The 2-4-1 challenge has forced me to start using things that have lain dormant for years. I no longer feel as though I can justify keeping something that I once loved using if I no longer find it useful. I have two wardrobes in my bedroom. One is full of vintage dresses and the other is full of the clothes I wear on a daily basis. I logically know that I cannot justify having a wardrobe full of dresses I never wear, so I’ve started to wear them. Sometimes to school and sometimes on a casual outing – even out to dinner (yes, I went out to dinner last week for the first time since December!). I realised that I LOVE wearing my vintage dresses. I love that they are unique and many of them are also really comfortable to wear. I feel good when I’m wearing something interesting. I have justified the existence of these dresses in my house by wearing them.
Likewise, I have a collection of vegetarian cookbooks that I relied on heavily before the Internet became such an amazing source of new and interesting recipes. I have loved these recipe books in the based and used them a lot. Some of my favourite day-to-day recipes come from them. I no longer use them regularly and I have been trying to decide if I can justify keeping them. I have found that the more I think about getting rid of them (or just the more I think about them) the more useful they have become. I now often go to the books to see what they can offer before I search the ‘net. Recently, feeling a little sniffly, I was craving a big pot of spicy veggies. I found the perfect recipe for vegetarian chilli in one of my books. I could have found twenty recipes on the ‘net, but I found one I love that I will always have access to, in a book I love.
You really need to know what is in your house in order for it to be useful to you. Being more aware of what I have (in some ways by having less and also because I am always trying to find something new to get rid of) I have found new life for old belongings. I don’t want my house to be full of dust catchers and this challenge is perfect for finding the life in what I already have.
The Fearse Family 