Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
One Pair of Boots
Last week, I read an article about becoming a minimalist that reminded me why, for all of my “less is more” preaching, I’ll never truly be a minimalist. While I completely concur with the author’s directive that a minimalist will spend more on quality products, the example he gave was tough for me. It’s gonna slay some of you.
When he said, “Now these are your boots. Your only pair of boots. Thou shalt not have another pair of boots.” I balked. I thought, “That’s entirely too much commitment.”
And commitment is really what it comes down to. I am constantly chiding my tween-age daughter to finish all the toiletries she begs us to buy. “Mom, can we stop at Bath and Bodyworks so I can get more body wash?” When I ask about the mango-coconut body wash she talked me into last week, she says, “Ugh—that stuff is horrible—I can’t use it.” Horsefeathers! You chose it. Commit to it.
I know that by global standards I lead a pretty cush life, but I like to think I am at least tough enough to endure the remainder of a bottle of body wash or suffer through a bag of chickpea snacks that turned out not to be all I was hoping for. I bought it. I’ll use it. And while my children have never had to walk five miles through the snow to get to school, I don’t think it’s too much to ask them to commit to finishing a bottle of overly scented body wash before purchasing another.
But shoes? I get why you have a lot of shoes (though I still think you could get rid of a few pairs). I can live with overly floral hair for a week, in fact, I can do without a lot of things, but don’t ask me to commit to one pair of shoes.
However, I challenge you to commit to using up stuff you already own instead of buying more: toiletries, exotic grains, earrings, note books, even tee shirts. Even new shoes (until or unless you toss an old pair). Hold yourself accountable. Commit.
And if you really can’t bear to use whatever it is, then commit to letting it go.