Purse Clutter : the minimalist musings

So I thought y'all should know I did two big things today.

The first was I finally got to that box in the bathroom.  I knew once I started doing that box that suddenly I would start taking a harder look at what is actually in my bathroom.  It did indeed result in my rummaging through the cabinets...under the sink...through the drawers.

I narrowed my seven lotions down to one.  My body sprays from five to one and my perfumes (had to keep at least one for special occasions) from five to one.  I kept about half of the 12 mineral eye shadows and one nail polish and one top coat (out of the 24).  Everything else is going.  I had various things that were just misplaced. Like, my camera was in there along with other random knick knacks.

One thing I haven't gone through completely from that box is the smaller jewelry box I had in there.  I'll probably be going through and purging that next.  I've purged through my jewelry a million times so I am about down to the last of what I really like.

Nice and tidy!

It looks like a dumpster for clutter!

The next big thing I did was go through my purse. I dumped everything out onto the table to see exactly what I had in there. A huge notebook. Meeting Notes. Check book. A clearance book I bought to take pictures of.  Random receipts. Tea. Hair scissors. Some money. My schedule. Headphones. Lotion. Calendar. Pens.Wallet. Lipsticks. Medicines. Candy.
Actually this was pretty tame from what it usually is.  Normally I have an even larger amount of crap.  I'm a very "Just in Case/What If" kind of person. What if I have chapped lips? What if I cut myself? What if I need to reapply makeup?  What if I want to listen to this cd? What if I have a cold? Or cramps? Or I'm hungry? Or I need tape? Or I need to screw something together? What if someone needs 
batteries? 

Yeah...it's a bit crazy. I narrowed down the stuff to what I actually use the most. Redistributed the items that were in the wrong place in the first place (scissors, book, schedule) and threw out what I didn't even need (receipts, candy, trash).  I narrowed it down to these few items. (EDIT: I added my calendar back into the bag because I have no calendar at the moment. hahaha)  It's amazing how much lighter my bag is. 

The lone survivors.

My stash of purses and wallet.

 I began to question why I am even carrying a larger bag anyways.  I'm currently trying to decide if I just want to switch over to one of my smaller bags before I purge my purses.  I really do like the purse I am using now but I am also overly attached to four other ones I have.  Two are black seat belt purses..one small one medium sized and the other two are smaller ones that are nice for if I am going out with friends or out to a dinner and are the ones I paid the most money for ($20-$40).  I might end up just keeping those four and getting rid of the other thirteen purses I still own.  Yeah .. I think I've just now decided that's what I'm doing.  I'm sure over time I can convince myself to get rid of all but one of my purses in the end.  I think just keeping these four is a good compromise. :)

Current Purse.

It's nice seeing how much easier it is getting to let go of things that I continued to haul around with me and refused to let go of.  I think letting go of my books has shown me that deep, deep, deep, deep down I am really alright with letting some of this stuff go.  Speaking of selling books. I am getting ready to take the last of what I have to Camelback today.  This time I have to be there. At least it's the last few stragglers and the harder, more cherished ones have already been dealt with. Perhaps I can hold on squirting tears as I accept whatever offer they are going to give to me today.  We are also heading to the pawn shop to get rid of the box of electronics.  I still have a large amount of stuff to get through...but getting through that damn one box and my purses felt like a pretty big step in the right direction. :) I'm excited to start noticing all the money I'm going to save from not HAVING to buy another purse. ....Actually...a lot of the money my husband will save too ....he tends to treat me when I see one that I *have* to have. :)

More later I'm sure...

They're all gone......well...almost all of them..: the minimalist musings

So I think I am comfortable enough to express the issues I am having with my life on here. I know I am accountable for my actions and blogging what is going on with how I am feeling has been a nice outlet. I use to write in a journal every day.  I think if I ever do decide to extend my minimalism to my more personal items...my old journals would be the hardest to let go of.  But I will leave that for another post....

Anyways...I meant to start going somewhere with opening up with talking about being comfortable with my life issues. ..

Today I woke up still stressed. Yes, my books were still in the boxes in the living room. But this wasn't the reason why I was stressed.  I woke up and looked at my bank account.  $590. As soon as I saw that number I began to panic. That is not enough for rent. I began to look into payday loans  (which I actually learned are now illegal in Arizona) and once I learned I couldn't do that I looked at getting loans online. ((Confession time: Daniel and I use to use the hell out of payday loan places. Even after we knew that they are a terrible, terrible idea and a fantastic way to dig yourself into a deeper hole.)) Oh...I want to borrow $190 online? (That was all they would allow me since my credit is shit.) You are going to end up having to pay $700 by the end of it. Clearly that wasn't my answer. Nope...my answer to being $400 short on rent was to remove myself from the computer...go right back to bed..wake Daniel up...tell him I was stressed and we are short on rent..and bawl for the next two hours.

After crying for forever, I started frantically looking into trying to sell stuff on ebay...knowing that wouldn't even matter because there was only two days to come up with the money. I now had to rely on hoping that my books would bring in just a little money and that maybe we could go to the apartment management and beg to be given just a little more time.

I even prepared a box of things to pawn off. All my game systems...my favorite pool cue...some other various electronics..

This wasn't exactly how I imagined my journey to a minimalistic life would go. Selling frantically so that we could make rent.  Not exactly poetic or fulfilling.

I want to kind of cut in for a second and say that this little bump we are going through financially is only temporary.  We fell way behind with stuff when we moved and it hurt us even more when both my brother and my husband started off here jobless. When I said in my Facebook post that we wouldn't have been able to move if it weren't for help of family...I was completely serious. We wouldn't have had the money for a deposit for this place...or gas money to get there...or truck money. My brother and husband still are jobless and I am currently the only one bringing money in. And besides maybe two coffees total..I haven't been spending money on ANYTHING but the essentials. Gas and food.  I know once we get settled and can finally get our heads above water..I actually could probably pay for everything on my own...but again...we fell so far behind we are STILL trying to play catch up. I by no means want y'all to feel bad for us...this is just a medium to help me cope with stress.

ANYWAYS...back to my panic attack.  So, the only solution again, was to sell my books off and hope that it would bring us a little closer to what we needed for rent. (Mind you this is just RENT. Not even taking into account needing to come up with money for actual food, gas and maybe laundry soap.)  We just wanted to get rent taken care of.  And honestly, I had no idea as to how we are going to get closer to the total if we are still short.

So, all this was happening today. Which also happens to be the first day I start at my new HPB location in Mesa. New staff...new customers...new management team.

The plan was to drive out to work then have Daniel take the car back and take my books to my old store off to Camelback to sell.

So that's what we did. I drove out to work with Daniel.  The car ride was very quiet because I am sure both of us were trying to figure out a way to get more money.  In addition to that the sounds my car were making were stressing me out too. (She's been very chuggy lately. I'm sure she needs an oil change..)  We got to the Mesa store and just sat in the car for ten minutes. When I got out Daniel gave me a hug and told me to just work and try not to go in there looking stressed because they may feed off of it. And I knew  he was right.

So I put on as big of a smile as I could and marched into work. 9:30pm rolled around and Dan called the store.  He said, "Well, it's done." And I felt my heart fall into my stomach. (I know that sounds corny..but my love for my books was immense and there's nothing more to it.) He then asked, "Guess how much." And I said hopefully, "$150?" He said, "Higher.". "$200?"  "Higher." "Higher??? How much?" "$350."
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  Thank you!  Granted I knew those books were worth three times that amount..but I also know the business.  He also said we still had four boxes as home, plus the box of electronic to pawn. Such a damn relief!!! That means we won't have to come up with very much more to have rent. And that's all that I care about.  I will eat dirt for the next two damn weeks if I have to. I was in, as they would say, a glass case of emotion.  A huge weight felt like it was lifted off my shoulders but at the same time I knew that was it. My books were gone. It hit me even harder when I got home and saw the piles of boxes were gone. I saw the boxes that he was talking about and sighed. I even still have a little left on my shelves that I have been having second thoughts on. My Shel Silverstein books...my vegan cookbooks...a small handful of records...cds I still wanted to rip before selling..
I know some day I'll find strength to get rid of those as well..But I had enough emotions going on at the moment.

 So I still have probably a good four boxes left to sell. Then it would be time for focus on smaller things.  I mean, I actually still want to focus on cleaning my car out first. I think that is a healthy small step. Or maybe that damn box still sitting in my bathroom.

I am a little sad that I had to use they money towards something dumb like paying bills. It would have been nice to put it towards something greater. Like..oh..I dunno..a new car. But I am sure the more I stop spending the faster I will actually be able to save for a car that won't crap out on me. I am a certainly grateful that we got as much as we did for them.  I know there will be people that will appreciate them in the end.  I know I had some old coworkers that were already calling dibs on some things. And I KNOW they will be going to good homes.

It was funny because when I arrived to the store too..I walked over to see where I should put my stuff. I was looking for my stash shelf. FYI a "stash shelf" is something the company gives you as a holding place for books that you intend on buying. PS my shelf was always full. And I realized I probably won't even need a stash shelf anymore. Because I don't intend on buying anything. I really DON'T need one. And I don't even want one to tempt me. So I just use it to hold my purse.  It's a bizarre way of thinking. I'm not going to need to worry about buying things anymore. As if it were some sort of burden. Which I suppose it was. WEEEEEIIIIRRRRD. Maybe I can just find some sort of hook to at least hang my bag.  (THAT REMINDS ME! That made me think of all the other things I need to clean out and simplify.  Like what I carry in my purse...and even...what I keep on my phone! My phone keeps yelling at me saying that I am running out of space...which is just hilarious to me cause it describes the constant problem I have in my life! haha! )

All that being said, I am still incredibly excited to go through my things and see the process of elimination.  All of my items are going to be faced with the same question, "Do you hold value in my life? & Have I actually used you in the last month?" If not..it's gone.  Another thing I think will be tough to let go of are my purses. I am a purse fanatic. I LOVE my purses. Ugh....No....I don't want to think about that right now.

Maybe tomorrow.

I know I also mentioned wanting to get back into the health swing of things..and that is still coming. :) I just have to get over this small hump first and I'll get my groove back!  For now..I'm going to watch a movie and snuggle with my cats.

More later!

The first step : the minimalist musings

There it is. There is the first box of items I am purging. It may not seem like a lot but I love most of the stuff in this box. But then I look at it and think. Do I really need seven different kinda of lotions? even ones that might not even be vegan?! Why do I need seven different perfumes?I know I've gone at least two weeks without them..so why wouldn't i be able to get through the rest of my life with out them? Then I went around and took pictures if everything I have. The piles and piles of just stuff that will need to be purged. Brace yourself for the next pictures. These are all things that are making me feel claustrophobic. So tonight I will be going through that one box and tomorrow will be the harder one where I find new homes for my books. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. :)