I am on my third day of active downsizing. I know I am not doing this correctly, but my wrong way approach is intentional. I have attempted minimalism before. I had moderate initial success followed by a rebound hard the other direction that I did not even realize I was doing. I have said this before. I grew up in a time and culture where collecting and possessions were valued. I was in my thirties and drowning in stuff ( a state I haven't ever fully escaped from) before I realized that the things I was surrounding myself with were having a negative effect on my life and mental health.
Comic books, if you keep them around after reading them, take up space. Roleplaying games need bookshelves. Both the shelves and the books take up tons of space. Card and board games take up an impressive amount of space. The temptation with board games is to keep adding shelves which also take up space. Video games, systems, and controllers take up a surprising amount of space. Books take up space and the warp space and time around them.
Pretty soon you find yourself using the term library. I have a video game library, a library of books, a movie library, and a library of comic books. Defining it that way has been a way to reshape the concept that I have had a problem with stuff. Truth be told, stuff isn't the problem. I realized this when I found myself trying to find another definition for my giant collection of swords, knives, and guns. Can a person have a weapons library?
While I am not at the place to get rid of stuff totally, I decided I did need to get it out of my face and begin to enjoy my space more. Thankfully, I have an on property storage container where things can be kept safe and secure. The hitch to that is getting it all moved out there. I decided to make this an exercise in exercise which I need a lot more of.
I carried my books, comics, roleplaying games, and their accompanying shelves by hand. You can learn a lot of resentment toward stuff moving it this way. I only allowed myself two tools: a backpack and a messenger bag. I started Monday morning. I finished phase one of my plan Wednesday about noon just before I started writing this post. As a side note, I also removed the majority of my knives keeping only the blades I actively use: my Swiss Army Knife (toothpick, occasional screw tightening, cutting apples), my Kershaw auto which is my every day carry, a razor knife for opening packages, and my butterfly knife which I take great joy in for reasons I won't get into here beyond it was a fidget spinner back in the golden days of my youth. I do have a K-Bar combat knife and a Camillus Carnivore which live in my tool box unless they are needed for heavy duty cutting tasks.
Why am I justifying so many blades? Because I probably need to remove at least a few more. I want to get down to the essentials. I want those essentials to be as few as possible. It is practical to have a general purpose blade and a blade you keep clean for spontaneous fruit eating. It is good to not gunk up and destroy a good blade cutting through tape and card board. God gave us replaceable razors for such things. Still, some of these knives are unnecessary. I know it and am resisting a bit.
Do More of This
Keep Reducing
I want to keep getting things pared down. I still a huge stack of board games I would like to remove to storage because they aren't getting played or even looked at. I want to reduce my clothing down to the stuff I actually wear. I want to get things set up in a functional and fun way that makes me feel good about my home.
Fix 'er Up.
I am blessed that I own two homes. The smelly under carriage of that blessing is that both of my places need WORK. Some of it is as simple as me applying putty, sanding, and adding paint. Some of it requires significant money (putting in a new roof, heating and air unit, replacing all the windows in my primary residence) and time. Some of this stuff has been put aside out of necessity, but I am in a place where I want to get all the work done without distractions. This is why I will probably plan more camping trips than trips to theme park$.
Doing What Works
I need more spades games, rook games, and Wii Sports in my life. Those are things that my family can get together and do without major conflict. I have had my eye on a portable projector to connect to my Switch on the idea that it might be absolutely amazing to project Sports onto the side of the camper and Bowl. I want to keep things simple and work in the structure that I know helps us all get along and value our time together. I thought about that a lot when buying Christmas presents this year.
Do Less of That
Buying Physical Books
I spent quite a bit of money buying hard copy last year. Moving them in my hiking pack (which is large enough to survive a couple of days out of) to put them into storage had me questioning why I didn't just buy digital copies. For a few books digital is not an option. For most of them it is. I will read more next year than I did this year. I just have to remember that it is easier to store books digitally.
No More Knives
I put Locke from Lost to shame with my blade collection. I could furnish a boy scout troop and a secret cabal of ninja with a few knives left over. The only exception to this rule would be replacing throwing knives as I break them. I have a strong arm and from time to time I kill a throwing knife. Normally I buy them in double sets so I shouldn't have to purchase throwing knives for a while.
No More Collecting
I only have one thing I am going to see through on being "complete" and that is my 5th edition D&D book set. I will have to decide if I am going to keep buying books into One D&D or not when the official launch happens. I figure I won't see a new Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, or Dungeon Master's Guide until 2024. That means there will be 4 or 5 D&D books that will launch in 2023 for the existing system (or a hybrid of 5E and One D&D.) I really want to own all of an edition of Dungeons and Dragons. So far, so good. It would be great if I could play or run some of these adventures.
As for comics and the rest of things I have collected, I have already broken the habit. I have a few stories I still love reading. I am open to a few outstanding writers or artists. If I had my guess, I will probably stop buying single issue comics at some point in time during 2023. My pull list now is just so small.
I have committed to only buying video games as I play them. There are a few titles coming up that I am really interested in, but until I am ready to invest the time and attention on them, they can wait for me online... unless Lollipop Chainsaw releases again. I will drop what I am doing for that one. Such a fantastic game. I might go play my PS3 copy rather than blogging more this afternoon.
No More Clutter
My house is getting to a place where there are not long complicated issues with stuff. I intend to keep it that way and make each room functional. To maintain that, I have promised myself that by my birthday at the end of April anything that has been resting in storage will get purged (with the obvious exception of the D&D books) I suspect I will make quite a bit of money on eBay doing this though it will take time and energy.
There is probably also a spring yard sale in my future. I hate the idea so much, but I know it is a quick and easy way to get rid of common items that won't sell well online. I like imagining what life would be like if I had just enough stuff to have a functional garage, a few boxes of holiday decorations, and my D&D set tucked away on one neat shelf.
Dreams do come true... with dedication and patience.
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