The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Minimalism in 90 Days Update – What was Unpacked During Week 5

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    Ruth Carter

    I still have a suitcase filled with clothes I haven't worn yet.
    I still have a suitcase filled with clothes I haven’t worn yet.

    I am over a month into my variation of Ryan Nicodemus’(of The Minimalists) “packing party” and I have yet to go a day without unpacking something. On most days I unpack only a few items. I expect that day will come soon, but I also expect days where I’ll be unpacking a lot more. I’m starting to think about what items are going to survive the final clean out even if I don’t use them on a regular basis – like the keys to my parents’ house in California or the Ziploc back of spare change I haven’t unpacked yet. If I think of those items and I know they’re going to be spared, then I’ll unpack them. Likewise, the moment I know an item isn’t going to survive the final clean out, it will go into the pile of things to be donated to charity.

    Here’s what I unpacked during the last week:

    Day 29

    • Crockpot and pan
    • DVD

    Day 30

    • DVD
    • Towel set
    • Handout and magnets (to attach it to the fridge)

    Day 31

    • Sweatshirt (It’s finally cold enough that I want a sweatshirt instead of a zippy to walk Rosie in the morning)

    Day 32

    • Antibiotic ointment
    • DVD
    • Replacement tube of Rosie’s toothpaste (I have several replacements for toiletries I currently use that are still in a box. I might unpack all of those because they will be used. Don’t worry – I only have 1 replacement for each item at most. I’m not like an extreme couponer who has 100 bottles of shampoo.)

    Day 33

    • Dress
    • Cassette

    Day 34

    • Music stand and sheet music
    • Donation to charity: unused travel size toiletries

    Day 35

    • Aztec sun (I’m storing this on the wall for now)
    • Birthday card for brother-in-law (bought it during Independents Week sale)
    • Stage manager bag of pens, highlighters, velcro, and safety pins (to work at Ignite Phoenix event)
    • Vinyl pants, FMBs, and pasties (to wear at Ignite Phoenix event)
    • Mascara, foundation, lip liner, eyeliner, shimmer powder, and lipstick case
    • KT Tape (for my sore leg), alcohol pads, and knee socks (to sleep in my KT Tape)
    • Music binder

    The list on this post goes through last Friday, but I usually shoot the weekly video on Sunday so I’ll be talking about a few things that you won’t see on the what-I-unpacked list until next week. I’m definitely trying to treat my condo more and more like a home. I don’t want a lot a knick knacks – just a few sentimental items that make me smile.

    Other updates from the Minimalism in 90 Days project:
    What was Unpacked During Week 1
    What was Unpacked During Week 2
    What was Unpacked During Week 3
    What was Unpacked During Week 4

  • Minimalism in 90 Days Update – What I Unpacked During Week 2

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    Ruth Carter

    Minimalism Boxes - October 26, 2014
    Minimalism Boxes – October 26, 2014

    I’m a little over two weeks into my new minimalism project where I only unpack what I need as I need it – inspired by the “packing party” Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists did. His process lasted 21 days. I’m giving myself three months for mine.

    I looked up Ryan’s packing party story in Everything That Remains and noted that his first day when he didn’t have to unpack anything was Day 10. I’m still unpacking things every day, but the number of things I need is dropping – still mostly clothes, kitchware, and now that I have a TV, DVDs.

    I realized that before when I needed something, I would look at everything I have and make a decision. Now that most of my stuff is still in boxes, when I need something – like deciding what I’m going to wear that day, I envision how I want to look and feel that day and decide accordingly. I don’t rely on the visual stimulation of looking at my stuff to inspire me but try to tap into what I really want instead.

    One of the challenges I face on a daily basis is paper. No matter how much I minimize my life, I will always have to deal with paper in form of mail, business cards from networking events, receipts, etc. I’m toying with the idea of letting it pile up and deal with it once a week instead of daily.  That might be a more effective use of my time. Given that “freedom” is something I value greatly, conserving my time for things that matter to me is important.

    For those who are interested, here’s what I unpacked during Week 2.

    My T-shirt Drawer - October 26, 2014
    My T-shirt Drawer – October 26, 2014

    Day 8

    • Spoon
    • Sundress and cardigan
    • DVD
    • Highlighter
    • Coupons and store club cards
    • Laundry soap, dust cloth, duster, dryer sheets, and dishwasher soap

    Day 9

    • Contact lenses, contact solution, lotion, and marker
    • Eyeglasses case
    • Bike pump
    • T-shirt and socks
    • Big soup pot, food storage containers, measuring spoons, medium pot, chopper, cooking spoon, colander, and onion goggles
    • 2 DVDs

    Day 10

    • 2 T-shirts, tank top, bra, and cardigan
    • Salad container and measuring cup

    Day 11

    • Tank top
    • Lids for food storage containers and mug
    • Extra razor blades and 2 types of mouthwash
    • Vase I use for spare change

    Day 12

    • Skirt, blouse, and Mary Jane heels
    • Remote mouse aka “clicker”
    • Makeup brushes, eyelash curler, compact, powder, and nose hair trimmer
    • Crochet project

    Day 13

    • Reflective belt for early morning running, t-shirt, underwear, Legal Rebel Converse high tops, and blazer
    • Extra business cards
    • Measuring cups

    Day 14

    • T-shirt
    • Home inspection binder
    • Q-tips and tampons
    • Small pot, wooden spoon, and new knives

    I wouldn’t be surprised if my first day where I don’t unpack anything comes within the next week. I think I’ll need about a month to get through the majority of the activities I do on a regular basis and then it will be easier to start going through my boxes and get rid of things on a more frequent basis.

    In case you missed it: What I Unpacked During Week 1

  • Minimalism in 90 Days – The Pre-Move In

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    Ruth Carter

    For those of you who missed it, I moved from a 1800 square foot furnished townhouse to a 895 square foot condo. Since my life was going into boxes, I decided to create my own variation of Ryan Nicodemus’ Packing Party. I decided to move myself to the new place but not unpack anything until I needed it to see how much stuff I actually use and what I truly need to function and feel comfortable.

    I closed on the condo on September 29th but I won’t move in until October 11th. I needed time to buy some basic furniture, pack up my life, and get it moved to the new place.

    Let me start by saying, Ryan’s Packing Party is a lot easier than mine. Moving sucks. I feel like my life for the last week has been hijacked by furniture stores, delivery people, utility people, and movers.

    I’m really glad I did a major clean-out of my life last year. I still had more to get rid of in this move, but it’s a lot less than what I’ve already parted with to date.

    I’m writing this post from new condo on the eve of the official move-in, at my new standing desk from Ikea, while I’m waiting for the furniture guys to arrive to exchange the damaged box spring they delivered earlier this week with an un-damaged one.

    The only furniture that belonged to me in the townhouse was a bookcase and my mattress so I had to go furniture shopping. Here’s what I’ve purchased so far furniture-wise for the condo: bed, box spring, 2 bedside tables, dresser, desk, desk chair, coffee table, 2 end tables, entertainment table (for the TV), and 5 lamps. The fact that I made this many selections without crying is a miracle. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m hellaciously indecisive. I have trouble ordering a sandwich. I purchased a couch too but it won’t be ready for a few more weeks so I’m sitting on a camping chair for now.

    My Living Room - October 10, 2014
    My Living Room – October 10, 2014

    Some people may be wondering if I’m a minimalist if I’m buying this much furniture. To me, minimalism isn’t about having as little as possible. It’s about limiting myself to the things that add value to my life. It’s ok to be comfortable.

    In the back and forths from the townhouse to the condo, I’ve brought over a few boxes, some oversized items that didn’t fit into a bankers box, and a few garments that I’d rather keep on hangers instead of folding them and getting them wrinkled. I brought over all my empty hangers in my laundry basket. It seemed dumb to have 3 boxes just for hangers. I cleaned out the freezer and realized the freezer at my new place is a lot smaller than the one I’m used to. I also went shopping for a few items that I knew I would need early on like a new comforter and toilet paper.

    This is supposed to be the dining area, but for now it's where the boxes are going to be.
    This is supposed to be the dining area, but for now it’s where the boxes are going to be.

    Here’s how unpacking is going to work. The movers are going to bring my things to the condo. Everything will be placed in the great room and nothing will be unpacked until I need it. (I expect this will be the fastest move they’ve ever done.) Once an item is unpacked, it can’t go back in its box. It has to be put away, given away, or thrown away. Today, I had to unpack a notebook so I could leave a friendly note on the windshield of the truck that’s been parking in my space.  Now I need to decide where notebooks are going to be stored.

    For the most part it’s been fun creating my new living space but I’m at the point now where I can’t wait to be settled in.