REDUCE, reuse, recycle: Update II

This week was a good one for getting rid of stuff. My friend Laura posted on Facebook that she was going to do a drop-off of cosmetics & toiletries to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. The DEWC has a wide range of programs, including an emergency shelter & a drop-in centre. They are always looking for donations of things like moisturizer, shampoo & other toiletries for the women they serve. If you've got a stash of hotel shampoos & soaps or a moisturizer you tried recently & didn't like, bring it to the DEWC!
I went through my bathroom cabinets & found some conditioner that I've used a little of & no longer need. I also had a few sample-sized cleansers & moisturizers that I'm never going to use. Then I opened up my nail polish collection. Some you who see me regularly in person, but haven't known me that long probably have never seen me wear nail polish. It's been years. I kept a bottle of red & a bottle of clear polish & gave away the rest: about two dozen bottles, nearly every colour of the rainbow (seriously: blue, green, purple, orange, white, black, silver, gold, the usual gamut of pinks, reds & browns.) Laura picked up the bag & a few from other people & dropped it off by bike this week. I feel so much better having cleared a bit more space in the bathroom & hope that finding a nail polish she likes will bring a smile to someone's face.


I also found out on Facebook about a new thrift store that's opening up in our neighbourhood. Aunt Leah's Thrift Store is collecting donations of clothing & furniture right now, planning their grand opening on December 2. You can find them in the Lee Building at 177 East Broadway at Main Street. Aunt Leah's Place is a charitable organization that helps foster kids & teen moms, focussing on housing, work skills training & parenting skills for young people who would otherwise fall through the many cracks in the system.

Aunt Leah's lovely volunteers arrived today with a U-haul truck to pick up our two TV stands, a desk chair, a rug, a dish rack, a kid's chair & four garbage bags of clothing. If you've got some stuff to donate, please contact Angelina Oates at  aoates@auntleahs.org or phone 604-525-1204 ext 232. They'll come & pick it up! 


Our living room feels a bit empty with all the furniture we've removed from it in the last month or so. I can't wait to redecorate! We have some white leather armchairs & matching sofa in mind, possibly a new coffee table as well. All are better quality than the stuff we intended to be temporary that we've been sitting on for nearly a decade. Getting rid of all those clothes really feels liberating too. I can't believe how much space they were taking up, just sitting there, unworn. I gave away a few things that I do occasionally wear too--I was fairly ruthless about my 'minimalizing': I tossed many things that I don't really love or that doesn't fit me well. Sadly, I still have a lot of clothes that I don't love in my wardrobe. I think if I reduced it to the favourites that look great & fit well, I wouldn't have enough clothing to go a week without doing laundry. 


I'm starting to realize that all the stuff we surround ourselves with can have a power over us, strongly affecting our mental well-being. Having too many things, especially poorly organized, just isn't healthy. All this decluttering, donating (& hopefully some selling) is going slowly, but every bag of stuff I give away makes me feel better. I feel like I was buried in a mountain & I'm slowly digging my way out.