Minimalism Continued

So...I took three boxes to Goodwill last week. Three large boxes. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Also, I began my minimalist experiment by creating an inventory of everything I own, following a few basic rules:

1) Collections count as one item
2) Clothes don't count
3) Toiletries don't count
4) Anything I'll be throwing away/using (like food and whatnot) before I move doesn't count


The goal was to try and get my list of howevermany things down to a maximum of 100 things. Problem: after the inventory, I only had about 57 items. Good for me? I guess I've already minimized. Now all I have to do is keep it up.

In other news: I aced my first round of exams. Hooray for my 4.0!

2010: An Exercise In Minimalist Living

I've just decided that I hate having stuff. Any stuff. Blankets, pillows, books, clothes, dishes, pots & pans, CDs, hair stuff. Too much stuff. In my house. I'm getting rid of it--not all of it, but a large portion. I'm a bit of a collector (read: hoarder), so I definitely won't be able to strip down to the bare minimum, but I'm sure going to try.

I got the idea to try out minimalism when I realized that I've been doing a lot of packing, unpacking, moving, re-moving, and boxing up/throwing out a lot of my stuff. I've already moved six times in my adult life--and I'm only 20!

I hate the process of moving. It's hairy, it's expensive, and it happens so often for me that I don't even bother to take my stuff out of the boxes anymore. I have a big move coming up this summer: I'm headed to Tucson, AZ to finish my undergrad. I'm from Texas. If I don't get rid of all my junk, it'll be at least $600 out of my pocket for a moving van. As a broke college student, I don't have that kind of money. Solution: get rid of all the stuff I don't need; save money where I can.

So first, all my extra/old (but gently used) clothes are going to Goodwill. As are my tonsandtonsandtons of extra kitchen stuff. That's all any of this is. Just stuff. I'm also throwing out my old socks, dirty pillows, and DVD cases. You may be surprised how much space you save when you just keep the DVD disc. I'll save even more space since I own over 100 movies. That would be a lot of extra plastic.

Anyway, I'll keep updates of how it goes on my blog. I've found a fully-furnished, four bedroom apartment in Tucson; but with the minimalist mindset, I'm considering a 300sqft studio house for me and my dog. I'm just not sure if it's fair to keep a not-so-tiny dog in a tiny place, though she'll have a yard and we'll be on dog adventures at the park quite regularly. The smaller studio would save me about $100 a month on rent, but that doesn't include the utilities that the larger, furnished place offers. Like I said, still thinking about it.

My minimalist experiment isn't just about cutting down how much stuff I have but also on how much money I spend. Broke college student. No money. Even with a job and a half. I'll save anywhere I can, thanks.

I have a million ideas in my head, so I'm off to get started. More ideas to come.

I've decided to write a book.

I got my first words on paper tonight. So far there are 626 of them. I also have a few titles I'm working with. Not sure how everything will turn out. I'm 1% of the way through! I'm really excited about this.

Dallas Is Not My Favorite Place

I'm in Dallas now. No job, no school, two friends, no boyfriend, and essentially no car. What to do with my time?

I need a hobby. Currently, my only one is helping my mom take care of her new horse for about two hours each day. He's a pretty cool animal. There's a horse on that ranch who loves me, though. He followed me around in the pouring rain for half an hour today. I think it's pretty well decided that we're friends.

In other news, I have no other news. I spend my days watching tv, looking for a job, and surfing the web. I'm trying to figure a way out of Texas as soon as possible, but that's still slow going.

I really have nothing to write about. Maybe after a nap.

Women's Health Is Fun

Health update: I just discovered what appears to be a cyst on the underside of my left breast. I went to the doctor for a physical exam, and she's referred me to a surgeon to see about removing it.

This is weird, even for me and my constant weird symptoms. I don't know what's going on with my body (a bit of an abnormal case), but I'm trying to cover all my bases. I got tested for every STI under the sun and am [im]patiently awaiting the results. That should happen in about a week. *crosses fingers*
For various, unnerving reasons, another possibility is pregnancy. I don't think I am, but I can't help but wonder. Things are just too strange right now.

My appointment with the surgeon is on Monday. If nothing is discovered from that, the STI test results are negative, and I get my period next week; I'll have to go to the Women's Health Center for some more thorough examinations.

Recap

First milestone: Monday
Second milestone: Tuesday
Third milestone: next Friday

Hopefully, it'll end there.

I'm trying to keep up with my blogging. I think it'll be pretty easy to do now that the summer has officially begun. I'm not taking any classes, most everyone is out of town, and my only time commitment is work for five hours every day. Not bad. Plenty of time to write.

Anyway, I'm wearing quite a smile today. I don't know how to describe it. I have a million wonderful thoughts in my head and so much happiness inside me it's ridiculous. I talked to my baby's namesake the other day. I'm glad for that. We haven't spoken in a while, and I really miss him.

I hope to see Up on Tuesday or Wednesday with my favorite person of the day. I've heard it's REALLY good. And I want to catch it in 3D for sure.

Since I first heard about the Blink reunion, I've been following Mark Hoppus on twitter. His stuff is actually pretty entertaining. If he weren't so funny, I'd delete my account right now. You should check him out. Ashton Kutcher's twitter, on the other hand, is dumb. I really don't know how that poor guy has so many followers.

I'm trying to plan a camping trip this summer. I've had this [free] tent for a year now and am itching to christen it. I also love camping.

I'm reallyreallyreallyreallyreally smiling big today. It's ridiculous. I feel like I just took a supercrazy huge step in my life. I may have just made a friend. And he may have stolen my Whataburger and my brownies. Well, actually the brownies were for him. Eat them all, babe!

Plans for this week: Recover, sleep, get some food in my stomach, work, get paid, pay some bills, hit the movies, spend some time by the pool, chill with my homies.

I Haven't Blogged In AGES

Howdy, blog..ees. Blogees!

I'm sick. In bed. Sooo...I have nothing to do but play on the net. Here I am :D

Anyway, about restaurants: sit where the hostess seats you. Don't bitch about your table. Leave at least a 10% tip (the servers only get about $2 an hour).
Ok, I'm done venting about that.

In other news...I'm pretty sure I just flunked out. No worries. I don't really care about school anyway.

AND just as I was about to say, "I think I'll try this dating thing again," I get news that all my friends in relationships are having the worst time ever. I'll save dating for another day.

I got a new car! It's a Nissan. Pretty nice if I may say so. And I have a new job. I won't tell you where I work because I'm trying to remain stealthy. But it's really nice. I like it.

And I am probably the second or third happiest I have ever been in my entire life.