simplifying

Belac 12/2010

2 years ago, when we put our old house up on the market, we gave away 1/3 of our belongings and split the rest between our Sunny Patch rental and storage.  We moved for the public school that had a strong track record for educating both neuro-typicals and kids with needs.

Our rental was sweet, but there were only 2 small closets in the entire place and no basement or attic storage. It was like living in NYC again, milking every inch of space. My husband and I slept in - essentially - the laundry room.  4 bikes were stored at the top of the staircase.  All year long, we continued to shed belongings and bought very little. Mostly, we were trying to hold onto any equity and cash we had, but where would anything extra go, anyway? The lifestyle became ingrained in us. No unnecessary knick knacks, no hoarding.

Eventually, our old house sold. In August, my husband and I had the extreme good fortune of closing on a house in Sunny Patch.  Just before Thanksgiving, we unpacked our last box. 

A friend came by for dinner, one night, and wanted to borrow a sweater. "Gimky," she exclaimed with almost horror in her voice, "please do not tell me these are ALL of your clothes."  I laughed as I plopped on the bed and she rummaged around my closet.  "Those are all of my clothes!" I exclaimed proudly.  She couldn't believe it.

Despite having a much bigger place, we have gone minimalistic. It is so much better this way. We spend far less time organizing and looking for stuff. We have cubbies in the front hallway, for example. Each kid has 2 hooks for jacket and backpack. A shelf to hold each of their 2 pairs of shoes. A bin for hats and mittens and another for school papers. It's easier for my kids to dress themselves and put away their stuff when they have fewer things to take care of and choose from. All of their toys are on shelves and off the floor in the tv room, none are in their bedrooms, which are reserved for sleeping and studying. There is little clutter anywhere. Even in it's messiest state, the house is not that messy because we don't have much stuff. It's kind of like a rock garden, I guess. It can feel cold to some and is not everyone's taste, but for our family it has proven to be the most economical, functional, democratic, and best way. 

If you're a parent who spends a good amount of time at home and feels the enormous burden of keeping house, I suggest paring down your stuff. I stopped being a slave to our belongings and it was absolutely life-changing in the most positive ways.