A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 10 – Less (Stuff) Is More (Freedom)

“Simplify Your Life For Abundance” is Day 10 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days. Fiona writes about that wonderful feeling of lightness and freedom as she looks around at her de-cluttered surroundings. I like how she links the ideas of open space and abundance. This is a powerful conceptual linkage. When we protect open time in our schedule and open space in our surroundings, we allow ourselves to live with freedom and cofidence. Freedom to respond new opportunities and new thoughts. Confidence that we can effectively respond to each day’s gifts and challenges as they arise.

Often we react to life’s uncertainty by fearfully “stocking” up on anything that “might be useful” someday.  (I once found 9 rolls of duck tape in various places in my garage. Clearly, I love duck tape but 9 full-sized rolls of it?) The natural follow-on question is what strange mental issue was I working on (or not) by stock-piling duck tape? A crowded, cluttered space can be an external expression of internal stress and fear. The sad part of this equation is that a cluttered, difficult space breeds even more stress.  When I have to often move one or more things (in a cabinet or a drawer) into complex, new storage formations just to get to the one thing that I want, I begin to feel that even simple tasks are too complicated.  Although I purchased items thinking that they would make my life easier, the accumulation of them actually makes my life harder! 

Here is Paris, we live in a semi-furnished apartment that is not run by an ex-pat relocation service but just rented by the apartment owner. (Actually, the owner’s mother use to live here. When the mother moved into a retirement community, she took her linens and a few special items with her and left the rest.)  The apartment has a few pieces of lovely furniture and a kitchen with very high quality cooking and baking tools. When my family of 4 moved in,  we each brought 1 large suitcase and 1 carry-on sized suitcase. A subsequent trip to the States brough another large suitcase with summer clothes for all four of us. I did have to run out on our first day in the apartment and purchase bedding and towels for us. (Luckily, it was the last week of the French winter sales period so I was able to find very nice quality sheets, pillows, duvets & towels at rock-bottom prices. I was qute parsimonious – 2 sets of bedding for each bed and 2 towels per person. I would have liked to have purchased only 1 set per bed/per person but the apartment washer/dryer -which is quite good quality by European standards- cannot wash and completely dry a sheet set in one day. )

A few years ago, I might have been stressed because of the very small number of items that we had in the apartment. Now, after living here several months, I can definitively say that I am so happy with the few items that we have and the incredible ease of living in the space.  You won’t be surprised that vacuuming and tidying up is about a 10-minute proposition. After that, the rest of the day is open for adventure!

Pre-reading Day 10 in Fiona’s book last night inspired me to quickly go through the refridgerator, toss the nearly-expired and make a meal plan for today’s lunch with the odds & ends of leftovers. I also did a fast run-through of the door-shelves. (In my kitchen, the refridgerator door shelves seem to be the place where condiments go to die.)  This morning, as I was cleaning up after breakfast, I took one pots & pans drawer and moved the pans that we have never used in the several months we have lived here to an empty cabinet above the refidgerator. It only took about 3 minutes and I freed up beautiful space in that drawer (that I open multiple times every day). How nice that just a minimal effort made a lovely and useful improvement to my daily experience – thanks, Fiona!

Is anyone else out there using this unexpected “free time”  (how is that for a positive spin on the term “self-isolation”?) to streamline and declutter?