Use What You Have!

Spring will be here before we know it.  Though we’ve had a pretty mild winter in my neck of the woods, I always look forward to the change of seasons.  Spring means longer days, reconnecting with neighbors, getting my hands in the dirt, becoming more active and the sounds of the world waking up.  Spring also means spring cleaning!  Here’s something to consider as you get ready for the transition: cleaning out by using what you have.  I’ve done this as a matter of necessity and a matter of choice, so I believe I can speak to both approaches.

Two years ago, with very little time for preparing, my husband and I hauled most of the contents of our house into storage.  We were a family in crisis and needed to do major home remodeling so that we could bring additional family members into our house.  What this meant is that a lot of stuff was stowed away that probably would have been better sent to Goodwill or the trash.  That storage became literal and psychological clutter that would have to be dealt with at a later time.

Last summer, I began the process of making trip after trip to load up my car with boxes, bring them home and then haul them into the house and up the stairs.  What loomed before me was the awful process of sorting through and deciding the fate of my stuff.  I dreaded it, but I’d made a promise to myself that I would touch each thing only once.  If I didn’t have a place to put it away, it couldn’t stay in the house.  Once I got going, I could feel the weight lifting off of me, and I was inspired to do more.  I decided that for the rest of the summer, I wouldn’t buy any new personal care products like shampoo, make-up, soaps or lotions.  Instead, I would use what I had.  At the end of the summer, if I hadn’t used something or decided it wasn’t a good product for me, I would give or throw it away.  This is an ongoing process.

We’ve done this with the pantry and freezer, too.  Essentials like milk, eggs, bread and fresh produce could be purchased, but other than that we had to be creative and use what we had.  No major grocery trips were made until the cupboards were pretty darn bare.  This fall and winter, I decided to do it with my wardrobe.  With the exception of a few basic purchases, what would it be like to resist buying new clothes until the ones you have are good and worn?  How could you creatively put together what you already have to make new outfits?  And then there are my art supplies and books.  Every time I get an idea for a new project or want a new book, I resist buying new materials and instead improvise with and use the things I already have.

This is what this experiment has done for me.  First, it has made me incredibly aware, despite my being more on the frugal end of the spectrum, of how much stuff I still manage to buy and accumulate.  Next, it’s made me more conscious of how much I already have and has led to me wanting less.  Most importantly, though, it has helped me to see just how resourceful I can be and just how little it takes to make me comfortable and happy.  A great deal of time is freed up and, when I do make purchases, even a treat from the grocery store that I have been resisting becomes a joyful act.

So in the final weeks of winter, why not consider using what you have in an act of preparation for spring cleaning?