Whether or not you have a school or college aged kid, it's back to school time. The stores are full of pencil/paper clutter, and you're reminded of the citation potential in the school zones once again.
If you DO have a college student, you probably feel less than minimal. You are downright FORCED to buy more clutter. I have blogged before about dorm room basics and living all cute and tiny in the 150 sf space shared by two hormonally fluent teenagers. You are buying more bedding (weird sized dorm room beds?), towels, and desk accessories to furnish their home away from home. The hardest part of all this, aside from the financial devastation, is they come home in May, and where in tarnation do you store all that stuff which by now has quadrupled in volume?
This year, my son has a house. A decent sized two story place with a front porch, backyard, and an actual laundry room. A house replete with fraternity brothers. Of course, it needed furnishing. So again, back to Target and Beth Bath and Beyond Ridiculous to purchase pots, pans, and a set of measuring cups because I MIGHT want to make cookies when I visit, and heaven knows even after 49 years I can't guesstimate how much a half cup looks like.
There's no garage, because, well, college. So, I didn't buy any yard care items; I just hired a lawn service. THIS is super minimalist. The yard guys a) add value to my life, because the twice a month service cost far outweighs the nagging cost and price of a mower, and b) bring me joy because when I visit the beds are weeded and the grass is cut! Did I mention I OWN this house he lives in? I decreased the clutter of crap I would have to sell when he moved, and added value! Bonus.
He also WON'T BRING HIS CRAP HOME IN MAY. Two years (at least) of living the dream in the college house! The crap will undoubtedly morph into super-sized crap over the school year, but during the summer he can just zip home with his car full of underwear (dirty, likely) and see his momma.
The toughest part of being Minimalist Mom is his room at home. The conflict: the joy, the despair. I peer in the doorway, and the bed is made, the dresser drawers are actually shut. There are no receipts from Taco Bell drive thru littering the floor, no half full Gatorade bottles under the bed. Yay tidy! But, no yay. No boy. Boy Wonder is away at his own house, not concerned a bit about tripping on the laundry basket that will never see its bottom. His absence at home is palpable, not just because the 12 pack of Dr Pepper doesn't vanish in a day.
I have three years remaining until my chicks are all flown. Three years to appreciate extra laundry, innumerable guitar picks on the counter, in the dryer, and in my car's cup holders. 1,095 days to enjoy packing a lunch (yes, I still do) and the clutter associated with family and family's friends. I will enjoy it. I will be mindful of our days together and that I will yearn for a bit of clutter when it's just me and the Hubs occupying the ranch.
Enjoy Back to School, Minimalist friends! But don't over-buy on pencils. Those teachers always seem to send them back at school year's end!
