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Old Things, New Life

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Paint Swatches

We love our condo. You can’t beat the view, and though it isn’t large, it’s plenty of space for the two of us. The building is new, and while it’s starting to show small signs of wear, it’s modern and everything works well. Of course, there are aspects I’d like to change. First, the storage. There really isn’t any. We have 2 bedroom closets (one average sized, one about half the size of a regular coat closet) as well as kitchen and bathroom cabinets. The second is wall space. Sure there are four walls in each room, but the way they’re laid out leaves little usable space for photos or art. We have fantastically large windows, but they negate any wall space on our external walls. These challenges along with my own laziness when it comes to details like painting are my biggest obstacles.

We’ve lived here since October 2009 have exactly 4 items hung. Two of those are in B’s man cave and that’s the room that needs more TLC than the rest of the place all put together. Our home is generally neat, warm, even cozy (particularly when one of our two resident fur balls graces you with a lap visit). It doesn’t look the way I really want it to, though. I understand that social media is not much more than an opportunity for people to display the very best versions of themselves. Still, when I see others’ beautifully decorated, uncluttered homes, I look around and feel a little overwhelmed by what I see. Is it possible to have the things we want and need to make our lives as comfortable as possible without cluttering up our 900 square feet? You have to be careful and deliberate, but I do believe it can be done.

I appreciate the exercise of not keeping extra stuff. I’ve lived in pursuit of having less for quite a while. The trouble is that no matter how much stuff I get rid of, there’s always more to part with, and there’s more stuff coming into our living space. It isn’t a one-time clean-up effort. It has to be an ongoing habit.

I’m not complaining. We’re so unbelievably fortunate to have what we do. Yes, we both work very hard for what we have, but there are so many people who work just as hard if not harder and don’t have what they need, much less what they want. When I look around and evaluate our tangible belongings, I understand that while it’s important for our wellbeing to unclutter our lives and minds, it’s just as important to think beyond ourselves. We can take the things we have that we can do without and share them with those who need them more. Junk belongs in the trash, but quality items we no longer use, that don’t contribute positively to our lives, might add value to someone else’s life. And so as my donate pile grows by the door, I hope it will all end up somewhere that it adds value instead of sapping energy.



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