The Riches of Purging: Purged Living Part 2

This is Part 2 of Purged Living Life,  tales from my friend Bruce who recently did a massive purge, left a 3 bedroom home, moved across country and is now living in a studio. If you missed Part 1 Purging Sucks, be sure to give it a quick read first.

So you have now purged and are living “small space living.” The functional benefits are really obvious – financial savings, less upkeep, etc. and they become obvious very quickly which helps you overcome some of the emotional shock of turning around and seeing your entire living space.

A good friend of mine suggested simplifying is all about a decision to live simply versus simply live. And it could be. That is a big, big thought. And possibly after a period of time it smacks you in the back of the head as such. But in the beginning it may sometimes just be simply that it is … well … simpler. Less choices. Less maintenance. Less expense. So it means you have more of the other things .. one of which is time.

Ahhhhhhhh … but there’s the rub. We Americans rarely accept “free time” as a gift to relax but rather we fill it up with other things. Therefore this “smaller space frees up time” slips through the cracks in the consciousness pretty quickly. But I bring it up with the hope you try and remember it as a positive.

Shifting to living simply is also a neat opportunity to give life a “fresh start.” And I imagine I never really thought about the outcome of the purging as having a variety of paths until my mother and I went through it at the same time.  My mother and I going through it at exactly the same time showed us two paths:

1. I simply consolidated my stuff and took the best of the best and created a space where I love everything that I have.

2. My mother took a core favorite group of pieces and items from her past things and then reupholstered comfortable chairs, bought a new couch, used two of my paintings she liked, bought new lamps, etc. to create a new look.

So once you get through the purging gauntlet you do have a smaller space, a simpler life and, frankly, a space you have difficulty finding fault with. While there are fewer things to fondle or juggle you have more to be happy with. Smaller space living ain’t bad. That’s the net of it.

Lastly. The odd conversations. Inevitably the people you know, knew you as a “larger living space person.” So, you find yourself in many conversations explaining your smaller space living arrangement.

We Americans often associate value with quantity. It is similar with living space, particularly if you are dealing with people who have seen you in a ‘large space.’

You had quantity of space = you were happy.

You no longer have quantity of space = you cannot be happy.

It’s weird. You spend a lot of time trying to explain to people something you have already gone through (the pain of the purge) to explain that you are happy in smaller space living. Sure. You rattle off all the functional reasons (smaller bills, less time cleaning, less chores) but people associate that with “you have less money and you had to do that.” Well. They may be right. But more likely they are wrong.

Sometimes you reach a point where doing something right for you just doesn’t seem right to others. Okay sure. Maybe at some point after we get through this depression (oops. recession.) people will accept smaller space living decisions as something like “living life simpler” choices but for now? Be prepared if you elect to do this. Remember these three things:

1.    Purging sucks.

2.    Simpler life doesn’t suck.

3.    Explaining it sucks.

Hopefully over time #2 carries more weight in your life than 1 and 3 combined. As I did all of this myself less than 3 months ago I haven’t reached the balance yet – but I have hope.

If you missed Part 1 – Purging Sucks and Part 3 – The Benefits of Living in a Studio, click to read more. Also, please share any other benefits to small space living.

About the author:
Bruce is a collector of moments and thankfully has a good memory. Lots of travel and lots of jobs and lots of interesting interactions with a variety of people have created some great life lessons and some funny experiences. And he likes to write about these things so other people can share in what he has seen and learned. Oh. And he always has an opinion. For more on Bruce visit: www.brucemctague.com