Well this week sure has been interesting. My mission was to start the 100 Thing Challenge, so I have spent the week reflecting on what I have, and writing, re-writing, and re-writing again my list of the top 100 things that I want to live with for the next 6 months. So I've narrowed the list down to my favourite items, those that I love or can't live without.
Now I won't bore you with the details of exactly what did make my list (I'll post the list as a comment for anyone curious!), but what I found most interesting was what didn't quite make the cut. After the first version of the list I left it a few days, and coming back to the list again my perspective had changed already about what was most important - enough to take some things off the list and add others on.
Here are a few items that didn't quite make the cut: 1) a second pair of black work heels 2) my wool slippers 3) a third notebook 4) a third scarf 5) a nice sparkly top.
What these near misses lead my to think about was how I made buying decisions about those items in the first place. If I had 2 notebooks (or 2 scarves) already, did I ever need a third? If I have carpet on the floor did I ever need slippers? If I always wear dresses, would I ever really have needed a sparkly top?
I guess these are the kind of questions that I will need to keep asking myself over the next 6 months if I want to keep my list at 100 items or less. Just writing the items down is half the battle, now I have a very clear picture of what I have and what I need. Even if you don't think you could reduce your stuff down to 100 items, I would absolutely encourage anyone to try out the task of writing down all the items that you have in your bedroom,wardrobe, lounge etc. Then maybe you can reduce your items down five at a time over a few months - your local charity stores will love you for it. I'm going to try getting my parents to do this - they sure are hoarders!
Now that I have my list of items, and my suitcase nearly packed, I'll be jetsetting to my new home town of London next week.
So for this week I'm going to start looking at an area that is very near and dear to my heart - travel. I love to travel, which is the main reason I'm re-locating to Europe. On the flipside I'm very aware that it's a decidely un-eco-friendly pass time. Over the next few months I'd really like to start exploring the most sustainable ways to see the world.
To kick start my green travel adventures, my mission this week is to carbon offset my long haul flight to London.
I've started having a look into carbon offsetting and there is a world of information out there. Hopefully I can distill it down this week and make a decision on the best carbon offset solution for me. If anyone has any recommendations please do let me know!
Here's my list of 100 things (not in order of importance)...
ReplyDeleteTo carry: 1) Suitcase 2) Handbag 3) Backpack 4) Small clutch 5&6) Reusable shopping bag x 2 7) Lunch bag 8) Wallet 9) Travel pouch 10) Make up case 11) Toiletries case 12) Compendium
Electronics: 13) Hairdryer 14) GHD 15) Laptop 16) Laptop bag 17) iPod 18) Mobile 19) Camera 20) Gorrilla pod 21) Plug adapter 22) External Harddrive 23) Headphones 24) USB stick
To wear: 25) Belt 26-29) Work dress x 4 30-33) Casual dress x 4 34-36) Party dress x 3 37) Black slip 38) White slip 39) Ankle boots 40) Long boots 41) Black work heels 42) Sunglasses 43) Underwear 44) Socks 45&46) Scarf x 2 47&48) Cardigan x 2 49&50) Party heels x 2 51) Sandals 52) Gold earrings 53) Gold ring 54) Pyjamas 55) Winter coat 56) Black stockings 57) Bikini 58) Leggings x 2 59) Jeans 60) Black flat shoes 61) High waisted skirt 62&63) Work shirt x 2 64) Black singlet 65) White canvas sneakers 66) Winter hoody 67) Board shorts
Sports gear: 68) Running shoes 69&70) Running leggings x 2 71-73) Sports tops x 3 74) Swimsuit 75) Fox shorts
Decorative: 76) Photos 77) Bluetac 78&79) Tacky Eifell Tower photo holders (the most useless but loveable thing on my list)
Other: 80) Hairbrush 81-83) Travel books x 3 84) DVD 85) Sheets 86) Duvet set 87) Towel 88&89) Pen x 2 Pencil 90&91) 2 notebooks 92) Diary 93) Vegetarian cookbook 94) Umbrella 95) Handkerchief 96) Drink bottle
Leaving me a slight margin of 4 items as I'm sure I've forgotten something important!