I’ve always heard that goldfish have the unique ability to expand to fit the size of their tank. Put them in a big space with lots of room to swim and they will eat…and grow…to a larger than average size.
Conversely, limit their space and they stay cute and small.
I don’t know for sure if this is true because I’ve never owned a goldfish. My sister had beta fish…and maybe a few others…when we were kids, but I was never really into them. You can’t pet them or teach them tricks. Borrrrrrrrrrring….
I was reminded of this adage today because Mr. Universe and I decided to combine closets. When he moved in, it was just easier to move all his stuff into my second bedroom. It didn’t require me to move anything…allowed us to stay out of each other’s way while getting ready…but it also felt a little bit like roommates.
Sure, we slept in the same room but none of our stuff co-existed in that room. Plus, after a week at the ashram, I realized I need some dedicated space for yoga…meditation…reading…being quiet. I need someplace to escape on occasion…and he probably does too. That’s what the extra room was before it became a giant walk in closet.
Today we decided to make the merger happen. Holy cow did I have some shit. I’ve never considered myself a hoarder. I don’t really collect stuff…well, maybe Buddhas and Ganeshas but that’s about it. I prefer my house to be much like my life – uncluttered.
But then you open my walk in closet…or the extra Ikea wall bureau…or the wall unit of drawers and shelves…it quickly becomes apparent that I’ve been hanging to “things” after all. Rather than just rearranging everything around, we both decided to take the opportunity to purge. To reduce our clothing footprint.
The result…Mr. Universe identified 20 year old shirts that he probably didn’t need anymore and I found the strength to dispose of nearly 20 t-shirts….um, whaaaaat????
Needless to say, we now have two packed garbage bags of clothes for friends and eventually Goodwill…and we managed to successfully combine our wardrobes into one living space.
This was a first…and very important…step if I’m ever going to manage to make it into a tiny house.