One Item Only - Day 9 of 30 - Things That Make My Life Easier
Updated: Mar 17
I'm Jaren, a neurodivergent Mom of neurodivergent kids going back to school in my 40's. In this series, I'll be posting about things that make my life easier.
Today I want to talk about the power of ONE ITEM.
First, let me preface this by saying that motherhood has prepared me for the worst. You only have to be stuck without a diaper and an extra set of clothes once or twice after a blowout before you start packing extras of everything with you wherever you go. Additionally, we live in a world that promotes overconsumption. I'm guilty, too.
Forgot your blue pen for the exam? No problem, I have 10 extra in my locker for this moment.
Forgot a hair tie? I have a dozen in my bag somewhere.
Need a bandaid? I got you!
But where the hell are my tubes of mascara? Why do they all disappear???
Hint: because I don't care about them.
The Power Of One Item affords my brain more "space".
Instead of having to keep track of a bazillion extra things, you only have to keep track of one thing. Obviously, this is very difficult when you live with teenage girls who steal your mascara, but you can teach them. Kinda.
Once I decided to weed things down, and once I chose a landing spot for each of my singular items (with the exception of earplugs and lip balms), the clutter in my house started to reduce...pretty drastically.
*Here's where I confess to my addiction to highlighters. I want to buy all of them all of the time. This year, I am challenging myself to use the rest of what I have on hand before buying any more. Same for all of my office supplies.
Here are the biggest benefits of pairing daily stuff down to ONE ITEM:
1) Save $
2) Less waste
3) Save your back from carrying all the extras
4) Save your BRAIN from having to keep track of all the crap, all the time
5) Cleaner, quieter, calmer home - who doesn't want that?
6) Fewer panic attacks trying to find things you know you put somewhere but can't remember where but that you really really really need it RIGHT NOW!
The trick with this, you see, if you choose the item you love the most, so you have incentive to remember to take care of it. It's much easier to remember where something is that you enjoy and use regularly than to remember where you put a bunch of copies of the same thing that you care less about. It ends up as clutter - and AuDHD, my AuDHD, cannot function with clutter. Even though I am soooo messsssssy.
Fancy hair tie you love? You'll keep better track of it because it's more important to you.
Fancy pen you love to write with? Same.
The one pair of sunglasses you just love over all the rest? They're designed to be worn, honey. Wear them every day and store the rest for now. We'll get to the "extras" in another video coming soon.
For now, an easy way to practice pairing down is to start in a room that tends to end up with a lot of clutter and go slowly, when you feel like taking on a challenge. For us, that's the bathroom. Between the makeup and the skincare, we end up having doubles and triples of things for no reason, which then end up all over the house.
Easy things to try pairing down:
Makeup
Challenge yourself to choose a minimalist set (ex: one of each of your favorite products) and store the rest for a few weeks while you try it out a more minimalist routine.
Hair stuff
If you're feeling daring, try keeping only one of each of your hair products nearby, and one of each of the hair ties and brushes / combs.
Skin Care Products
I have more than three face creams. Not because they have different functions - they don't. It's because I forgot I had one open, so I opened another.
Tarot Decks
Just kidding. I will never pair down the number of tarot decks I have. I love them all.
But you get what I mean.
In a society where it's cool to have a bunch of something, try having only one and see what happens.
-Jaren
Comments