What You Need and What You Don't Need: How to Tell the Difference

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” - William Morris

I've been hauling a lot of stuff around with me for a long time. I sold most of my furniture, which I actually "need" now, but that's not hard to replace. The thing is, I've unpacked all my essentials, and I STILL have dozens of boxes, which makes me wonder how much of this stuff I actually "need."

I think about all that has gone by the wayside -- sold, given away, left behind or stolen -- and it's amazing how little I miss it. I never thought I would have a 2 BR house again, so I gave away my full-size mattresses and frame. It was old, so a new one is worth buying. I sold a lot of furniture I could have used now, such as bookcases, cabinets and desks. I ran out of space on the truck, so had to leave a lot of plants and gardening stuff behind. All of that stuff, I actually "need" now, but it's gone for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because I either needed money or was uncertain I would have space for it. I won't even go into the things that were stolen. I'm sure once I really get everything unpacked, I'll be missing more than I think I am now.

Still, I'm doing o.k. without unpacking one thing more. I have all my kitchen stuff, my bath stuff, my bed stuff, and my clothes and toiletries. I even got to unpack some "pretties" and put them on display. Therefore, most of what I still have packed away is not stuff I need, but stuff I want, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I like pretty things adorning my walls and furniture. Some things you have just to make you happy. They aren't practical, they are just beautiful. Some of them invoke beautiful memories of travel or an important person. But how do you determine how many beautiful things you need?

When I was leaving my house, I spent months going through every item and determining if it could be discarded. I did that again when I moved from SW FL back here to Gainesville. What I have now is all the things that are most important to me, things I can't replace easily or at all. I still have a few sentimental items I could sell or give away, and I may do that by taking pictures of them and then letting them go. There definitely will not be room in this house for everything in all these boxes, and even if there was, I have to make decisions sometime about what is necessary for my happiness and what is not.

Once you get down to this point, the decisions are tougher. One reason I chose this house over the tiny 450 sf apartment was that it was too small for all my "stuff." One day, I may find that I've gotten rid of so much that I can actually live in a smaller place, but right now, I love it here where there is a little room to spread out.

So when you are determing what you really "need" in your new tiny or small home, don't forget to include some beautiful things, things that make your home your own, and not just some sterile, functional environment with bare walls. Find creative ways to display your favorite books or your favorite pictures. If possible, repurpose treasured items to be useful. For example, I'm going to repurpose my old childhood dresser by using ideas I've saved to my Trash to Treasure board on Pinterest.

Downsizing has to be brutal, sometimes, but it doesn't mean you have to let go of everything you love.