MINIMALISM IN MY OWN WAY.

My changes in life have led me to the path of minimalism and reorganizing many areas and spaces. I started with Katarzyna Kędzierska’s book “WANT LESS” and regular reading of her blog. Then came the other Marie Kondo positions, which helped to organize further areas. Pinterest has been and is a great source of inspiration for me. I have always liked doing that. I enjoyed the view in the closet of things arranged in categories, colors, even the length of sleeves of tops and dresses. I have always adapted the systems to the things I have, to intuitive use.

When I was still working in the corporation – we organized meetings with the girls Szafing - I set up a FB group, added members and each of us could post things there that were supposed to find a second home. I also had meetings in my apartment. The girls came with bags of clothes. And they either exchanged or sold clothes for a fixed price. Some of them were social, but the very idea of these meetings was very nice.

Then, piece by piece, I looked through the contents of drawers and wardrobes at home and got rid of things. I gave away some, sold some, and threw away some. I realized that I had a lot of so-called “useful” – i.e. I will leave IT because IT WILL BE USEFUL. In general, these things were never useful to anything, but took up only a place. Bags with clothes went to different places – I always tried to match things to the people to whom I handed them, and before that I also asked if they would be useful.

When I decided to move from Lodz to Warsaw, when packing all my belongings in cardboard boxes, I looked through everything and checked with myself whether I still want to use these things, whether I still like them and want them to stay with me. Some of the things I sold using OLX, Vinted and sales between friends by adding ads on my FB profile. And those that did not belong to the group: You stay, I like you, I use – and they could not be sold – I handed them away and disposed of.

I lived in different apartments and always adjusted them to my needs organizationally and visually – as much as possible, of course, because I lived in rented apartments for a long time and I could not always afford everything.

But the apartment in Lodz, which I rented from Dominika and Adrian, I could basically 100% adapt to myself – because they always said – do what you need, because we know that it will be fun! And it was an incredible joy, because they really liked all the changes I made there.

From the boat I went to Warsaw. There is a brilliant apartment Kasia and Lukasz. The best restaurant in the building. Simply put. Breakfast even in the evenings :) the apartment had a well organized storage space, where I rearranged myself. We switched couches, I arranged my decorations, flowers, I made a corner to lie down with books and then it served as a home office.

At that time, I did not have a car. Moving to Warsaw, I increased my living costs without raising my income. Then I faced my previous habits of buying and owning. I began to redefine myself. I have to face other people’s beliefs about me and that I should own a car. It was difficult, but at the same time liberating, because I stopped feeling duty. That I should have all these things in order for the environment to be satisfied.

Then there was a move from Warsaw to... Belgium.

I moved out of my apartment in Warsaw gradually – taking the most necessary things with me and at the same time packing what I want to leave to a newly purchased apartment in Warsaw. It was a logistical puzzle. Every time I came to Warsaw, I packed things and distributed them. The plants from the balcony moved to my friends, things I wanted to take with me, or I was carrying suitcases, or a car, or sending cartons. A lot of things are waiting for my parents to be taken back to Warsaw – but it will take a while. Fortunately, these things don’t bother anyone.

And here again I applied the rule – what I do not use – does not go with me.

In Belgium – I adapted wardrobes to store my belongings. Fortunately, Ikea cabinets give an infinite number of possibilities, because they can be modified. Thanks to this, I gained space to place my belongings and organize storage room by room. I am sharing my strength for the time I can spend on it. And when I run around the house with a screwdriver, changing the arrangement of shelves – it does not surprise anyone.

The process of minimization continues. I change my approach to many issues and I change myself, which is the condition for further action. Last year we went a lot – it was related to our work and then we did not have the opportunity to deal with this topic. I also changed my approach to packing for trips, but this is a topic for a separate thread.

Now, without regret, I get rid of other things. I leave only what I want to stay. The most important thing is the issue of clothes – it completely changed the lifestyle and I do not go to work every day to the corpo and my style has also been evolving over time. I follow what I feel good about.