living without stuff, pt. II

(alternative title: in which i realize that some stuff is good to have)

a strange thought occurred to me the other night about all the food products so beloved to me that i haven’t touched for years; obviously not by choice, including cheerios, shredded-wheat cereal, campbell’s soup (don’t judge), and a whole load of other things that i can’t think of right now that i won’t even know i have missed until i see it again.

not only that, but all of my belongings and clothing sitting in the family garage. next summer when i’m going through all those things i’ve forgotten about, it’s going to feel like christmas. what better to have loads of vaguely familiar things that are already yours?

sometimes when i sit back and try to look at myself as an outsider would,  i am even shocked at the way i live compared to my preferred comforts. my breakfasts are usually so-so muesli (and weetabix when i can get it) instead of american breakfast cereal. i still only own three pairs of pants (including jeans) that i’ve been wearing for over two years, and let’s just say i think their golden years have passed. my samsung windows phone with a cracked screen, which is incompatible with cool apps like instagram, still functions. (and at least i’ve got that! alex has a “burner”) we don’t even have a lamp in our living room; it’s unseemly.

i no longer only keep just enough belongings that i can fit inside a backpack and go at any point like i prided myself on in the early days. after almost two years of staying put in the same place, i’ve gone more lenient. i had more winter coats and jackets brought to me (OH, BELOVED COATS! some people have shoes… i have my coats). i caved and purchased frank, the stuffed orange plaid elephant from prague (my eight-year old girl students simply demand that he be in the room or the lesson cannot go on). i shelled out for a blender (wooooorth it).

but i think the way i live would still shock some. from this outsiders’ perspective (particularly an american one) that i speak of, it seems very bare bones, owning almost nothing in the flat besides a couple new purchases, above. i often struggle with the stuff vs. no stuff debate. obviously, i’ve gotten by just fine without stuff. but does stuff make a home? stuff does make life more comfortable, but can you be comfortable enough without these things to lead a happy life?
in any case, i’m going to let my often repressed material side come out for a second. if i saw any of these common drugstore items anywhere near me, i would surely snatch them up!

>> burt’s bees peppermint lip-balm. i should’ve brought multiple tubes!
>> annie’s shells & white cheddar. i ate my last annie’s months ago.
>> sour punch straws. the best candy.
>> oil of olay daily moisturizer. drugstore moisturizers with spf are seemingly non-existent here.
>> bigelow vanilla chai. funny that i didn’t discover this until stockholm last summer but it’s truly the best chai that is most readily available.
>> oberto peppered beef jerky. because beeeeeeef jerky.
>> tide pen to-go. i fear the consequences when mine finally runs out.
…

and so goes the constant battle between my forced minimalism and the warm glow of stuff. can’t wait to tear through those boxes and find clothing other than the pieces i’ve worn over and over just because it’s all i have. 

what are some products you wouldn’t want to live without? or do you live a monk-like minimalist existence? (if so, feel free to impart your ways upon me)

ps, my first coming to terms with no stuff & things i do differently now after over a year in europe.