What the Schweighardts Don't Need

In my last post I hit on the concept of need vs doing without and since, personally, I've canvassed this topic before, I'd like to do a little recap of how things have changed this time around as I've sorted through our possessions.

Last year, I initially mainly attacked my wardrobe and established the number of items I would like to have in each category (i.e. pants, shirts, socks, sweaters, etc.) The concept was for each new item of clothing added, one would have to be taken out and donated. I've actually had an almost total turn-over of the items in my wardrobe since then. I decided that if I had a limited number of items they might as well be ones I like. And I'm very happy with how that has worked out. Packing for trips is a breeze! I just have to make sure my clothes are clean and I pack them. All of them. And it doesn't even take up half my suitcase. Joy!

Now, on the other hand, I still have a jacket/coat obsession. I have at least as many jackets as I do shirts. They speak to me and I speak back: "Hello, gorgeous, where have you been all my life?" I have issues. I'm working on it.

Last year I went through the girls toys and pulled out anything that was specifically baby-ish. This time around, I've gone at it like gangbusters. Who needs that many stuffed animals? really? It's hard putting them in bags because they're so cute and furry, but someone else can love them too, mmkay? Overall, I've re-organized the girls dress-up to all fit in a chest (that we already had, but was filled with stuff we don't need) so I could condense their toys onto one shelving unit and get rid of two plastic storage units they were also occupying.

Now, our kitchen is another story. I cook. A lot. And I require a lot of specific utensils/supplies/gadgets to get the job done the way I like it. It has been hard to sift through all the items I particularly like using and decide how vital they are to my kitchen. The biggest twinge I'm feeling here is how much space my canning stuff requires since I'm not canning this year and the jars are totally EMPTY and taking up a ridiculous amount of space. I may give them to a friend who would use them and be cool with me requesting some back if I change my mind next year.

I also have recently become disgusted by how many ingredients I have bought for specific meals...that never get made...and then those ingredients land on my pantry shelves...never to be eaten.

I don't necessarily feel they should be donated to others, but that I should be making it a priority to get that food into my family's bellies. I feel like ignoring those jars and cans sitting on my shelves and going out to purchase more food at the store subsequently creates even more waste.

I understand the need to have a stock of food...in case of an emergency (that's what the ramen is for) or to have much-used items on hand. But these items? They ain't moving. And I aim to get them on our table. Let's actually consume what we've purchased, eh?

So, until I leave for Scotland, I'm committing myself to making pantry/freezer meals. That means pretty much the only things I'm buying are fresh produce and bread from the farmer's market and milk for the young'uns.

Let's not even mention the week's worth of freezer meals I've put by to make sure no one starves to death while I'm gone. But, outside of that, I think I could easily feed my family from the stock we already have for darn near a month.

So far I've only pulled spaghetti chicken and wild rice casserole out of that lot, but there is much, much more to come. I'll keep you updated on my how-much-food-is-actually-in-that-pantry saga.

Overall, I feel like this particular episode of purging things from our home has been a good thing. I consider it successful in that it has caused pretty much everyone in the house to evaluate their own possessions...instead of me just trying to find things that no one cares about any more to donate to Goodwill.

I hope that this will set an overall trend for the future of our home: the desire to live with less and make do with what we already have. As with any life goal, however, it's going to require regular maintenance and specific intent to accomplish.

Maybe I'll find myself checking in, yet again, next year with another need-related post. It'll probably be more in line with an intervention: "What The Willian Doesn't Need: More Jackets"