Voluntary Simplicity Movement

[TTUPharmer]

I'm going through this process right now, I just graduated and am getting married, which means moving from mommy and daddy's to living with my wife in an apartment (honestly can't wait), but it also means packing up all of my "stuff" most of which I have thrown out or put in donation bags today.
I have a lot of things from world travels that I'm holding on to (coke bottle from israel, stuff from my friend in japan etc.), but so much of it is just garbage, and it's so nice to go from 4 boxes to 1, and that's what I've done all day, it sucks, but when you're done you feel great about it. I would get rid of more, but some of it is just to sentimental to chuck, but I have been streamlining what is kept.

Also, my family is helping a guy going through a rough patch now, and he's about my size which has worked out nicely because I have a ton of old clothing, which is very nice and seldom if ever worn, that I was able to give to him, and he's appreciative, and I don't have to move it and not wear it somewhere else.

Good thread here

[lrjohnson]

I can kinda see what the person writing the article is saying, but I think that she is overemphasizing the benefits of packratting and de-emphasizing the benefits of de-cluttering. She says a little decluttering won't hurt, but I still say a big decluttering is better. keeping twist ties and bread bags tabs? Never in my house. We use clothspins for any number of fastening tasks. I can see making sure an item is reused if possible. We use cottage cheese tub tupperware, and pump bottles of shampoo get refilled with whatever cheap brand we just bought. But I don't feel a need to keep so many things just in case.

The first time we did a BIG clear out, we got rid of a lot of useable stuff that we were keeping as stock, or just in case. Multiple large coffee cans full of pens, a huge huge bag of rubberbands, extra utensils, extra pots, extra everything. I have not yet regretted a single thing we've tossed (Goodwill, garage sale, give away), and have not yet felt I have had to buy something to replace it. A "just in case" back up vacuum that ran poorly moved into two or three households. Some of the rubberbands were 15 years old, and had moved at least five times. The pens were travellers too. I had stored and lugged these things around.

The writer's rag bag is obviously not clutter-she sews, and uses it. But as for other items, I hope she takes a good look at least once a year, and if that plastic lid hasn't been used, toss it. If a plastic lid becomes critical-now how would that happen?-just take one off something in the pantry. But please don't have a stash of 4 year old handy dandy plastic lids.