Tag: living light

Posted in Purging

Ten Things: Kitchen

Posted on by Musings RJ

After two months of major slackage, I am back with a brand new ten things. I apologize in advance that there will be no photos to accompany this post as I forgot to take them before a pickup from the Vietnam Veterans of America.

I have a galley kitchen so it’s small. And I love my kitchen. It’s not fancy nor does it have modern appliances, but I throws down on the regular! My gut and butt can attest to it :/

Your remodeling options are limited when renting, so I gotta make it do what it do…Contact paper will be your BFF.

In spite of the limited space, I managed to fill my little kitchen with unnecessary shit. I am a gadget fiend. If it promises to do something cool, I buy it, past tense — bought it. From digital food scales (Because, yeah, I’m gonna weigh every crumb before I inhale it) to digital meat thermometers, ya girl bought it.

Enough jabbering; here are the ten things (Technically, more than ten, but I’ve grouped like things together) that I purged from my kitchen:

  1. That oblong, black speckled roaster that damn near every black family I know uses around the holidays. I am a party of one (plus cat). I ain’t roasting no turkeys or inviting company over for mass quantities no time in the near future (That’s the next five years in introvert speak.)
  2. Two Foreman grills (Eff George Foreman…)
  3. Assorted travel mugs acquired from gift bags and subscription boxes (I mean, how many adult sippy cups does one really need?)
  4. Any mismatched dishes just taking up space to be taking up space
  5. Chipped drinking glasses and keepsake tumblers. Just, bye…
  6. Old, warped plastic food storage containers. No explanation needed
  7. Scratched-up, non-stick pans. They were uglying up my storage rack. And besides, I already have a shitload of pans. I could probably stand to get rid of a few more, but I need them. I really do!
  8. Unwanted bakeware. I’m not much of a baker, so I didn’t need a second loaf pan or the round cake pans.
  9. Old rags and half-used or near-empty bottles of cleaners that were piling up underneath the sink. I still need to do a separate purge for that. I still have an unused Soda Stream thingy from 2006 that I haven’t bough refills for since…
  10. THE PRINTED INSTRUCTION MANUALS TO EVERY KITCHEN APPLIANCE I’VE EVER OWNED! Ok, I’m embellishing a bit, but one instruction booklet is too many when you can go online and get the info you need. Amirite?

The kitchen is not completely decluttered. I know I could realistically get rid of a dozen more utensils and cookware, but I also know the moment I do, I’ll need it for something. And I’m not making the same mistake of doing another blind purge only to kick myself because it was something I frequently used. The struggle is too real!

I’ll be back the next time with Operation Dining Room aka my “attic”.

Posted in less is more, Purging

Project Ten Things

Posted on by Musings RJ

Confession: I never considered “decluttering” a conscious part of my minimalism journey because I’m really so sick of seeing this word. I was adamant that I wasn’t going to declutter anything. I convinced myself that if I didn’t need it, then I’d just get rid of it, but I wouldn’t turn decluttering into a “project”.

Fast forward to now: I’m starting a decluttering project. Why now? Because I found myself just shifting things around putting them in their proper place with intentions of using them at “some point”, but six months later, they’re still laying around in their proper places, collecting dust and making me itch because I know now that I have zero intentions of ever using them again.

So, this brings me to Project Ten Things. Inspired by this article, by taking one room at a time and just getting rid of ten things per room, to begin, I would feel far more accomplished than trying to tackle my entire apartment (about 675 sq ft) at once.

I have 5.5 rooms (my foyer is the .5) and 4 closets, and as I look around as I type out this post, I already see at least five things that I can immediately get rid of. I already feel accomplished! Over the next six weeks, I’ll present a room, including the closets, along with ten things that I’m getting rid of. I’m actually looking forward to this.

See you next week when I tackle the coat closet and foyer! Pray for me…

Posted in less is more, Life

October Goals

Posted on by Musings RJ

I have a love/hate relationship with October. The weather is wonky. Like, do I wear a jacket or nah? The days are getting shorter. I don’t know if it’s the Leo in me or if it’s in my head, but I truly get my energy from the sun. And I tend to buy more unnecessary shit this time of the year. You know, Halloween ain’t even here yet, and some places are already advertising Christmas…

Antyway… I’ve created another set of lofty, yet attainable goals for myself. It’s time to create some new fall habits.

I’ll be back on Thursday with my September wrap-up. Th good, the bad, and the

Posted in less is more, Purging

Relax! Relate! Release!

Posted on by Musings RJ

Confession: The most difficult thing for me in this journey is letting go. Not because I spent money on it but because I live too much in the “What-ifs”.

“What if I need that later on?”

“What if I lose the other three that I have?”

“What if I actually lose those twenty pounds?”

“What if I go on Let’s Make A Deal, and Wayne asks me if I have a Samsung Razr in my bag?”

This is the shit that legit goes through my mind!

Baby steps, boo. Baby steps…

After months of putting things off, I finally forced myself to clean out my closets. I keep all my pants in one closet and everything else in another one. Anyway, when I pulled out my jeans, I discovered that I owned twelve pair. Twelve! My exact jean size, btw… Why do I own twelve pairs of jeans yet only wear three to four regularly? I don’t even wear jeans like that! I’m a leggings and sweats kinda girl (Elastic waists, anyone?)

So, in the end, I kept four pairs of jeans:

  • Denim culottes: I wanted a pair of cool, edgy denims. Don’t judge; you don’t know me like that 😛
  • Dark rinse, straight-leg: My “sophisticated” jeans to pair with heels or booties
  • Medium rinse, boyfriend cut: My comfy-fit jeans
  • Medium rinse, ripped, boyfriend cut: The jeans you pay a few bucks for to look hip when you could’ve just bought a pair of regular jeans and made your own fancy-schmancy rips and tears. (We’ll talk about smart spending in another post…)

Shall I tell you about my 8 black shirts? Nah…

Posted in less is more, Life, Musings

Getting Your People To Buy In

Posted on by Musings RJ

No, Thank You

When I say “people”, I’m referring to your circle — friends, acquaintances, but most importantly, your family. Have you ever been referred to as the “weird one” or the “on some next level shit” one of the family? While I was never explicitly called that, I’ve always felt that way because I’ve always marched to my own beat, even if it’s off-key and unpopular.

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Anyway, my sister is my very best friend. We have so much in common, yet we are as different as night and day — in looks, personality, tastes, you name it. My sister loves “stuff” and having it all around her, even if she has no immediate plans of ever using it. I, on the other hand, look at my “stuff” and immediately feel claustrophobic. My “collections” of candles, snow globes, and unused craft supplies are stressing me the fuck out!

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A mere sampling…

So, how do you tell your folks (friends included) about your new lifestyle without offending them? Personally, I’ve never sugarcoated a thing. I simply tell them, please do not buy me any more “chotskies” or “Oh, I saw this and thought of you” gifts. I think sis finally gets it.

While I’m so thankful and appreciative of the caring people in my life, I don’t need or want any more things that cannot be used for immediate consumption. And I feel like an asshole for suggesting things because then it seems like I’m making demands of peoples’ generosity. But my stance remains firm. Thank you, but no thank you…