a very thoughtful gift. He built it in my childhood bedroom and I came home to discover my lovely Chanukah gift waiting for me.
In our new apartment, the hope chest never found its own spot. It has been full of our board games and blankets, what it normally houses, but has sat dustily and awkwardly in a corner since May. Since we are trying to minimize the things simply taking up space in our home, I suggested we sell the hope chest.
My husband had no problem with my letting go of his gift but I had a hard time letting go of its sentimental value. Now that we have sold it on Craigslist and that spot sits empty, I have learned (again, just like with my briefcase) that having one less possession leaves more room for other things to fill that void...like space in which to live.
And again, I find comfort in knowing that the hope chest will be used in its new residence.
My husband gave me a hope chest in 2004 or 2005. It is from Ikea so we're not talking expensive or antique but I had always wanted a hope chest and it was a very thoughtful gift. He built it in my childhood bedroom and I came home to discover my lovely Chanukah gift waiting for me.
In our new apartment, the hope chest never found its own spot. It has been full of our board games and blankets, what it normally houses, but has sat dustily and awkwardly in a corner since May. Since we are trying to minimize the things simply taking up space in our home, I suggested we sell the hope chest.
My husband had no problem with my letting go of his gift but I had a hard time letting go of its sentimental value. Now that we have sold it on Craigslist and that spot sits empty, I have learned (again, just like with my briefcase) that having one less possession leaves more room for other things to fill that void...like space in which to live.
And again, I find comfort in knowing that the hope chest will be used in its new residence.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Letting Go - the Case of the Briefcase
When I went vegetarian, I began to feel conflicted about using my beautiful leather briefcase I purchased during my first year of working. I loved that briefcase...or at least I thought I did.
Turns out, I was totally okay letting it go. I felt pretty being vegetarian (and later vegan) and carrying around a big briefcase made of animal. I hemmed and hawed for almost two months about whether I should sell it or keep it. Eventually, I sold the briefcase to my husband's friend and for Chanukah, I asked for a vegan messenger bag to use for school.
 |
| The case...and a Maggie in the background. |
I love my new bag because I feel good carrying a bag made without animal products. AND, it's handmade by a small company. I love that my husband's friend is using my briefcase and that it will hopefully be loved for many years to come. This was the first possession of mine that I sold and felt I had some sentimental connection to. Ultimately, I barely think about it and when I do, I'm just happy to have let it go to make room for other things in my life.
Sentimental items or items that we think we "love" can be hard to give up but after we let it go, it most likely will turn out that you do not even think about it that often. And if you do, you can ALWAYS save up and buy another one. (But you shouldn't...you should use what you have and be all minimalist about it.)
Some awesome links on giving up sentimental items...
Letting Go of Sentimental Items from The Minimalists (a new favorite!)
Letting Go of Possessions from Zen Habits (Check out Leo's "Uncopyright," he's so awesome.)
Breaking the Sentimental Attachment to Books from Becoming Minimalist
In the Beginning
(See what I did there?! If you don't get it yet...pick up a Tanakh or Old Testament. Get it now?! Hehehehe. It's funny because I'm in rabbinical school.)
In the beginning...of 2014...I stumbled upon blogs documenting peoples' lives or journeys as minimalists. PFttt, I thought, minimalism? That's not for me. I collect things. I love things. I have lots of them and do not really plan on ever getting rid of anything I don't need to get rid of.
I got an itch to ditch all of my superfluous items. I started with clothes because I had so many extras that it was a simple place to clear things out. I attacked the front room and got rid of anything that wasn't being used. I slowly started to give away things that just sat around unused.
When I began looking through all my possessions, I quickly realized that I own much more than I need. That much was easy to see right away. What I did not know right away was that once I started to pare down my possessions, I would begin to feel freer and excited to get rid of even more superfluous stuff.
My journey towards living a more minimalist lifestyle is ongoing. Sometimes, it still feels difficult to part with an item but then I remember that if I doubt the item's use in my life, I most likely really don't need it anyway.
And the best part about all of it? If I no longer have it just sitting around, someone else has the opportunity to get real pleasure from it.
In the beginning...of 2014...I stumbled upon blogs documenting peoples' lives or journeys as minimalists. PFttt, I thought, minimalism? That's not for me. I collect things. I love things. I have lots of them and do not really plan on ever getting rid of anything I don't need to get rid of.
I got an itch to ditch all of my superfluous items. I started with clothes because I had so many extras that it was a simple place to clear things out. I attacked the front room and got rid of anything that wasn't being used. I slowly started to give away things that just sat around unused.
When I began looking through all my possessions, I quickly realized that I own much more than I need. That much was easy to see right away. What I did not know right away was that once I started to pare down my possessions, I would begin to feel freer and excited to get rid of even more superfluous stuff.
My journey towards living a more minimalist lifestyle is ongoing. Sometimes, it still feels difficult to part with an item but then I remember that if I doubt the item's use in my life, I most likely really don't need it anyway.
And the best part about all of it? If I no longer have it just sitting around, someone else has the opportunity to get real pleasure from it.
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