SDD Clutter Free Day 18: TV Comedy DVDs and Fluid Art Collections

It's Day 18 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, and time to declutter 13 items. Yesterday, someone commented on my declutter picture, "Why don't you just keep them? Even just for deco." I had decluttered 14 special edition DVDs, most of which were movies I loved.

That comment caused me to doubt my decision. I even doubted this whole process. My online friend had followed with, "I dream of someday living in a large house, surrounded by all my lovely things." I started thinking, "Wait, that's my dream!" But it's not.

We think it's security to own a lot of stuff, but we forget how easily a natural disaster or dryer fire or even unemployment and debt can take all of the things away. Real security comes from peace of mind.

In some of the places I shared my declutter pic yesterday, I captioned it, "I'd considered that the DVDs on my shelf said something about me. I wonder what it'll say about me to have no DVDs on my shelf." Well, I don't know what it'll say to others, (probably nothing...who notices things like that?) To me, it'll say, "I am a collector of experiences, not things." And, I know, I know, movies are art. What's wrong with collecting art?

Absolutely nothing's wrong with collecting art. But I figure there's so much art in the world, why limit myself with ownership? Better to continuously rotate which art is on display and really enjoy it. No collecting dust.

Another thing to consider with DVDs is that they're losing value fast. Everybody's doing what I'm doing and going digital. I did a lot of research yesterday and I don't think I'm getting more than $8.50 for all 14 DVDs. If I was willing to post them individually and wait for a buyer and mail them, I could get a few bucks more, (depending on shipping costs).

That low number made me want to hold on to them. That's nowhere near their original value. But I figure before long they won't be worth anything. Might as well get my $8.50 and buy a pad thai dinner special with it.

Day 18: 13 Items Decluttered

1-9. Friends: Seasons 1-10, excluding 6 for some reason. This is a big deal, guys. A season of Friends on DVD was my main birthday or Christmas gift for many a holiday. I've watched the series many

times through. When I first moved to L.A., before I had internet or any furniture, I watched these DVDs on a blanket on the living room floor, with a stryofoam take-out container in hand. It was a great comfort after a long drive and the shock of being on my own.
10, 11. That '70s Show, Season 1 and 2. These were originally my mom's. She was a child of the '70s and loved this show. The DVDs stayed with me after I borrowed them. Now she has dementia symptoms from brain tumors from neurofibromatosis, so she wouldn't be able to operate a DVD player or follow the show.
12. Arrested Development, Season One. Great show. I think this was my brothers' DVD set. I better check in with them before I sell it.
13. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Complete Seasons 1 & 2. Also a great show. Also, I think, my brothers' DVDs.

It's painful to think a brand new TV show season could be $45. I don't know what I'll get for these, but it's probably around $45 for all 13 of them. Thing is, if I only use them when I move and the internet's out, I'd rather have $45 and more shelf space. I can buy digital downloads with that money and save it to an external hard drive. All my DVDs will fit in my hand.

Amazon Affiliate: TV show hyperlinks go to Amazon Prime, video streaming and digital downloads. I receive a commission from Amazon if you buy anything after following one of my links.

SDD Clutter Free Day 17: DVDS Decluttered; Procrastination VS Mindfulness

It's Day 17 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, and time to declutter 14 items. Can you believe that? 14? It's such a small number compared to the 30 I started with. And still, today I procrastinated. I was tired from cleaning the roach mess out of the storage console yesterday, and I had a lot on my mind, so I let myself have a lazy day and pretty much laid around, thinking about my future. That's why my "decluttered items" picture is different today. I didn't feel like making my bed, so I took the picture on my ottoman, and I didn't take it until after sunset, so I had to use artificial light.

I still got the job done, 14 items decluttered. I'm happy about that. I decided to declutter DVDs today. When I moved from Bellingham, WA to Los Angeles, CA, I condensed most of my DVD collection to a binder. I saved these ones with special covers (and Heartbreakers, for some reason) to show off on my shelf. However, after a year here in L.A., experiencing lots of show-off-y people, I'm extra mindful of vanity. I don't need a shelf of movies to represent me. It's a little attachment, but it's still an attachment. I'm letting it go.

14 DVDs take up about a foot of space. That's significant!

I don't mean to be all negative about L.A. I do love it here, and I've found lots of great people. But it's hard to find the good ones because it's such a competitive environment.

Day 17: 14 Items Decluttered

1. HeartBreakers. Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman. In middle school, my best friend, Lindsay, and I used to go to Hollywood Video every weekend and rent a stack of DVDs, usually French or arty. Somehow, we kept coming back to Heartbreakers.
2. Sex and the City: The Movie. I had to! I already had the TV Show box set!

3. Across the Universe. It's my favorite Beatles song, a great title, and a touching movie.
4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Fun times. A little murder, a little singing.
5. Amelie. One of my top five favorite movies, for sure. "Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's."
6. Fight Club. Basically the opposite of Amelie, but also a favorite.
7. Thank You for Smoking. Doesn't hold up to Amelie and Fight Club standards, but it's a good watch.
8. Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season. I saw these guys for the first time on their HBO special and I was hooked. Awesome show.
9. Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season. Stay cool, Brett. Brett, stay cool. *snaps fingers*
10. Spider-Man 2. I think I had a crush on Spider-Man. I can't think of why else I would own this, since I'm really not into superhero movies.
11. Moulin Rouge! Come What May still makes me sob cry.
12. The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I am a huge X-Files fan. That's all I'll say.
13. V for Vendetta. I saw this in theaters on my birthday one year and totally loved it. I don't think I've watched it much since.
14. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Classic. Can't go wrong there.

It's a little hard getting rid of DVDs I love, but I know just because I don't own a hard copy of them doesn't mean I'll never get to see them. Everything is available for streaming these days, and if it isn't, I can get a digital copy for my Amazon Prime library.

Just as I'm sure owning fewer books and using the library will encourage me to read more, I believe owning fewer hard copy DVDs will encourage me to watch more digital movies. And, I don't think most people realize this, you can get movies at the public library.

When I own something it's too easy to put it off for a never-to-arrive "later." I don't want to live like that. I mentioned that I procrastinated my decluttering today. I was resting so intentionally, though, I don't know if it can even be considered procrastination. It's more like mindfulness. I'm not doing things because they're expected, but because I genuinely want to do them.

Amazon Affiliate: All links go to digital downloads or Prime streaming. If you buy anything after following one of my links, I get a commission.

SDD Clutter Free Day 8: Getting Rid of Books I've Read

The books I couldn't part with today.

Day 8 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown and today I set out to sort books. I decided to pick out 23 books that I'd read already. I figured if I want to read them again I can get them from the library. I even allowed myself a Priority Keep category, for books like Hyperbole and a Half and The Art of Asking, which I want to have on hand to grab at a moment's notice if I ever doubt myself.

Problem was, jump down even one priority tier, thinking I have to get rid of anything below life-altering/referenceable, and I start freaking out. It makes sense. One tier down from Priority Keep is fiction books that truly moved me. I connected with the characters and the language. I had epiphanies or moments of comfort. Of course it would be hard to say goodbye.

I took five books out of the declutter pile I'd made, the ones that were breaking my heart the most. Once I did that I felt 1,000 times better. I realized nothing else in the pile gave me anxiety. Well, maybe a little. There's still a lot of really good books in today's declutter. But it gives me more joy to release them into the world than to hoard them.

Saved Books:

1. Grendel by John Gardner. "I cannot believe such monstrous energy of grief can lead to nothing!"

2. Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore.

3. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean.

4. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggars.

5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

I will continue to work on non-attachment and see if I can find a way to let these go. But if I end up with two shelves of books to keep at the end of this countdown, that still frees up two shelves for other art, or breathable blank space, which any designer knows is a key component of good design.

More importantly, perhaps, it simplifies something in my life. I have a feeling that I will read more when I own fewer books. It's easy to take them for granted when I own them. They'll always be there, so I'll read them "later." I'm in a couple book clubs, so most of my active reading happens with library books already. Even though I have tens of books on my shelves that I haven't read, I'm reading library books anyway. That's quite an observation.

In any case, today's books are ones that I have read, and I have loved, and now I will pass them on. All links go to Amazon, except this one: If you'd like to follow me on Goodreads, you can find me at www.goodreads.com/sweetlovetruly.

Day 8: Declutter 23 Items

1. Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin.

2. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty.
3. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.
4. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson.
5. White Oleander by Janet Fitch.
6. The Best American Short Stories 2008 edited by Salman Rushdie.
7. The Best American Short Stories 2007 edited by Stephen King.
8. Love in the Asylum by Lisa Carey.
9. Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames.
10. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.
11. Russian Journal by Andrea Lee.
12. Dress Your Best by Clinton Kelly and Stacy London.
13. The Spoken Word Revolution edited by Mark Eleveld.
14. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity by Jack R. Censer and Lynn Hunt.
15. Simply Yoga by Yolanda Pettinato.
16. Lucy Long Ago by Catherine Thimmesh.
17. Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko.
18. The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them) by Jack M. Bickham.
19. Approaching Democracy: Second Edition by Larry Berman and Bruce Allen Murphy.
20. Magazine.
21-23. Board games. They fail the "Have you used it in a year?" test, and are soooo much easier to give up than books.

I feel good about this list. These books inspired me, made me cry, formed memories. They will be a part of me, whether I own them or not.

A note about affiliate links: I recognize the potential hypocrisy in including links to products for sale in a post about my efforts to minimize. The thing is--when you follow one of my links, anything you buy in that shopping trip gives me a commission. I don't know if you're buying 50 sweaters or a bulk bag of rice to feed your family. And I don't need to know. You can own as little or as much stuff as you want. Besides, maybe you like to buy books to support the author (an awesome thing) and then donate them. Resources are never inherently bad. It's our responsibility to use them to our benefit.

Besides, I might be selling these on Amazon so I need the customers. ;)

Three Months of Ukulele: A Retrospective

“Tomorrow, I’m going to play my ukulele.”

My dear friend, Robbie, sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday. Around this time, I was reading The Art of Asking and listening to Amanda Palmer's Ukulele Anthem on a daily basis. These events collided into one of my best decisions ever: to take up ukulele-playing.

After three months of regular playing, I'm going to use some lyrics from “Ukulele Anthem” to share my experiences learning this instrument.

1. You can play the ukulele too; it is painfully simple. Truth. Have you seen a ukulele? They only have four strings and twelve frets (of which you pretty much use four). The impetus to learn any new skill is the satisfaction of getting something right. So use your left hand to press on some strings, and then you graze your right hand right there along where the body meets the neck. And suddenly you’re overcome with joy.

For me, ukulele has been all up and up. There’s no impossible parts to get stuck on (except the horrific E-chord). I think it’s pretty simple. If you take AFP's advice to limit yourself to three chords, it's even simpler.

2. It takes about an hour to teach someone to play the ukulele. In my first hour, I think I learned standard tuning, three chords (C, F, G), and a strumming pattern (down down up up down up). That's pretty much "taught." I think it was another ten hours before I could switch between the chords quickly, strum while switching between chords, or sing while playing. I'm sure it's much faster for anyone familiar with string instruments.

I'd say it took 18 hours total to master my first song. It was the F.U.N. Song from SpongeBob SquarePants. But quite a few of those hours were spent playing it over and over to myself to bask in my accomplishment. (Sorry, neighbors.) (I mean, you're welcome.) It should also be noted that I taught myself using YouTube videos and the process might be faster with an in-person teacher. But less fun, because you'll probably have to learn Three Blind Mice.

3. You can play the ukulele, too, in London and down under. A soprano ukulele weighs 8-12 ounces. Ounces. That's the measurement pet foster parents use to measure newborn kittens. So, yeah, it's pretty portable. You read “portable” as “adorable” for a second, didn't you? I bring it to meetups and family dinners. Yes, I’ve performed in front of other humans and lived to tell the tales!

4. They're only $19.95. Yeah, especially the ones made for tourists in Hawaii or children. Mine was $29. [Edit: It's since gone up to $39.28.] The quality isn't 100% at the low end, but that doesn't matter if you're using it to sing and scream, right? It's just for fun and expression, so the less perfect, the better. “Flaws” include strings that rattle and a less rich tone.

5. Your fingers suffer. But it hurts so good. The other day it hurt all the muscles and joints of my left index finger to squeeze a spray bottle. I was like, "Sweet, I'm a real musician now." I experienced a similar pride when I developed calluses. They don't hurt, they just feel like when you dip your fingers in Elmer's glue and let it dry. I also have a scar on my right forearm from where the strings attach to the body of the ukulele. They're kinda pokey. I suspect that scar is a badge you don't get to wear if you play a higher end instrument.

6. You'll minimize some stranger's sadness with a piece of wood and plastic. The biggest surprise of this experience has been people's reactions to just the statement, "I play the ukulele." Their eyes widen, they lean forward a little. Apparently, "I play the ukulele" is welcome news. I also noticed that it's less awkward to share than singing. If you just sing to someone without an instrument in hand, they're like, "ew, weird, intimate." Put some chords behind your voice and they're all smiles.

7. Holy fuck, it's so fantastic, playing ukulele. Yes, yes yes yes! The joy I experience from ukulele ranges from a sense of accomplishment when I learn a new song, to a sense of connection when I share with others, and even, on a depressed day, to the meditative comfort of having one earphone in listening to Skeleton by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs while I fingerpicked along to it. And that's all I did that day, all day. And it felt whole, like not a second of that day was wasted.

Now, if you're familiar with the Ukulele Anthem, you might be thinking, "Hey Sarah, aren't you taking this a little too literally?" To which I reply, "Yes. And it's working."

The Uterus Speaks: Art Prints for a Nursery

"Tomorrow, I'm going to pick out art for a nursery."

Sometimes my uterus talks to me. It's demandingly to-the-point. The only thing it says is "babies!" Of course, muffled through my belly it sounds more like "berbeesh," but I get the message loud and clear. People receive the same message from their parents, their peers, "the media," or the duderus. It's everywhere.

It's easy to shut it up by researching "birth" or listing off personal freedoms I enjoy.

But it can be fun to indulge the poor bastard once in a while. Today's exercise in indulgence takes the form of art prints that would look super cute in a nursery. I recently became a curator for Society6, and it's rekindling my love for the visual arts. Besides prints, they also have pillows and curtains in case that's a better way to decorate my imaginary nursery.

Here are some of my favorite art prints that would work well in a nursery or child's room.

The "First Aid For Stress" series from Growing Mindfulness by Marisa Garau
    

"Morning Contemplation," "Embracing the Majestic," "The Blue Cat and The Blossom," and other hand-painted illustrations by Marion Bouquet
    

Animal illustrations by Allanah Brid. Look at the elephant, right in its face.
    

Tee hee.

"Rain is Bad for Robots," "Sperm Whale Tornado," "When Elephants Dream," and other imagination fuel by David Finley

    

-Jazz Berry Blue. This artist has stylized maps, the American Sign Language alphabet, and other surrealist amazingness as well.

    

I like that most of these collections can grow with the child. And they all make me smile. I don't know how I would choose!

Fat Girl at Dunkin Donuts: An Intuitive Eating Perspective

"Tomorrow, I'm going to enjoy play food for what it is."

A couple weeks ago, I saw an event posting for the opening of a new Dunkin Donuts franchise. I'm always on the lookout for fun, local, social activities, so I RSVP'd yes!

And then I had to deal with these thoughts:

People are going to make fun of me for being fat.

People are going to think I'm fat because I ate too many donuts.

People are going to think I don't care about healthy eating.

People are gonna take pictures of me and make fun of them.

I better dress up so at least they don't think I'm lazy.

I'm grateful that at least now my negative thoughts about my size are mostly about how I'm perceived by others. It sucks, but at least it's better than actually believing those things about myself, that I'm unhealthy or lazy or unworthy of belonging because of my size.

Well, no one in line made judgmental glances. No one made negative comments. Actually, I chatted the whole time with two women in line about normal-people things (any-size-people things) like weather, traffic, careers, places we've lived, pets, and of course, which flavor of donut we wanted to try. And I realized something, no one goes to a donut shop opening unless they appreciate play food.

What is play food? According to Intuitive Eating, it's food that has little nutritional value, but is enjoyable to eat. It is morally neutral, meaning it's not good or evil. It's not even "healthy" or "unhealthy." The idea is that once you're tuned in with your body's cues to hunger, fullness, and energy, you'll naturally eat the types and amounts of food that are best for you.

I was content with my one donut and small hot chocolate, genuinely content, because I knew I could choose to eat a second or a dozen without internal shame. It did feel playful, fun, indulgent in a good way. I wasn't thinking about how to burn off those calories later. It was pure gratitude:

These flavors, textures, and smells are pleasant.

Active businesses are great for our city.

I could be friends with these women I met in line.

It's fun how many people came out for this. I'm glad I'm a part of it.

I am good enough to be a part of whatever I want to be a part of.

Part of me knows it was luck that there weren't any bullies out that day. Or well-meaning "fitness" advocates. I also know that happiness comes from within. I hope I can build up enough self-love and gratitude to stop fearing the disapproving glance once and for all.

~

I'm not affiliated with Dunkin Donuts. It just happened to be the perfect setting for this message so I didn't bother changing the name.

To read more about Intuitive Eating, check out the book by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch (Amazon Affiliate link).

Today's curated art prints are "Fruity Donuts" and "Donuts in Balloons" by Ivy Niu. There are 41 pages of donut-related prints on society6, if you can believe it. Ivy Niu's stood out to me as charming, imaginative, and meaningful. They make me smile.