{"id":7821,"date":"2016-10-22T12:37:30","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T16:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newvinegrowing.wordpress.com\/?p=7821"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:38:01","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:38:01","slug":"if-i-cant-carry-it-i-cant-have-it-a-guest-post-by-jillanne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/if-i-cant-carry-it-i-cant-have-it-a-guest-post-by-jillanne\/","title":{"rendered":"If I can't carry it, I can't have it – a guest post by JillAnne"},"content":{"rendered":"

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JillAnne, with her cat, Frisbee, lounging in the sun behind her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nEditor\u2019s note: Prompted by the wild popularity of Marie Kondo\u2019s \u201cThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,\u201d I asked friends to share their perspectives on managing clutter.\u00a0Our friend JillAnne shares how her minimalist lifestyle allows her to travel unfettered and made it easy to cast off possessions when Hurricane Sandy flooded her apartment building.<\/em>
\nI\u2019m a free spirit. I\u2019ve moved and traveled a\u00a0lot, because I could and\u00a0I appreciate\u00a0the adventure.
\nI\u2019m also aware that I do better in\u00a0life without a lot of \u2018stuff\u2019 clouding my brain and space.
\nTo make matters a bit complicated, I am a\u00a0self-employed\u00a0greeting card designer<\/a>\u00a0which means that I need “stuff” to make a living. Even in that realm, I feel that\u00a0less is more. I\u2019ve developed my business model of 17 years around this concept.\u00a0I only print orders that people place rather than having a\u00a0gazillion cards printed overseas and stored somewhere.
\nI am a very prolific painter\u00a0and writer but technology has saved me from having to save every single painting\u00a0and notebook. I do horde a few originals, but for the most part, I tear up the works\u00a0I\u2019ve done after I\u2019ve scanned them. Now before you gasp and think that they would\u00a0be worth so much money when I die, I\u2019m not worried about that. My niece and\u00a0nephew may be disappointed in this but they\u2019ll just have to get rich on their own\u00a0wings.
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JillAnne does need to make room in her minimalist life for her cat, Frisbee<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nEarly on, I adopted a philosophy for traveling and shopping that seems to work for\u00a0my lifestyle:\u00a0\u201cIf I could carry it,\u00a0I could have it.\u201d <\/strong>It emerged when I was just starting my business and was pretty\u00a0strapped for cash. I had a Costco membership where I purchased my ink for\u00a0printing my\u00a0cards. Costco is a candy store for bargains with way too many\u00a0goodies in the vast isles. “No carts allowed” saved my wallet.
\nSame for travel. If I can carry it, I can take it.<\/strong> I do\u00a0have a tradition of buying one small keepsake from each country\/place that I\u2019ve\u00a0gone to as a memento, but a 2-inch statue of Buddha won\u2019t cramp my style and\u00a0maybe even brings a bit of Zen to my little space.
\nThe next very important variable that keeps my stuff\u00a0at bay is that I hate to schlep,\u00a0whether it\u2019s for travel, moving or shopping. I can fit my life into a 5x5x10 storage\u00a0locker. Yes, you read right: my entire life, including old tax records, clothes, work\u00a0supplies, pot, pans, everything. <\/strong>
\nThose times I\u2019ve not been thrilled with my apartment and\u00a0wanted to go for six\u00a0weeks to Asia have proved this. It\u2019s also always been the perfect\u00a0time to purge, because despite my best efforts, stuff seems to multiply and expand.
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JillAnne keeps a minimalist approach to her greeting card business by printing cards herself only when they’re ordered, not keeping a huge inventory on hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nOf course, there have been the times in a fit of mumbling, \u201cJunk, junk, junk. This is all\u00a0flippin\u2019 junk!\u201d when\u00a0I have thrown out something I wish I\u00a0had kept.<\/strong> That $200 espresso maker is a prime example.
\nOther things I haven\u2019t\u00a0missed. The $1,200 mattress I gave away on Craigslist after having\u00a0to vacate my uninhabitable 22nd-floor lower Manhattan apartment when Hurricane Sandy\u00a0claimed the lobby as a murky seawater swimming hole didn\u2019t faze me one bit. I\u2019ve\u00a0put more bookcases and tables out on the sidewalk for some happy person to claim.
\nThe very tiny vile of ashes that I gathered after the Burning Man Temple burn<\/a>, where\u00a0my lover\u2019s memorial was, I will never leave behind. I have all the handmade\u00a0Valentine cards that a gal pal of mine has sent me for the last five\u00a0years.
\nI think what it boils down to for me, is it\u2019s not about the money. It\u2019s really about\u00a0what is important to my heart. Apparently espresso and handmade gifts top the list.<\/strong>
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A few examples of JillAnne’s NYC-themed holiday cards<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nRelated posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n