I have been feeling bad. Bad in a sense my life seems to be stagnant. Bad in a sense that I am somehow made to chase something I do not want. I watched the documentary 'Minimalism'. The concept isn't new. It has been broadcast for years now and I first came across it when I was watching the tiny house movement. It is charming. It is freedom, it is a life without burden and baggages.
I wake up everyday in this room of mine from 2 decades ago. The family didn't fix the room, it is full of things I call junk. The mother is a hoarder and she has no concept of how things should be proper, that furnitures should be built-in and there should be book shelves and enough storage for everything. I don't have enough storage. I have boxes of nonsense. Nonsense because I am staying in the tropics and yet I have boxes of winter clothes. It doesn't make sense to get rid of them. They are expensive and I still go to climate countries every now and then.
So what now?
I look at the wardrobe and I feel sick. So many clothes from years ago. I still fit into them but maybe they are not my style anymore? Do I throw them away? Do I give them away? You kind of get into a fix because the stuff are still good and you think that there will still be use for them one day. But the days pass, and the months and then the years. And I find so many pieces that I have not worn for years. And they are accumulating.
I am getting so sick of the junk I see around and I think my unhappiness is largely because of this baggage. The little bit of things that I keep thinking will have use for one day. When is that one day coming? I don't know but I know I have to put my mind down to ridding stuff. And as hard as it may be, I need to have a new concept of sustainability and that is not hoarding.
IF YOU HAVE NOT WORN IT FOR 3 YEARS, IT NEEDS TO GO.
Ok, there are things I have not worn for years but I will still want to keep them because how often do you wear a formal dress? So formal clothes and winter jackets aside, tee shirts and stuff are coming out, going to the traveling pile.
THE TRAVELING PILE OF CLOTHES
I am putting a pile of clothes I will use for my next travel, that I will not launder and just leave behind in those developing countries so that someone else can launder it and find a second life for it. It might just relieve your bags of space and weight for more... clothes and souvenirs? Well, that is a very nice thought but no more nonsense. Food products I can allow, but no more clothes and accessories. I do not need more piling.
THE BOOKS THAT ARE SITTING THERE
I am not an avid reader. I have old books sitting around which I thought I might just read one day but it has been years. I am so selective in what I read that really if I want to read something, I would finish it in no time. So, I am making it a point to bring a book or two with me every time I travel. There is no point selling it to bookstores because even they do not want the old books. And be it purposely leaving the books at the airport or the hostels or hotels, someone else will find good use for them.
FOOD PRODUCTS
I am crazy about cooking and exotic food products. I also like to buy food products when I go traveling. So you can imagine I became a bit of a hoarder with that. In these days of my sabbatical, I am using as much of those stock as possible so that I save money on food. Of course, my diet still needs to be balanced and fresh ingredients still needs to be bought.
As much as there needs to be more done, these new rules will help to get me started.
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