We DON'T NEED all this stuff. Or how I cleaned my life
Hi Steemit!
I wanna share with you my experience of rearranging everything after living in 3 different countries and 8 different apartments in the last 5 years.
In my second year in the University I was lucky to live alone in a 4-bedroom apartment, as my parents decided to move outside the city. And this was the time I loved shopping the most.
In 1-2 years it was no longer a 4-bedroom apartment. It was a one-bedroom with three wardrobes. I had separate wardrobes for purses, dresses, formal outfit. And, by the way, I was not a rockstar. I was just another girl getting crazy about fashion.
The first issue happened to me when I moved to live with my boyfriend. I moved, but my stuff didn't move. I was traveling to him with a selection of clothes for couple of days, and then came to my apartment to change and pack a new selection. The apartment now became 4-wardrobe apartment with no bedroom. It was ridiculous. I loved it.
It all changed with my first move. That time to Geneva, Switzerland. I had a transportation company to come and pack my stuff, so I did not have to worry about it. But when I started seeing the number of boxes that they were preparing, I realized that something is wrong here.
All this stuff was getting ready to be packed, fly few hours to a different country, get through customs, and then get unpacked and put in another wardrobe to probably never be put on.
At that moment I cleaned about 30% of my stuff. Still the remaining clothes had to stay in the Moscow apartment, as my new place in Geneva could not fit it.
The next 2.5 years in Geneva changed me a lot. The life that I was living there was a completely different experience. Cycling instead of driving a car. Meeting at the park instead of sitting in the restaurant. Promenade by the lake instead of walking in the shopping mall. And travelling. Constantly travelling - Europe, Asia, USA, Middle East, South Africa. I didn't care about clothes anymore. They were there to serve me, not visa versa.
And than, during the next few years, I got rid of 80% of my stuff. Not only clothes, everything. It's like a sport - once you start, you cannot go back!
I realized, that I can be happy with much less things in my life. Actually, I am much more happy with less things:)
Now I live in New York. I have moved last year, and there are still things that I didn't bring over here yet. I am face controlling every piece that comes to my new apartment.
So here are just few rules that I follow now to keep my wardrobe small and efficient:
I only live now. Today I spend most of the time outside with my baby and at informal meetings. Dresses that are waiting for me to be nominated to Oscar should go away.
If I don't wear something for a year, it should go away.
I am not going to be thinner or fatter (hopefully!) anytime soon. Only things that fit me perfectly now should stay.
If there is something that I don't wear, but which holds some precious memories for me, I take picture and then get rid of it. Pictures also hold memories, and they don't take space.
I only keep those old things, that will appreciate with time. A classic Chanel purse will. Old jeans probably won't.
I understand why Steve Jobs was wearing the same Levi's and why Mark Zuckerberg is always in the same-looking hoodies.
Few clothes not only save you space and money. It saves your time and energy. It spares you from thinking what to wear and gives space in your head for something more valuable.
And, to finalize my thought, here are some facts about the fashion industry (from the lecture I have been attending in MoMA):
- Today we have on average 300% more clothes that the generation 100 years ago
- On average we wear the same piece of clothes 7 times, which is, obviously, much less than its useful life
- The use of cheap materials, mainly polyester, increased from 2 to 90% in the last 100 years
- Polyester is not degradable and not recyclable. Every piece of polyester ever produced is still somewhere on this planet.
- The production of polyester the the most energy consuming, compared to any other textile (eg. 8 times more energy consumed than in the production of linen)
- When washed, polyester extracts little elements that are washed in the waters and then into the seas and oceans
- Testing of wild fish in the supermarkets showed that 1 out of 4 fishes had these elements in it
- And more, more, and more. I just could not remember everything.
Seriously, let's just stop buying and stuffing our wardrobes. If you haven't already:)
Cheers!
Katya
P.S. By the way, if you've made it to the end of the post and feel like doing something good... here's the Steemit Charity post:
Where every upvote transfers into good cause!
What do you do with all the old stuff? Garbage?
No, never!
I usually give it to my sister, if it's a nice thing that she may like:)
Otherwise I give it to charity.
And if it's an old thing that does not look decent anymore, I send it to recycling. In Geneva there were special bins for it in the city, and in Moscow shops like H&M accept old textiles for recycling
Nice... I've regretted throwing a lot of stuff which later found out had quite some value. Although I'm not talking exclusively about clothes - but clothes too can have value if they are branded. Btw, interesting syncronicity what you said about your sister - my brother left me tons of stuff this afternoon to sort through in case I want something :D He downscaled his stuff, like you did...
hehe cool! It's always nice to catch these moments)
Regarding the other things that I got rid of - most of the electronics are recyclable and you can bring them in the stores that sell it. The kitchen appliances and other things from my Moscow apartment were happily accepted by my neighbors. In Geneva I was lucky as the girl who moved into my apartment needed everything and she bought all my stuff! Even the coffee machine :)
This article is written very cool , I liked it even write!
Thank you!
Great article. Cycling instead of driving is always a good idea. It mixes exercise with transportation. A bike is a very cheap and efficient machine. You end up saving tons of money on gas insurance, etc...
Absolutely! The only thing is that you wanna feel safe... So in the cities like Geneva you can easily cycle to work, and in Moscow central areas too. But in New York I don't dare..
I live in Calgary and I can definitely relate to what you are saying. Distances here are also too long, for example my commute to work is 23Km each way, from the suburbs to downtown, there isn't a single bike lane or protected bike lane on the way. One day I'll go to Europe to experience a real bike city.
I can imagine... You should go to Amsteram then!