Fawn's 100 Things [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

Fawn

6-21-11, 6:46pm

I have done my annual count. It's 88 things this year. You can find the list and see photos at my blog, link in my signature line.

If you wait a couple days, I will also have posted the "Things I Share with the Kids" list too. No photos of that one. Last year was 188 items. :cool:

fidgiegirl

6-21-11, 7:15pm

Thanks for posting it! Inspiring!

porcelain

6-21-11, 8:30pm

That's incredible, I'm in awe.

leslieann

6-21-11, 8:37pm

Fawn

6-21-11, 9:13pm

Holy cow, Fawn, you dropped it down by a hundred items? I have to tell you that I think of you whenever I want to buy something or whenever I can release something into the universe. I also think often about how cool it might be to have only two shirts because, as you have pointed out, when they wear out you get to have more. I have fewer and fewer personal items but the four-season, big outdoors thing still keeps me holding a lot of stuff.

Thanks for posting...now I'm off to check the blog...

Oh, I'm sorry I was not more clear. My stuff only this year: 88 items. Stuff I share with the kids, which includes couches and kitchen stuff was 188 last year. I have not counted that stuff yet this year, maybe tomorrow.

iris lily

6-21-11, 10:11pm

This is very cool, I still love the "100 things" idea.

Wait--you need 12 more things to reach 100! Let me send you some stuff, haha.

Fawn

6-22-11, 12:28am

ha, ha. Maybe another ironing board.....or a couch resuced from your alley?

leslieann

6-22-11, 8:01am

This topic always keeps me thinking...I didn't have the experience that you did of having to leave in a hurry, but I did have the experience of having to leave with the least amount of stuff I could take but it still involved a truck as well as my car! And these many years later, I am still struggling to keep the STUFF at bay. So I appreciate this discussion because it helps me to ask myself the questions about my own stuff....do I need it? Do I love it? If I love and need it, why haven't I looked at it or used it in the last year (or five)?

I realized this morning that I don't have too many clothes but I sure do hold on tightly to the kitchen stuff. TWO rolling pins (one marble, one wooden) and I make stuff that needs rolling about once a year. I've also stopped eating anything made with flour, and so my baking is just, well, done. My stepdaughter still makes cookies, and that's fine. So I have all this baking stuff.....a variety of cake pans, muffin tins, a sifter (a sifter!!!), bread pans....that are not getting used. Yet I am sure that I'll be using them again sometime, likely at Christmas. So all that stuff sits here in the house waiting to be used. I was wondering this morning if I would feel different (better? Lighter?) if I let it all go. Fawn, your pictures of your grocery shop each week also get me thinking. Why do I stockpile stuff I don't actually end up using? Last weekend I divested the pantry of dried beans that were probably 10 years on my shelf. The frugal side of me was screaming but the clutter-free-wannabe was cheering.

Eeek, too much caffeine..this is getting long and all about me. I guess I mostly wanted to say, please keep up with posting about this topic! It helps me to think hard about what I am doing with stuff, and why. Being intentional about my stuff is what I aim for, I guess, not a number, but I think if I were more intentional, the number would drop pretty sharply.

Mrs-M

6-22-11, 9:01am

I always enjoy your "annual 100 things count" Fawn! There have been a few occasions where I've wanted to get involved and take inventory in my home too, but with a family of eight it's futile.

Kat

6-22-11, 9:41am

Thanks for posting! I so enjoy this and look forward to it every year! :-)

Fawn

6-22-11, 11:11am

leslieann--I enjoy discussing this topic too, and the particular dilemmas that other people face when decluttering interests me. Since you are no longer cooking with flour, but concerned about needing some of the baking supplies at Christmas time, why don't you think about what holiday baking you want to do and keep the supplies needed for just those things. Or create new holiday treats that you can eat as well as give.

I keep my blender for 2 reasons only: I make a fresh cranberry dish each Thanksgiving and Christmas that my children love and occasionally I like to use it making soups.

What I have noticed in my family is that there are about 20 meals that we eat over and over. Occasionally I will throw a new one in there, but I don't need every kitchen unitasker known to man to fix the meals my family likes. And I cook from scratch most of the time.

Mrs. M--You are so correct that family is an obstacle for the want-to-be minimalist. I like to think that we have found a happy balance here at my house.

kat-I'm glad you enjoy it. I have always enjoyed seeing how other unusual or creative lives are lived, even if I don't want to do it myself. I suspect that some of the interest in my count is like that....but I have heard many, many times from people like leslieann who say that it gets them thinking about their own stuff in a new way.

jania

6-22-11, 12:27pm

Thanks so much for sharing these pictures. I was greatly impressed by your shoe choice. I own seven pairs (which isn't that much and one pair goes with my work uniform) but I always seem to have the dilemma of black or brown. Your going with all black just makes sense and I love the heeled pair which I can see goes with pants or dresses.....I'm going to keep my eyes open for something like those, but that would put me at 8 pairs!

I continue to down-size my clothing selection and if I do get rid of something I'm not replacing it, unless it is a basic. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

Amaranth

6-22-11, 1:52pm

Thanks for inspiring us again with your list. It looks as though the 4 work tops could be mixed and matched with the 4 work bottoms, but I wasn't totally sure about the skirt. If so that would mean they could be matched 16 different ways before repeating.

Love the scarf too. It looks like it could be used as a versatile accessory: scarf tied different ways, belt, shawl. What are your favorite ways to wear it?

Have you thought about participating in one of the challenges where people choose 6 items to wear for a month. These are for normal everyday clothes. Exercise clothes, work uniforms, jackets/coats, and accessories aren't part of the 6.

Tradd

6-22-11, 2:53pm

Fawn, is that scarf one of the paisley patterned ones, available in a variety of base colors, from Target for $12? :)

If so, I have two - pink and purple base colors. I know other people with the green, burgundy, and grey base colors. LOVE them! So verstile! Helps me keep some tops year-round in my wardrobe.

I always love seeing your count! I've really gotten my clothes down and they now all fit in my front coat closet, with a small tub of winter clothes underneath. I found this out last night when I had moved them out of my bid walk in closet in BR so I could give it a good cleaning.

My issue? Books! Since I'm nearing the end of my training to become a catechist at my church, I've accumulated a TON of books! Both from my studies, as well as some books to use in teaching. I only have a small bookcase and keep most of the books in some tubs.

porcelain

6-22-11, 2:57pm

I've also stopped eating anything made with flour, and so my baking is just, well, done. My stepdaughter still makes cookies, and that's fine. So I have all this baking stuff.....a variety of cake pans, muffin tins, a sifter (a sifter!!!), bread pans....that are not getting used. Yet I am sure that I'll be using them again sometime, likely at Christmas. So all that stuff sits here in the house waiting to be used.

I bake very sporadically too. One thing to keep in mind is that you can cheaply and easily buy disposable aluminum bread pans, cake pans, etc. These are great because you can give the baked good as a gift in the pan, or if you eat the goodies at home the pans are completely recyclable. It's a win-win, with less clutter around the house the rest of the year!

Fawn

6-22-11, 4:48pm

jania--finding the perfect shoes is always a challenge. I have been known to buy a "back up" pair before the current ones wear out if I find them accidentally. I have to wear closed toe shoes for work.

Amaranth--yes, the 4 tops can be matched with each of the bottoms, though I prefer some pairings to others. I'm afraid I'm pretty boring with the scarf. :|( Because of my work as a nurse, I don't like things hanging from my neck when I am doing nursey things (changing dressings, wiping bottoms, etc) as they just get in the way. Usually I wear it on the outside of my coat and if it is really windy, up over my head, crossed under my chin and tossed around back. I have worn it draped over one shoulder when I went to a women's conference where everybody was overdressed. It was paired with a black short sleeved knit dress, now retired. I would not wear it around my waist unless I had dropped 20 #. I might participate in a clothing challenge another time. Right now, between mandatory overtime and 3 teenagers at home, I'm not taking on anything new until some current activity drops off. (Kinda like one in, one out, but for activities.)

Tradd--The scarf was a gift from my son and DIL last Christmas. I don't know where it came from, but DIL loves Target, so maybe. Books are a separate problem all together. Or maybe....they are not a problem at all. ;)

porcelain--I use those foil pans when I am making treats for school functions or a meal for a family or friend....they don't have to worry about returning it, especially nice for people in bereavement who don't need more added to their day.

Fawn

6-26-11, 11:58am

Update: I have added the "Things I Share with the Kids" count to the blog as well.

iris lily

6-26-11, 1:30pm

Tradd

6-26-11, 3:32pm

Keeping books in a tub in a closet is psychologically a practical thing to do. I believe that most humans, when presented with a flat surface, fill it up.

If you built bookshelves, and unless you built them exactly for the book count you have at the moment, you'd undoubtedly end up filling the shelves keeping books you don't especially care about. Been there, done that.

But for my art book collection I like the library to keep my books. But for Tradd's titles that wouldn't work, they are too specialized for a public library to have readily available, most likely.

Iris, correct. The library has very, very few of my titles. Only the most basic ones. The other catechist in my parish actually loans out books to people she teaches. Gah! What a thought! I rarely loan out books, unless I know the borrower won't trash them (I've got one friend who will WRITE in borrowed books. I've been known to not-so-gently tell him that's rude and destructive!). I'm going to have to buy an extra copy of some things (go used on Amazon) so my own copies aren't trashed. I don't even write in MY books!

Chickadee

6-27-11, 12:39am

I just wanted to say thank you, Fawn, for the inspiring list. You are amazing!

Now I have to figure out how to get even part way to where you are in decluttering. It might take a while. I am good about getting rid of stuff but then more seems to creep in to take its place. I think I just need to get very very serious about doing this. Thanks again for setting the bar so high. It gives me a point to aim for. :)