Letting Go of Chaos

We’ve all been there…we go shopping and get home, only to find that the thing that was so perfect in the store isn’t right for us at all.

I’ve gone shopping with an idea of the type of bag I needed for work, travel, etc. and settled on something less than ideal or what I was looking for, only to find it basically useless and not solving the problem it was intended to solve, and not fulfilling any purpose - eventually tossed in a closet or in the basement storage.

I know some people would say “It’s just a bag – throw your stuff inside and get to the bus stop”. The problem here is more involved than it would seem. Because we walk or take the bus everywhere, I need a bag that is durable, but I also am not strong enough to carry around a ton of weight right now. In my mind is an image that I am literally carrying around the excess that I am working on simplifying.

With the choices I have made in the past, I have a stack of bags that are basically useless and don’t suit me at all.  I needed a new plan…I needed to simplify my morning and my day a great deal.  The solution? Let go and donate the pile of bags and buy something that actually works for this new, simpler approach.

To begin to simplify, for me, is to need to carry less. I leave in the morning like a pack mule headed for a long trip. I am going to be out of the house for awhile, but I can’t even carry what I think I need for the day.

I have one purse now that I actually use. It’s a cute little Vera Bradley bag that I have wanted forever, but couldn’t justify the price. I found it practically new at Good Will for $9.99. It fits everything I need if I am going out and is a reasonable weight for me to carry. I love the simplicity of some of the bags on What's in Your Bag? and this is all I need with me most of the time. 

iPod, wallet, glasses, flashlight, keys, bus pass/work id,
Nikon,  phone, etc.

I also found a leather satchel that is a perfect size. It was not inexpensive, but the price was reasonable with a lifetime guarantee of repair. It fits my iPad, journal, reading book, small pouch and on work days I have a set of small metal containers that fit nicely in it to carry food for work.

This brings me to the next simplification of my day….lunch. It sounds a little crazy to say - but the truth is that food should not be as complicated as it is. I have to eat, but I know I need to simplify food and the time spent on it in my day.

It is stressful to me to have to make, pack, remember to bring and carry food for the day.  The solution in the past was to just grab some chips at the vending machine or coffee & bagel at the corner shop and then lunch at a local sandwich shop. Too much money wasted and not healthy enough to feel satisfied and not sick from eating. While I was home for 7 weeks with my sprained ankle, I got out of that habit and saw how ridiculous the spending was and also how my body doesn’t gain any quality nutrition from that routine.  My mind also does not gain anything from the stress of cooking a lunch and bringing it with me every day and the chaotic morning that I usually have…so I needed a different idea. 

My solution is to get up a little earlier and eat a heartier, healthier, slower paced breakfast and just bring small snacks or sandwich for during the day. This eliminates the ice pack, lunch bag, and bigger insulated bag I was carrying it all in that always seemed to fill up with yet more stuff…

What I know from this process of simplicity and minimalism, is that this one thing – the bag I carry to work – is just a symptom of the habits and mindset that I am changing. Needing less, slowing down, participating in events – rather than just reacting to the world around me - all of this is leading to a simpler life with a lot less possessions, and I am left with quality, meaningful, useful things that serve a variety of purposes. In the bigger picture, I would say that my possessions in the house are a lot like the wrong sized bag - just because there is room, stuff accumulates and overwhelms. We already live in a small house, it's only 900 sq. ft. - so with each closet and drawer I tackle and clean out, the space is very noticeable. 

Ideally, this process of reducing debt, needing less, donating excess and really evaluating the quality of life each day...will one day lead to not needing to work at a conventional job. It is my dream to be able to spend the day working at home on writing, gardening, crafting and cooking and eliminate the chaotic schedule completely. But this is not realistic right now, so I want to use this schedule I have and learn how to be calm within it. This is the perfect situation to evaluate and change habits while amidst the chaos. 

Zone 0 - Small Home - Big Changes

It’s a lovely rainy day today – rain barrels are filling and the garden is growing. I am home to tackle a few projects that seem to have taken over the house.

I have been thinking and reading about three topics that today come together for me:  reducing our carbon footprint, living in a tiny/small home, and the Permaculture idea of Zones. Zones are areas of your property that are designated for certain purposes, and because this post is getting really long, I will post separately about what our zones include and represent for us.

When we bought our home 10 years ago – the appeal was price, it is in the area my husband grew up in, the fact that it was in “move in” condition.  We were sharing a home with our in-laws at that time to save for our own place, so we had money saved when the opportunity presented itself. When we walked into the house for the first time, I knew I wanted to live here. The process of buying was so smooth and problem free and we love our home. At that time, however, we were not aware of the level of consumption we were at, the level of energy we needed to keep the house functioning and the cost of a few repairs that would eventually be needed.

You could say that our life focus was just to do what everyone does – work hard, pay our mortgage and other bills and enjoy the evenings and weekends with our family and friends.  It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but, it did not take the future into account at all, and now the future is here. At that time, I never thought about Peak Oil, grocery prices going up 30%, that one of us at any time could lose our job, that our children would probably live with us until they were into their late 20’s – because of the slow collapse of our economy and raising of prices for everything we need to live. We are happy to still have a home to share with our children and friends, and fortunate to weather the last few years when so many have lost so much.

When we moved in, people said things like “this is a good starter home” or “this is a good first home” and I would just smile because I know we will probably never leave Worcester, or this house. I am sure that the size is one of the main reasons people thought we would eventually move. It is only 900 sq. ft.  Sure, I dream of vacations in a cabin in the woods of Vermont, (in a yet smaller building) but I really and truly love this city and being around neighbors, and having access to community that I think is very important when times are tough, and let’s face it – times are rough now for many people!!

Now, one of my favorite topics to research is the Tiny House/ Small Home movement. For instance:  Tiny House Blog. People all over the world are living in much smaller spaces and require much less of a footprint, and when I think of all we do in our home, I know now that their lives can be full and complete without a huge house. Over time, especially in the past couple of years, we have made an effort to cut back our expenses and consumption of resources. We recycled extra appliances, bought a couple of new energy efficient (and smaller) appliances – like our refrigerator. We have replaced all the light bulbs with energy efficient, replaced the roof (new insulation, etc.), purchased an Elmira cook top wood stove for cooking and heat, and energy efficient replacement windows. We tackled each of these things one at a time and paid it off and started the next.

So, with these things all in place, our heating is reduced, our cooling isn’t necessary (no more air conditioning needed with the new windows) and we have learned to unplug, turn off, and require less energy in general.  For our “night light” I have solar charged lights in the house, for the yard – solar lights lighting the walk and back yard.  We are not opposed to using energy when needed…we put our outside lights on motion detectors and use lights if the solar don’t charge – because we live in the city and we also have to consider security and safety. But I am always looking for ways to do these things with less power. One of the best ways I have found to cut unnecessary use of electricity is to put everything into surge protectors that can be switched off when not in use and turned back on when we need to use something.

With the functional and energy issues being addressed, there is a major consumption issue inside our home – of space. In the day to day of living, we accumulate so much. Gifts, junk mail, regular mail, catalogues, holiday décor, recreational equipment, gaming and games, clothing, school paperwork, pieces and parts of crafts and projects and general living projects that we have taken on, such as canning, food storage, wood working, gardening, music, etc. etc.

After reading many blogs, websites and books, I see that living in a small home, it is necessary to consider each item individually – pick it up, think about it’s value and either find a practical use or storage, or pass it on to someone else.

Today I am starting that process (again) at a deeper level than I have in the past. If we do this periodically, I find (for myself) that I need less and less. When there is less stuff crowding me – I feel like room opens up inside creatively and I can write, sing, etc. But, when I am cluttered around me, it clutters up my mind and consumes too much time – finding things, and recently injuring myself and ended up in the emergency room because this clutter creates a frenzy of searching and distraction that results in injury.

Why we do this to ourselves, I will never understand.

So, today is about this process of picking up each item and figuring out what has a genuine meaning to me, or a practical function and how it can be stored in a way that we have as much space as possible available to us when these things are not in use. And the rest will be passed on.

I have decided to tackle this a room at a time. Front Hall and Closet, Bedroom, Living Room, Kitchens, Baths, Back Hall, Basement Storage. I am using the space in our basement to sort the things I need to donate, store or throw away.

The plan is to give myself an hour for each room – to gather the quick decision things like trash/recycling/laundry, etc. and deal with them, and then to take the not so quick decision things and bring them downstairs. Every hour I will take one rooms “clutter” downstairs and sort by use, project, donate, storage, seasonal, etc. I also will designate an area for each person in the family so they have the opportunity to sort through their own things.

Okay – I am 2 hours into this and just finishing one hall  - there is a huge misconception that 900 sq. ft. is small.  It just sounds small until you have to clean it. I would say the same about our property…100x50 doesn’t sound big at all until you look at the list of 50+ plants we have growing so far. (not including weeds and volunteers). And I would say that we are only using about ½ of the available space in the yard, as well as the house.  The house I want to pare down and create beauty and space, and the yard I want to fill with beauty and food.

Adaptation is probably the most important thing about this process. Clearly the halls are the storage for the other rooms – so I really am cleaning two halls of clutter and just straightening the rest of the house.  Scrap the hour in each room – today is about cleaning the clutter out of two halls and then sorting through storage in the basement. Most likely, and realistically, it will just mean cleaning out halls and sorting another day. This is better than any gym!

So the front hall is transformed from a dumping zone to a dressing room/closet and hallway for coats when people visit. This is just the first step, I can think of many different uses for the hall and am leaning toward a bench window seat for reading and storage. Ideally, I would like to find or make a coat rack, window seat/bench and find a good storage system for office supplies and crafts, but keep the crafts downstairs. It would be most beneficial to find them at a yard sale or consignment. But, first, we’re going to live with the space and see if we even need to put anything else there. 

A small note of importance is the flow of air that was blocked by clutter in front of the windows. Without air conditioning - the flow of air in the house becomes very important and right away I could feel the change. When I could get to the windows easily and open them, it creates a flow of air from the back of the house that is refreshing and can quickly air out the house and cool it. 

Piles accumulated

A place for shoes and clothing