Have Less, But Have the Best

Clean space.

When I was younger (so much younger than today...), I had in my mind an idea of who I would be at this age, as do most of us. Over time that idea becomes lost, distorted or abandoned through the many twists and turns of the life that is presented to us. That jacket that you loved so dearly, the one that epitomised 'You', is the one item of clothing that your best friend mocks, your son ruins with a permanent marker or the weight naturally gained with age prevents the zip from fastening. It's gone.

But it was just a jacket. What if it were a home or a job? A home you loved, but had to leave through a set of circumstances outside of your control? Or a job, that simply ceased to exist?

You find a new jacket, a new home and a new job, but they don’t fit you the way the old ones did. When you were younger, you had the prospect, the dream, of finding the perfect jacket, home and job. What do you do when the dream is no longer ahead of you, but behind you?

This is the situation I’m in now. I have the jacket hanging upstairs, I had the little, white, minimalist box that was my home for years, I've recently become aware that the job I was working towards doesn’t exist... so, it’s time to do something about it.

I have resolved to overhaul my life, or at least the aspects of it that are under my control. My clothes for example, and my belongings. It is entirely up to me, and only me, how I dress and what cup I drink my coffee out of in the morning.

Most recently, I've been seduced by a handbag, something like this...

This seduction has been the catalyst for this overhaul. It’s becoming the mascot of my new direction. It’s minimal. It’s leather. It’s tan. If I succeed in acquiring this bag, I have sworn (to myself) that I will rid myself of the remaining four or five handbags that survived the previous cull. I will have one handbag (at least one large handbag – I will keep one small one, for obvious reasons). 

Likewise, for years, I’ve been looking for a kimono - a dusty yellow, crepe silk kimono with a faded cherry blossom print. It does exist, I’ve seen it. Would it make any difference to my life to own such a kimono? Of course not... not really. Do I need it? No. I do have a robe, one I’ve had for many years and, although I do love it, it is frayed and stained. I wear it every day, every morning, and on the days when I find it difficult to get dressed, it’s invaluable. It’s what it represents, though, that is key. Like the handbag, why not strive to make those single items the very best? This is the challenge!

This may all seem a bit superficial, they are, after all, only clothes and accessories, but according to Feng Shui, everything you own has an impact on your life and your psyche. I’m hoping that by starting with my wardrobe, the effect will spill over into my everyday, and affect my way of thinking. All these belongings that clutter up my home, clutter up my life. 

The other day, I had to open a package that was sealed with duct tape. Standing in the kitchen, I took a pair of scissors out of the drawer. They were useless. I found another pair, then another, then another – all in my tiny kitchen, and none of them were capable of doing the job they were designed to do. Yet, they are still all in my possession, all in my kitchen. 

This prompted me to gather up the scissors I knew I had lying around the house. One quick, preliminary search yeilded these. Here they are, all of them, along with the nine pairs of tweezers I came across in the process. The troubling thing is, I know for a fact that there are, at least, three more pairs somewhere in the house (pink ornamental, another orange handled and a pair of straight nail scissors). 

The six pairs on the top row were all in the kitchen.

I also need to add, this collection does not include any of Kenneth's scissors, nor any that might be in a tool box or the shed.

If I owned only one, good pair of kitchen scissors, the whole experience would have been easier. It’s not going to be easy getting rid of these. I love scissors, clearly, but whether I love them or not, there’s only so much room in my life.

 "The irony is that all these gadgets and appliances and modern conveniences 

are supposed to somehow make our lives easier, 

but instead they just add to the noise, 

the stress, and the clutter."

I'll tackle watches and lighters next... and possibly sunglasses. I’m going to start thinking of my possessions in terms of relationships. Even if you love and care for someone, sometimes, you just have to let them go and move on with your life.

The ultimate.

"... every time you see it, even if you 

are not consciously aware of it, 

it will have the effect of draining your energy. 

Believe it or not, if you have things like this 

in your environment,they can actually hold you back 

and stop you from moving forward in life."