Good morning

Hello World.

I decided to create this blog more as a journal than anything else.  Ever since I was a little girl I desired for cleanliness.  I wasn't very good at it, but I desired it.  I liked the way my room looked when my toys were all put away and the top of my desk was orderly.  I could see what my mother had done, but she never quite taught me how to achieve those things.  As I grew older, I learned about minimalism and only keeping things that you absolutely needed or loved.  However, I was burdened with all kinds of things that I was adding to my collection.  I had craft supplies, pictures, postcards, clothes, shoes, and books.  Oh, the books.  I love books and so they tend to find their way to me.  I even read books (quite a few of them actually) about minimalism.  But having all these things that I felt obligated to keep had kept me from becoming a practicing minimalist.  And then Something happened.

My spouse, Dan, has been living and working in Ohio for the past two years.  What started as a six month project extended into two years.  And then his company decided they needed him in that area for at least another two to three years.  Neither of us looked forward to spending half a decade living like we had for the past two years.  When he brought this concern to his employers, they said, "No problem.  Move your family here and we will pay rent on a house for you while you are here."  Wow! That means we don't have to sell our house in Florida, we can be together as a family, and our adult daughter can try her own experimentation in living my herself as she has decided to stay in Florida for her friends and job.  She will maintain our home here in Florida and we will move, sparingly, to Ohio.

This is where the experiment begins.  What is it that one needs to live for two years (or a lifetime) and still function.  What kitchen supplies do I need?  Do I really need sixteen different pieces of Pampered Chef stoneware?  How many knives do I really need?  Cutting boards? What pots and pans? And which kitchen gadgets do I truly use and which are convenience tools which only do one function?  How many mixing bowls do I truly need?  What spices need to be thrown out as they were purchased prior to our house (going on 9 years)?  How many coffee/tea mugs does a family of four truly need?  Plates? Glasses? Bowls? Strainers? And that's just the kitchen.

I have a unique opportunity to be able to only take what I think I will need while at the same time feeling safe, knowing that all my things are still just a phone call and Flat Rate Box away.  But for now I am having to think about what I want or, rather, need to take with me.  I have been participating in Project 333 for the past two or so years.  I don't keep to it very strictly because there are some things in the project that I already minimally do.  For instance I don't count my jewelry in the project because I wear the same two bracelets, three rings, and two earrings (in my four holes) all the time.  I haven't taken off my bracelets in the past twenty years except when medically necessary.  I have only a few pair of earrings that I change out in my lower piercings and I only have three necklaces that I wear, changing them usually seasonally.  I also don't count shoes in the project as I only have three pair that I ever wear.  I also don't count my knitted wear as I am a knitter and love different shawls, wraps, hats, and socks.  All of my clothes can neatly fit into three medium sized boxes. 

I hope you will enjoy watching my venture into minimalism.  My hope is that when (if) I do return to Florida that I will be able to release all the things I have gathered over the years and continue to live a more simplistic life.