50 Things I Refuse To Do Without

[kimberlysteele]

 There are plenty of lists of things to exclude from this short lifetime in the name of minimalism. I’ve done it, and others have done it so reliably often that it is a genre on Youtube called “decluttering”.

Though I make do without doctors, dentists, and health insurance in general and I have the added eccentricity of eschewing all travel outside a seven mile radius of my home (this is a product of not having a great deal of money and owning multiple cats), there are things I have decided are essential for living, minimalism be damned.

1. My car. For the time being, I own a car because I feel I must own one. I live in a large American suburb. Trains and buses here leave much to be desired. I use my car mainly to commute to work and to go grocery shopping. This is how the car has fewer than 100,000 miles on it despite it being 18 years old. I don’t like driving. I drive like a putz. I won’t get on the highway. I will make 3 right turns to avoid a single left hand turn. There are plenty of minimalists who insist that getting rid of one’s car can and should be done. I beg to differ. If you can afford to live in the same neighborhood as your loved ones and your job and/or there is good public transportation that doesn’t involve five miles of walking through snow and rain, getting rid of the car becomes feasible. For the rest of us, car ownership is non-negotiable.

2. Pets. There’s a book about Swedish death cleaning whose author makes light of getting rid of her dogs because they were “too old” or wouldn’t be able to successfully transition to a new home. I remember how disgusted I was when I learned a woman I knew gave her cats up to the kill shelter because her new apartment did not allow pets. My cats are my kids, full stop, and I would sooner eat a gun than let them go.

3. Plants. I absolutely love houseplants. I believe they improve the etheric and deflect negative energy.

4. Books. Minimalist purges that involve getting rid of entire book collections are stupid. They will regret it. They will look back in the same way kids who owned Action Comics #1 regretted not buying a second one for 10 cents in 1938 and stashing it away. Books, especially non-fiction books and books with illustrations, are priceless treasures.

5. Perfume. I like scent. I use incense in my home and I spray objects in my home with perfume. I tend not to wear perfume though as I don’t want to give anyone a headache.

6. Candles. I love candles and fire in general. They add a great deal of positive energy to a space and are well worth the fire hazard. I also do my fair share of candle magic.

7. Old cards and letters. I keep sentimental ephemera. My mom makes special occasion cards and I am glad I have kept most of them.

8. Old photos. No, a digital snapshot kept on a hard drive somewhere is not the same. I come from an age when the camera required a darkroom.

9. Caffeine. If I don’t have 12 ounces of black tea in the morning, I wind up with a headache so bad, it causes temporary blindness. I have tried it and it is not fun or safe.

10. My rice cooker. I have a Zojibushi rice cooker that my husband gifted to me around 2008. Yes, I could cook rice in the pressure cooker, but the Zojibushi makes perfect rice every time. No crunchy bits or accidental over/undercooking.

11. My pressure cooker. I’ll never go back to boiling beans on a stove top again. Mine is one of InstantPot’s competitors. It is very safe and easy to use. I am convinced it saves energy too.

12. Streaming services. Sometimes I want to watch a movie or TV series. It has been known to happen even though I got rid of TV years ago. I typically watch the occasional movie or TV show on my computer.

13. Paper towels. I don’t use many of them but I do like them, especially for cleaning the toilet. Speaking of that…

14. Cleaning my toilet every night. There’s nothing better than waking up and using a toilet that is sparkling clean. To be brutal, whether you’re manor born or poor, it is a mark of ignorance and low class to allow your toilet to become filthy and disgusting.

15. An empty sink. I won’t go to bed without the dishes being done.

16. Sweeping my floor every morning. Luckily for me, I have a tiny house and not much surface area to sweep. Sweeping not only keeps debris off of my feet, it also keeps me humble and blessed.

17. Wall art. Blank walls are boring.

18. Black clothes. I may love color on my walls and floors, but when it comes to clothes, black is my favorite color. I feel put together in black. It also does not stain or show wear as fast as lighter shades.

19. My mobile phone. I don’t have a landline. I use my phone for my job as a music teacher — the metronome app alone is worth its weight in gold. I also record videos demonstrating what my students are playing for the week. It’s very nice that some people can do without a mobile phone. Good for them and more power to them. Personally, I need mine.

20. Handwritten notebooks and journals. I like writing out my discursive meditations by hand. I also keep track of my daily divinations in a handwritten spiral. Sure, I could upload it all to the cloud. I don’t want to. I like holding my journal in my hands.

21. Solitary walks in the forest preserve. I love people but I often need to get away from them so I can talk with both my own ecosystem and my tree friends.

22. Bathing every night. I can’t sleep unless I take a bath.

23. Polyester. I like wearing it and using it. I know it’s technically plastic. I don’t care. I have polyester clothes, polyester blend curtains, a polyester carpet, polyester stretch pants, polyester scarves, polyester cleaning cloths.

24. Bath and Body Works body wash and lotion. I use Bath & Body Works stuff despite it being owned by an evil corporation and generally being considered terrible, awful, and tacky by many. I like smelling like a middle class suburban woman because that is a not-small part of who I am.

25. Command strips. I love them. I especially love the 3M broom-hanger-gripper. It is much better than hanging the broom from a nail on the wall.

26. The breadbox. I don’t want to store bread in the refrigerator and if I leave it on the counter, the cats try to get at it.

27. Christmas lights. They are wonderful. They make me happy. I wish people would leave them up until Daylight Savings Time in March.

28. Gardening. Gardening keeps me sane. I am fortunate to have my own garden. If I didn’t have one, I would try to rent a public plot.

29. Processed food. We live in a time of glorious excess. Everything in moderation means that going full on into health-food mania is just as psycho as throwing caution to the wind and eating Cheetos as breakfast cereal. I am healthy enough to withstand an Oreo here and there.

30. Seed oils. There are whole factions of seed oil pearl clutchers who have turned canola grease into the new Hitler. Whatever, Karen.

31. Over the counter pharmaceuticals. I take no prescription medications, but every now and then, an OTC does the job better than my usual herbs and supplements. I have been known to take a generic Tylenol. When I have a bad case of the sniffles, I take NyQuil.

32. Gluten. There’s another whole faction of pearl clutchers who reach for the fainting salts whenever they see someone carrying a baguette through the grocery store. Unless you are freakishly allergic, just eat the bread.

33. Carbs. I have yet to meet someone avoiding carbs who wasn’t a bit on the heavy side. Asians, including half-Asians like me, usually don’t make the mistake of avoiding rice.

34. Soy. I eat it at least 3x a day, often in the form of tofu.

35. Nightshade vegetables. Again, unless one is violently allergic, what on this green Earth could keep you from eating a homegrown tomato?

36. Makeup. I do wear some. I like presenting myself a certain way.

37. A four season climate. I like all of the seasons, including winter.

38. Tacos. They are the most amazing and versatile dish that exists. I pity those who do not have them regularly.

39. Facial tissue. Handkerchiefs are gross.

40. Long hair. I will wear my hair long until I die, gods willing.

41. Battery powered puck lights. They are amazing. I mainly stick them in closets.

42. Herbal supplements in pill form. Sometimes I make tinctures and tisanes, but nothing beats the convenience of herbal pills. I take stinging nettle, cranberry, and uva ursi in pill form every day.

43. Zinc supplements. Zinc has been a lifesaver for my immune system. I have avoided countless colds and flus, which of course usually come from my work in the form of my students. The main caveat with zinc supplementation is you absolutely must eat a full meal — never, ever take zinc on an empty stomach!

44. Incense. Incense intensifies ritual work and helps me focus. It also provides a lovely, lingering, subtle scent in my house.

45. Musical instruments in the house. A house without musical instruments is not a home.

46. Discursive meditation. It’s the key to absolutely everything.

47. The Sphere of Protection banishing ritual. The SoP is the Swiss Army Knife of magic.

48. Daily divination. I have many, many questions… luckily the gods are patient.

49. Prayer.

50. The internet. I am grateful for the internet and this crazy time we live in, warts on all. If I didn’t have it, I would never have met YOU, dear reader.

     

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

There is no mention of the pledge of allegiance.

[kimberlysteele]

Whoops! Make that 51 LOL

Baths etc

[(Anonymous)]

1. A car. If you lived in a French suburb, as I do, you could do without a car. American suburbs are a terrible waste of resources, as James Howard Kunstler put it. What will suburbanites do when cars become a privilege of the truly rich?

22. Baths. A shower would save money. Especially a cold shower. I'm 68 and I still take cold showers, except in the winter! Everyone in my family prefers warm showers, though, I may be a bit of an eccentric in this respect.

Horzabky (the name I use when I post on Ecosophia, which is where I found your blog)

Re: Baths etc

[kimberlysteele]

Eventually I will do without a car, like it or not. My vision has always been crap and it's worse at night. I plan for my current car (her name is Carla) to be my last one. I hope to quit driving by the time I am 70. Gods willing I will still ride a bike. I can walk five miles without getting tired.

I tend to take a bath in shallow water, only a few inches, so it's about half the water most people typically immerse themselves in. Cold showers are actually very good for the etheric body and health -- your ability to withstand them not only saves money, it likely makes you healthier!

[(Anonymous)]

burritos > tacos

It is so easy for stuff to fall out of a taco. Everything stays wrapped inside of a burrito.

[kimberlysteele]

True! I love burritos. Eating burritos and tacos neatly is an art -- it takes practice.

[(Anonymous)]

"An empty sink. I won’t go to bed without the dishes being done."

In my case, the dishes get done immediately after meals, and the stuff used to prepare the meal get cleaned up before I begin eating the meal.

[kimberlysteele]

Yes! I always clean as I go when I cook. It keeps the working area uncluttered and it is much easier to sit down and enjoy the meal. Afterwards, the only dishes that need to be done are the ones actually used during the meal.

[(Anonymous)]

My wife is allergic to nightshades, and in recent years a lot so. She's also of Italian heritage. Wasn't detected until about ten years ago. In the 90s I doubt her family would have accepted that was even possible. There's been a lot of suffering there.

[kimberlysteele]

That has got to suck. It's a good thing she figured it out.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't really like rice. Only time I would eat rice is if I add rice to the inside of a burrito or inside sushi.

But with my usual meals, noodles and pasta are my go to, preferably homemade if possible.

[(Anonymous)]

Interesting list. Some items are on my own imaginary list, some not.

I think that one thing a lot of purists tend to forget is that we have to live in the world we live in, not some imaginary ideal world. I too own a car, because I need it for multiple reasons (including getting to work, grocery shopping, seeing friends and family, and helping a disabled relative). Someday cars will go away, and society will go back to being structured around no cars - but that's not the case NOW. Ditto my smart phone; both work and personal communication these days rely on it, and not having a smart phone would me enormously difficult not just for me but for coworkers, friends, and relatives trying to communicate with me. So on and so forth.

And that's my little rant on "just get rid of everything because someday it won't be there!" When that day comes, life will be different. I wouldn't have needed a car in 1824 or a cell phone in 1924, and people probably won't have OR NEED either one in 2124. But I live in the west in 2024, so....

And I too love my pets, houseplants, garden, candles, and incense!