Redue, reduce, reduce...

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while you know that I have mentioned or talked about minimalist living.  I am still captivated with the thought and ever so often start a small project that helps us take steps in that direction.  After each one, I am left feeling great and in search of the next project.  The latest projects:

• The dresser--I cleaned my side out--threw away, gave away, and took to charity; The result...I can now freely open all 5 drawers--without cramming stuff down before getting them to close all the way.  I can see everything I own in them. I no longer have an entire drawer of socks! I now own 4 pair of ankle socks, 2 pair knee socks, 4 pair warm/fuzzies, and 3 pair of wool socks. What is the best part of this dresser project--I have an empty drawer!!! (Just a disclaimer--now that the secret is out of the bag-I am sure Johnny will discover it--I have been keeping it a secret...he has a tendency to fill all the empty spaces with odd and random things!)
• The closet--I had been one round already with the closet and cleared out a tremendous amount. This time--I even tackled it more--counting the number of t-shirts and thinking about how many I truly needed.  The result, none of my hangers overlap the others--I can clearly see everything I own and the best part--I no longer put on the pair of black pants that irritated me when I wore them because I hated the way they fit (THEY ARE GONE!!)
• The plate project: we eat on those cheap plastic plates they always mass produce in the Spring in all colors.  Why? I have no idea, but we really prefer them. So, I am officially getting rid of all the glass plates--the huge stack that towers to the top of one of my cabinets.  I can stack 20 of my little plastic plates together and it takes about 3 inches of space--versus the tower that once loomed.  We have been giving food to people on the plates and in some bowls and platters and just saying "We don't want the plate back." It has made the project a little more fun!
• The night stand--I went through the contents of the drawers and found a dilemma.  Most of the stuff in the bottom drawer are things I kept while I was pregnant and the boys were small.  The two books I wrote/journaled in, sonogram cd's, etc.  I have yet to determine what to do--to be honest--I really have no sentimental thought about keeping them. But there is some voice in there that says--oh you will regret not keeping them.  So, until I can come up with a solution...it is all still in there.
• Books, books, and a ton of more books!  We finally did it!  We touched every book we owned--which took up 3 full bookshelves (and a plastic tub).  We have now reduced down to less than one bookshelf! I wish I had recorded our conversation about Johnny throwing away all of his undergraduate and graduate notes...I really thought at one point we were going to be keeping the 2 tubs worth of binders!!!!  He finally left and said, "You are just gonna have to do it!"  He asked where all of mine were--I proudly reminded him that after that last degree--we burned them all--it was very freeing! I did find a keeper--a journal he had to write in when he was in high school--there were some pretty good stories in there! 
• Jewelry--I hate wearing jewelry; I have yet to see the beauty of something hanging on someone's neck or out of ones ears or dazzling on the finger; So I did it--I gave it all away!  I promised myself I would continue to be who I am and not cave to pressure to "you need to wear a necklace with that" again!

What projects are looming in the brain?  DVDs--mostly children's--but they seem to be endless; Nail polish/lotions/etc.; old cleaning products; the classroom--oh, I don't even know where to start with that one!

Live a Meaningful Life!