Summer Reading

I hope you all read my post introducing the concept of minimalism. I took the challenge to heart and for the following week I recycled the same 6 articles of clothing AND made a list of my 100 most essential possessions. I admit that I cheated a bit by making my pots and pans a single category of item on the list. But I’m happy to have gone through the exercise, because now I’m more aware of the things I own, the things I need, and it helped me to scale back a lot on what I consider to be nonessentials. And best of all, it helped me to feel extremely productive. With the added sense of productivity and the organization and uncluttered-ness of my living space, I feel that my mind is a lot more uncluttered and I am ready to put toward higher pursuits.

I personally feel just because I've graduated doesn’t mean that my learning comes to a standstill. With the added free time and the lack of obligatory reading from classes, I want to start ramping up my reading. I don’t just mean reading the newspaper or blogs (though I certainly appreciate you all reading my “local voice”!), but picking up a paperback (or an eReader device) and reading a full-fledged novel. I've already made it through Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Other Selected Short Stories. Below is a list of more classics and other novels that I hope to read, compliments of The Lisa Simpson Book Club on Tumblr:

 The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

Ghost World, Daniel Clowes

The Adventures of Tin Tin, Hergé

Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

Man and Superman, George Bernard Shaw

Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren

The Master of the Senate, Robert Caro

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen

The Babysitter’s Club, Ann M. Martin

The Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

The poems of Emily Dickinson

The works of Jane Austen (1 down!)

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

The poems of Robert Pinsky

The work of Joyce Carol Oates

The work of Gore Vidal

Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

A Separate Peace, John Knowles

The work of Tom Wolfe

Moneyball, Michael Lewis

Introducing Minimalism

After going through 3 moves over the past 18 months, I've realized I've acquired a massive amount of things, many of which I do not see on a regular basis. I think that most people, particularly recent graduates, are in the same situation that I am. Now I'm planning on sorting out things I need, things I don't, things that have no reason for assigning any value, and really tackling the mound of things I have acquired.

A year or so ago minimalism started to get really popular. The New York Times wrote an article on an experiment that called for people to only wear the same six articles of clothing for a month. This movement is called Six items or less and it is still active. There were exceptions of course, including undergarments, swim wear, workout clothing, work uniforms, outerwear, shoes and accessories. But the findings were still salient. People didn't realize that they were wearing the same clothes day after day, and the time freed up from picking out an outfit allowed for higher endeavours. The "100 Thing Challenge" also became a popular way to build up to (or maybe pare down toward) a minimalist lifestyle, by keeping only the 100 most necessary items. In this day and age, everything is being pared down, from personal spending habits to the portions on our plates, and there is no reason why this shouldn't be extended to the testaments to consumerism that take up your valuable space.

Perhaps your unneeded items can find a new home. I find a lot of satisfaction in donating unused clothes. Clearing out your pantry of non perishables can lead to some needy people benefiting from the can of tuna you'll never open. Or if you're a capitalist, sell your goods on Craigslist. I've personally had a lot of success and it's only 10 minutes of your time to make a posting.

Here are a few tasks to experiment with:

Pick out 6 essential items of clothing and only wear those for a week.

The satisfaction and added time that will come from not having to sort through your closet will help make this your most productive week yet.

Make a list of the 100 things you could not do without.

That ice cream maker that's been collecting dust since you bought during the last scorching DC summer, or the unused crepe pan you bought after that life-changing trip to Paris? It better not be on the list. The rest of the items doesn't need to be immediately thrown away. Just take care in what you chose to add to that list once you reach 100.

Start by tackling your clutter in a hands-off manner, that way you don't overwhelm yourself. Perhaps clearing your space of the clutter can help clear your mind as well, that way it can be used for higher pursuits. More on that in my next post.


If you are interested in reading more on minimalism, the blog Zen Habits is a great resource and provides a great list of further reading.