Living a Minimalist Lifestyle

Having too much of anything is a source of anxiety for me and I feel a sense of control knowing what and where everything is that I own. I've been trying to downsize my life into just the necessities (while still being able to interact normally in society--I don't want to be known as a weird hermit lady who doesn't own a shoes, plates, toilet paper, etc!). You know what I mean, nothing extreme just simple :) I don't want to own anything impractical or unnecessary.

I find that when I start on a little project--like going through my clothes and picking out what I can donate to Goodwill, I end up stopping half-way through and there are clothes all over the place and it's left like that for weeks. Sometimes, I'll just lay on top of the clothes on my bed because I'm putting off finishing what I started! My boyfriend really doesn't take kindly to this :)

What I plan to do is a weekly update on all of the things I'm either going to get rid of or things I've gotten rid of and what I've added to my possessions (I recently added a sewing machine and a food processor; I've been using the heck out of the sewing machine. Waiting to use the processor once I use up some of the salsa, hummus, & other foods I currently have so I can make fresh sauces and dips from now on). I basically want to compile a numerical inventory of all of my possessions--down to how many pairs of socks I own. (I'm not going to itemize the amount of q-tips in my bathroom or the amount of grapes in my fridge or anything!) I know it's kind of OCD but I promise, it's all part of a very simplified and peaceful lifestyle that I've been wanting to commit to for *ages*. I've just been so lazy in taking those first few steps.

*Just as a note: Clothes & jewelry are something that I don't mind having several of as long as I use them, especially if I can use them in a professional setting. I will only limit myself to clothes that I know I will wear more than just a few times; they need to be pieces that I can wear anywhere from 5-10 times a year to 5-10+ times a month.*

Here's a (simplified) list of all the things that I own right now:

• Clothes (few pairs of jeans, blouses, dresses, undergarments, and skirts that I often wear)
• Coats and Jackets (1 heavy coat, 1 rain coat, 1 lightweight coat, 1 jacket, 3 blazers)
• Shoes (3 pairs of heels, 1 pair of ankle boots, 2 pairs of low-heels, 1 pair running shoes, 2 pairs mid-calf boots, 1 pair of suede work boots, several flats)
• Crossbody Bag (1 white one; hoping to replace it with a new one soon)
• Jewelry (6 bracelets, 8 necklaces, 6 rings, 15 pairs of earrings--wear 'em everyday!)
• Schoolbags (1 brown, 1 black)
• Sunglasses (1 for car, 1 for at home)
• Scarves (Around 8-9; I wear them a lot)
• Phone & Phone charger
• Housekey
• Wallet (with 1 credit card, 1 debit, 1 license, 1 student ID, 1 health insurance card; wishing I could consolidate these somehow!)
• Hair Products (one brush, one hairspray, one detangling spray, one serum, several hair clips, pins, & hairties)
• Makeup Products (I have one of each thing; i.e. one mascara, one foundation, one eyelash curler, etc.)
• Toiletries (One shampoo, one conditioner, one body wash, one face wash, one exfoliating wash, one razor, one toothbrush, one toothpaste, one floss, one loofah, one body poof thing)
• Food (Mostly healthy, low-fat/low-calorie things that I *know* I will eat; I try to donate or 'use up' things in new recipes that I normally wouldn't eat. Trying to figure out what to do with 3 cans of tuna in oil right now)
• Mirror
• Lapdesk 
• Chair
• Lamp
• Laptop (boyfriend's spare)
• Mouse
• Iron
• Curling Iron
• Blowdryer
• Food Processor
• One bicycle (with one lock) 
• Textbooks (that I need for class)
• Folder
• Tote bag
• Travel Makeup Bag
• Travel Toiletry Bag
• Glasses
• Contact Lenses (with Solution and a Case)
• Vitamins
• Throat drops (getting sick... boo)
• Food 
• Water (tea and instant coffee packets)
• Water bottles (2 or 3; need to get rid of the leaky ones!)
• Faucet water filter
• Laundry basket
• Detergent

Here are the things I want to get rid of:

• My old Dell laptop (it's 5 years old; missing some keys even!)
• Skirts and Jeans that are falling apart
• Shoes that are too worn-out 
• Old text books (Keep telling myself that everything I may need for the future, I can upload to my laptop or find on the internet)
• Old gifts that I simply have no use for
• That knee-high pair of boots that I've never worn
• Those extra pair of mittens that I don't need
• That conair hair straightener that I never touch
• Anything that doesn't fit in the "Owned List" of items 
• Old stuff in my black makeup bag that I dont use
• Old random things like pencils, papers, notecards, notebooks, glue; that I never use
• **Need to drop off the two large boxes of old stuff at goodwill!**

• My biggest obstacle is the fact that my boyfriend owns a lot of stuff--he owns all of our furniture, eating utensils, appliances, and tons of guy-stuff on top of that (wires, tools, CDs, and other random things). A lot of his 'stuff' creates clutter in our home (and I'm too lazy to clean it up/organize/do anything about it.) I've happily inspired him to throw away some of his clothes that have holes in them and I've been helping him declutter his desk drawers. I'm trying to convince him that we'll only need like 4 large towels (instead of 10), 4 cups (instead of 15) in our new house but he's not so keen on minimizing everything like I am! I just figure that the less dishes we own, the less likely they will pile up! :)

  Writing all of this down makes me want to get started right now! Unfortunately, it's 1:28am and my boyfriend's asleep in my bedroom so I have a legitimate excuse for not getting started right away. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments/questions/suggestions/anything! Take care!