Crap, Cruft, and Clutter.

I think I have figured out that I simply do not fit in with many current mind sets. It takes me almost three years to choose and decide to purchase a new watch (under $500) after my previous watch was stolen... and even when I had decided to purchase a new watch... it still took me almost nine months to decide on one. I can't take most purchases with the kind of 'money and space will always be available to me' attitude that I see so many people flaunt.

Christ, having more than $200 debt on my credit cards nearly sends me into panic mode.

It took me three months to decide to purchase a $40 blanket. I looked at it quite a bit. Checked other places for higher or lower qualities. Price check. Then the two month, "do I really need this?!" check. Blankets have dual-purposes... they are used to keep you warm AND protect your items when you need to pack and move. I eventually decided $40 was a good buy for a recycled bamboo blanket.

I almost never purchase anything not food-related on a whim. I *HATE* impulse buying. It's crap. It will end up being cruft. Then it will become landfill for the next gajillion years because it's made of stuff that isn't biodegradable. I CAN'T STANDZ ITZ! (However, I will pick up marzipan croissants for CBU on a whim... because that's just fun - he loves them. I introduced him to marzipan - an almond-sugar creme, and the boy was hooked. I'M A FOOD PUSHER! MWAHAHAHAHA)

Anything that costs more than $500 .... yeah. I'll be thinking about that for a while. I mean, do I REALLY need it?! How did I live before without it?! Did something in my situation change that now requires me to purchase something like that?! Oh yeah, you can see where I go with this.

I don't own a tv. I don't own a motorized vehicle anymore. I don't need them. I don't own a house anymore (god, the upkeep... flats are the way to go! owning a flat ROCKS!) The only kind of big-ticket items I look at anymore are new futons or bookshelves.

I've cut my life down to (big items / furniture-wise): a table for my computer, a chair, a lamp, a small table for my butsudan, a rice cooker, a water kettle, a vacuum coffee maker, two gas burners for a stove, a convection oven the size of a microwave (no microwave), a small fridge, a futon, bookshelves, and a small couch. That's it.

What's the point of having a refrigerator the size of an armoire?! I'd RATHER have the ARMOIRE! I purchase fresh vegetables every week, and use what I purchase. I don't have leftovers. I like having ice and cool vodka/tequila, so, a small freezer is nice. Teeny tiny fridge...

I also don't understand the point of having shin-high tables everywhere. Clutter. Clutter-dust-magnets. Nope. Tossed those. Bookshelves serve a better purpose. I have tons and tons of books. (Ok, if I have ONE impulse buy trigger... it will be a book... or several.)

I wear t-shirts and jeans, underwear and socks. I don't need a closet the size of a japanese flat. I have a basic free-standing armoire with a single shelf above, a pole for hanging things, and six metal baskets. All of my t-shirts are rolled into cute little sushi rolls and stuffed into sacks. Clean, fast, efficient. No crap & cruft. Just grab and go.

I own super awesome thin anti-microbial microfiber camping towels (in curry yellow and cornflower blue,) because eight of them take up as much space as a SINGLE regular towel. (They're MUCH higher quality!) They soak up water like nothing else... super dry, super fast.

I just don't need 'stuff' .... it doesn't make sense to have it, to me. I want to be fluid in my living arrangements. What if tomorrow I decide I want to move across the world, again? I want to drop and go. I don't want to have to think, "oh dear, how will I ever move all of this CRAP?!" I want to grab the plastic bins, fill them, tape them, and box them up. I use plastic bins as storage and organizers. Keep everything in it's place, and have a place for everything. Files and records are kept in plastic filing bins. Lock, tape, box, and go.

Minimalist is probably what most people think of my flat. They would probably be right. I just don't want or need a lot of 'stuff' ... I'm perfectly happy living in what amounts to a library with a bed and table-desk. Less is MORE. My flat isn't finished unless there is nothing else I can get rid of.

I even keep the number of dishes and kitchen items I own down to a very low number. I do not need many things. A good wok. A simple saucepan. Two to four small bowls, salad plates, water glasses. Chopsticks. Wooden spoon. Two or three metal spoons. A single butter knife. Three cutting knives (and maybe a sushi knife...) A cutting board. A sushi serving tray. A tea-leaf brewing basket. Measuring spoons / cups. Forks... maybe, maybe not. If I decide I need them, then only two. Bamboo rolling mat. Two sauce bowls. Nice locking plastic containers for wet/dry items. A strainer. A single polycarbonate bowl.

That's pretty much it for kitchen dishes. I make all kinds of things with just those few pieces. Japanese food, indian food, greek food, french food, italian food... sometimes even cajun food. I can make most items with just these few pieces. (Ok ok, I DO own a super high end, expensive as all shit, Kitchenaid Mixer... and I wouldn't mind a food processor...) I think though, in light of the fact that I own such simple things, I'm really not pushing things with my super kickass mixer. Shhh. Let me live in my delusions.

Oh, then we come to shoes. Let me piss off most women right now with this statement: SHOES ARE NOT A FASHION ACCESSORY. They protect your feet from the elements and provide traction/comfort. I own a pair of merrell mocs (in stone), keen mary janes (in potting soil), and keen water sandals (in apricot) for every day. (I do also own a pair of red glitter diesel sneakers... but those were my dream from when I was two.) That's it. A pair for hiking/winter. A pair for water/summer. A pair that looks classier, but is exceptionally functional. (Then my special red sparkly ruby slipper sneakers for fun.) I don't wear heels (except VERY special occasions...) I don't wear flip-flops. I don't wear anything that pinches, hurts, can't run, can't walk, kills my back, or in any other way has function as the LOWEST (non-existant?!) priority. And I sure as hell don't match my 'shoes to my handbag' .... GAG.

I don't even CARRY A HANDBAG! What on this green (about to be only blue) earth could I possibly need a handbag for?! I carry cards and/or cash. Seems like something smaller than most men's wallets will suit me just fine.

"WAIT!" I hear all the women scream, what about your makeup, candy, vices, tampons, perfume, cellphone, pda, day planner, pens, paper, and all your JUNK?! Right. This one is easy. I DON'T CARRY OR EVEN OWN MOST OF THAT SHIT! I have a teeny tiny cellphone. It fits in my jeans. I don't own a freaking dayplanner... and the rest of that stuff... no effing way. I wear mascara and eyeliner, no need to tote those around since they aren't coming off. Perfume? Are you kidding me?! If you bathed, you wouldn't need all that stink juice. Most perfumes smell like a rancid brewery. I can't stand when I can smell a rotten woman five blocks away. Yuck. I don't need candy or anything else weighing me down. I plan ahead. I don't need to take a bathroom with me. Science. H. Logic.

I have an uber small pen, if I even want to take it - and a moleskine notebook. I carry a book bag / messenger bag / courier bag if I need to carry books / paper / pens, but I don't load it up with all that shit. No, a cluttered handbag is a cluttered person/mind. It's not like you can run with that kitchen sink under your armpit, jesus. Oh wait, what am I thinking, it's not like they would be able to run in their high-heeled knee-high boots ANYWAY.

Crap. Cruft. Clutter. The very quintessence of the modern day woman's abode. No thank you.