My Favorite Things

“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad,                                                   I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad!”

(From The Sound of Music – Rodgers & Hammerstein)

 

As I continue my foray into the world of minimalism, I have spent an inordinate amount of time contemplating what my various possessions mean to me by asking the following questions:

• Is it useful? Do I use it daily/weekly/frequently?
• It is beautiful? Does it express my personal sense of style?
• Would I replace it immediately if it broke/got lost/was ruined in a disastrous mishap?

I have been able to discard many, many items because they didn’t meet any of the above criteria (more about that in my next blog post) and along that way I have been able to identify some of my most prized possessions, My Chosen Few Favorite Things.

I detest yard work and am allergic to cats, so raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens did not make the list, but here are five of my most favorite things. I believe they all meet my needs perfectly: they are functional, stylish and I would certainly replace (and indeed have replaced) each of them if they came across their unfortunate demise today.

(1) 8 inch Calphalon frying pan

As a former whole30 aficionado, eggs are my breakfast staple. And also sometimes a lunch and dinner staple. With this pan I can fry, poach, scramble and make omelets quickly and easily. It washes and wears well with no peeling of poisonous non-stick particles. We had the last one for about 10 years before it finally needed to be replaced. Not bad for a $30 pan from Amazon. Plus it looks cool hanging on the side of my kitchen cabinet with it’s big brother, the 10 inch pan.

(2) Grey wrap cardigan from Athleta

If you’ve spent more than a couple of days in my company, you’ve seen this cardigan.   The neutral color means it goes with just about everything in my wardrobe. I wear it with a dress to work and with pajamas while I lounge on the sofa. It doesn’t shrink or lose shape from washing and drying. It’s soft and comfortable AND it looks good. At $90, it’s definitely on the upper end of what I’m willing to spend on a casual cardigan, but I think it was worth every penny.

(3) Fleecy blanket from Sam’s Club

I’ve had many cosy and cuddly blankets over the years: during those chilly years in my student house in Leeds they were a necessity! Two winters ago I discovered the King of All Blankets for the bargainous price of $15 at Sam’s Club. We are the proud owners of not one, but three of these wonderful home accessories. We initially bought one, but then fought about who got to use it. So we bought another. And finally one more so I had one in the bedroom too. They also wash and wear well, and I saw them in Sam’s last weekend in a whole new array of colors and patterns! Fortunately, as a minimalist, I will not be seduced into buying another one… hopefully.

(4) Garmin Running Watch

I am a huge fan of Garmin products. I had my previous Garmin watch for 10 years: it accompanied me on thousands of miles and took a beating from my general ineptitude at using it, not to mention the gallons of sweat I must have deposited on it. Garmin customer service is brilliant too – they replaced a friend of mine’s watch when it stopped working and will send replacement straps if they break. I have now joined the rest of world and have a smart model that takes the place of the regular watch, activity tracker, GPS, links with my phone etc. And I’m perfectly ok with spending $175 on something I wear for 16 hours/day that is multi-functional and will hopefully last for years. I wish there were some cooler-looking strap options though – Garmin, can you get on that please?

(5) The “Wall of Fame”

The Wall of Fame is a 3′ x 4′ metal bulletin board on our kitchen wall. Everyone who comes to our house is fascinated by it – and many have asked where we got it. It was an Amazon purchase 10+ years ago – and we waited for a year before it was available to buy! A quick Amazon search this morning shows me that they’re not even stocking such an item any more… why oh why? They could sell TONS of them! As part of being minimalists, we don’t have photos cluttering up the doors of our fridge or all over our house. The Wall of Fame is covered with tastefully arranged photos of us, our families and our friends that are held on by magnets. In my opinion, it’s the ultimate in function meeting with style to create something AWESOME. Y’all need one. You really do.

Please note that I’m not advertising for these products or companies; these items are MY favorite things because they meet MY personal needs. I’m hesitant to say that they make me happy because I don’t believe that happiness can be found in ownership of possessions, but they do contribute to my quality of life. What are some of your favorite things? What could you not live without? What would you replace tomorrow if something happened to it?

And stay tuned for my next post about how to declutter those “just in case” items.