Living Small

Last night I went through my often-done task of going through my closet and tossing clothes that I didn't wear last season and probably won't wear this season. I am lucky enough to have a couple of friends who would be happy to go through my cast-offs and give my clothes new homes, but I always feel a little weird doing this. Because I still LIKE the clothes I am giving away- they still look good, they still fit, and they are in good shape. But I just find that I have other items I like and wear more, so the older stuff needs to go to make room.

In case you are new here, this is pretty much my entire closet:

Just pretend it is clean, ok?

I feel like I have SO many clothes, but then I read other blogs with entire dressing ROOMS and I start to wonder if I am normal or abnormal in the amount of clothing I have. I also start to wonder if I would own more clothing if I had a walk in closet.

It begs the question- does having more storage space mean you accumulate more stuff?

I have noticed that since buying my locker a year ago, I have started storing a lot of stuff that I otherwise would have sold or donated before. There are also a lot of things I would like to own (like some small kitchen appliances!) that I don't even bother looking at because I can't store them. I wonder- if I had a larger kitchen, would I dish out hundreds of dollars for large mixers, waffle irons, and coffee makers? I mean, I have clearly lived for 3 years without needing these items...but maybe if I had more space I would turn these want feelings into need feelings.

I enjoy being able to have an entirely clean condo in a short about of time. I love not having clutter everywhere. I value the fact that this small space forces me to be ruthless in which possessions stay!! I go to other people's houses and they have SO MUCH STUFF I am shocked. How much money do we spend on junk we don't really need? How much emotional energy do you allocate to keeping this stuff around?

I am a pack rat by nature. I love to have tons of stuff and even right now all of my storage spaces are teeming with these I certainly do not need, but have convinced myself I need to keep for when I have more space one day. I have no desire to be a minimalist, but I do worry about overdoing it one day when I get more space. The cost of furnishing and decorating an entire house is probably a lot more than any of us wish to admit.

I am also lucky that I live alone. I can imagine one day when I get married there will be a constant battle with my husband of which of our personal items to keep and what new things to bring into our home. What if he shows up on the threshold of our matrimonial home with a collection of Star Wars paraphernalia?!?!

So tell me- how do you find the balance between filling your home but not drowning under clutter? Did you find owning a larger home meant you suddenly needed more stuff??