Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Down-sizing and Up-sizing

This Blog is dedicated to journaling  my lifestyle changes i.e. from typical American consumer to eco friendly minimalist. A book I'm currently reading titled "Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism" by  Fumio Sasaki, has also made me want to further explore the reasoning behind my need to acquire stuff and also the need to let the stuff go.  Because the goal is not just decluttering but re-evaluating what possessions mean and what can be gained by Minimalism.

Down-sizing
After my divorce I moved into a very small apartment.  The neighborhood wasn't the greatest but the rent was cheap. A tiny  kitchen with room for a sink, a dorm size refrigerator and a small table. No stove for cooking. I had to decide between a toaster oven or micro-wave oven because I could only fit one in the kitchen. My collection of books and CDs just fit in the living room along with my boom box and a couple of comfy chairs, my nice oriental rugs and a few paintings. I was glad I'd only taken the twin bed because that was all that would fit in the little bedroom.

All in all I had enough possessions to fill the bed of a pick-up truck. It felt good. I was free of all that stuff that was such a burden.  During the year I lived in the tiny apartment I probably increased my possessions by a couple of boxes. This was sufficient until I got a better job and could afford to move to a nicer neighborhood and a bigger apartment.


Up-sizing AGAIN 
The new much bigger apartment seemed so empty...especially when I'd get home in the evening after work. I decided I could fill up some space with exercise equipment. I did. Then I thought tropical fish would be nice to come home to, because the rental agreement specified NO pets but I could have fish. Then I thought I'd like to try aqua-scaping as a hobby since I already had fish -more tanks and supplies needed -and well, wool felting would be a fun hobby too...I   rationalized I needed a new expensive camera with a variety of lenses for my job and a new laptop too, while still keeping my other computer. I bought a bigger bed but still kept the small one in case I had guests. I would buy new clothes and shoes but would hang on to the old stuff- just in case. My collection of books and CDs was growing...I wasn't what you'd call a hoarder by any stretch but I had the space to store things so It didn't seem to matter...until  five years later when I had to move.

Next: Possessions become a burden AGAIN 

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