Day 21: Stuff

Photo by Headscarf - wikicommons

Several years ago I had a conversation with my father while he was giving me a tour of his new redone house.  He exclaimed that he was so relieved to no longer be living in the just the two rooms they'd spent the past few months in.  I remember looking around the room we were in, the studio above their garage and thinking about how my entire apartment could fit withing its walls.

Recently, okay last night,  I had the realization that everything I owned fit into one 10' x 12' room.   This is the size of my bedroom  in the apartment I share with four other people.  With the exception of a few pots and pans that reside in the kitchen, all that I own has a spot within these four walls.

This includes my yarn and fabric stashes.  No lie.

The summer before I left for Semester at Sea I put a lot of time into paring down what I owned.  I had a yard sale. I gave a lot away to friends and the rest went to Goodwill.  What I had left sat in storage for the three and half months I was gone.

Upon my return I went to my dad's place, where my things were in storage in the basement.  I remember thinking how small my pile of belongings looked.

Maybe living in a small cabin on a ship with only two suitcases changed my perspective on what it is I actually need, because in looking around I try to recall some of what I gave away or sold, and other than one missing favorite cookbook - I'm unable to recall any of it.  I don't feel like I am missing anything.  In fact, materially I feel rather content.

And so I realize that I have achieved one of the goals I'd set for myself a few years ago.  To narrow down my collection of things enough so I could eventually move into a yurt or a tiny house.  If I can fit everything comfortably into 120 square foot room, I can certainly fit it into the average 250-400 square feet of your typical tiny house or large yurt!

I guess it's time to start chasing goal number two!