St. Helena, CA
I was reading recently about Dave Bruno and the 100 Thing Challenge, a downsizing challenge where you pare down your belongings to 100 things. Having just moved into our small place with almost nothing, I kept thinking, "100. That's a lot."
On the other hand, that 100 things could add up pretty darn fast, in the kitchen alone.
But living on a boat for four years gave me a new understanding of what is essential. When we first moved onboard, we pared down our galley supplies to an imaginary bare minimum. I realize now that those "bare necessities" were not what I needed but rather what I could fit in the space.
Now, with unfettered space, I have made a commitment, not to filling the space but to having just enough.
So now, with a fresh start, here's what we've got:
We've opted not to use a dishwasher since that would require a lot more dishes. And technically, we could get by with two of everything, but we want to have guests, so we've opted for four. Two at a time, folks!
Four place settings of flatware and some kitchen tools. We have a Brita filter, a coffee pot, a grinder, an iron skillet, a saucepan and a cake pan.
And finally, because we don't have many things, we decided they should be pretty. We found these dishes on clearance at Pier 1.
The kitchen is done, and we've topped out at less than 50 things (although I counted flatware as one thing). This is considerably less than we had in the tiny galley on the boat, but it feels just right.
Today, I'm grateful for: my beautiful square plates.
I was reading recently about Dave Bruno and the 100 Thing Challenge, a downsizing challenge where you pare down your belongings to 100 things. Having just moved into our small place with almost nothing, I kept thinking, "100. That's a lot."
On the other hand, that 100 things could add up pretty darn fast, in the kitchen alone.
But living on a boat for four years gave me a new understanding of what is essential. When we first moved onboard, we pared down our galley supplies to an imaginary bare minimum. I realize now that those "bare necessities" were not what I needed but rather what I could fit in the space.
Now, with unfettered space, I have made a commitment, not to filling the space but to having just enough.
So now, with a fresh start, here's what we've got:
 |
| Good thing the last tenants left that space-saving shelf! |
Four place settings of flatware and some kitchen tools. We have a Brita filter, a coffee pot, a grinder, an iron skillet, a saucepan and a cake pan.
And finally, because we don't have many things, we decided they should be pretty. We found these dishes on clearance at Pier 1.
 |
| Complementary but not matching, just like us. |
Today, I'm grateful for: my beautiful square plates.
Left coast right coast moving in concordance.
ReplyDeletehttp://sailseaclearly.blogspot.com/2014/04/adjusting-to-home-trip-summary.html