One Drawer at a Time
Photo Credit (of my actual drawer): Jim Higley
The month of August gave me a great four-week getaway. And it gave me one drawer that I’ve grown to love dearly.
Let me explain.
I spent the month of August on a wonderful, quiet Greek island in a tiny, well-appointed flat with incredible views of the Aegean Sea. But this is not a story about my specific location. The story could have taken place anywhere, near or far.
This is a story about the one drawer I kept 94% of my clothes in for the entire month.
In recent years, like many of you, I’ve become a member of the “I Only Travel with Carry-On Luggage Club.”
That approach works great for weekend getaways. But this getaway was the longest I’ve ever had in my entire life.
My one drawer became home for:
· 6 tee shirts
· 6 pairs of underwear
· 7 pairs of socks
· 2 bathing suits
· 4 pairs of shorts
· 2 pairs of running (no, I don’t run) shorts
· 1 pair of sleeping shorts
Full disclosure: I did have a couple of short-sleeved button shirts hanging in a closet (for those of you keeping score, that’s the other 6% of my clothes). And I also had a small but efficient washing machine in the flat. My “dryer” was a good-old outdoor clothesline which let mother nature and the sun to do their job.
I know this sounds nutty, but every morning when I opened my one drawer, it was a refreshingly calm moment. All of my options for the day were in one spot, somewhat organized, and easy to see. Once a week or so, I’d take everything out and try to refold things to create order – only for my eyes to see. That simple five-minute task was, in an odd way, extremely cathartic for me. Go figure.
And what would often go through my mind is the cycle of life most of us go through and the acquiring of “things” that naturally goes with it. My kids and their spouses are in the “Acquiring” phase of life. Buying homes, buying things to fill those homes, buying things for the babies, children and pets that live in those homes.
With technology and ease-of-buying options (ie. Amazon), the snowball of “things” entering our homes is all too easy.
I’ve been through almost all of the cycles of acquiring things.
I’ve done the family home, where every closet, cabinet, shelf, and corner was packed.
I’ve done the initial downsizing – when I had only one child at home – where I purged over 50% of my belongings and moved into a shoebox home for the two of us.
And over the last several years, I’ve made one more downsizing move into a one-bedroom space that fits my lifestyle perfectly.
But my month away – spent with my one drawer – was yet another experience in simplifying and minimizing.
What was the takeaway?
· I spent less time managing.
· I spent less time organizing
· I spent less time deciding.
And even though I still worked remotely nearly every day I was gone, I was able to also find time for things that brought great meaning to me.
I read. Not just one book. Not two or even three. I read four books. I’ve never read so much in my entire life. Ever.
I also took up a new hobby, teaching myself how to embroider. Why, you may ask, embroidery? It’s part of my effort to keep these aging and less-nimble-than-they-used-to-be hands working. This self-taught experience was actually quite gratifying and calming as I found time almost daily to work on it.
So I thank my one drawer for, indirectly, giving me the gift of time.
I now am happy to be home and find all of my possessions waiting for me – right where I left them. My closet (which I have long thought to be tiny measuring about 5’ in width) seems enormous. As I flip through some of the hangers I see piece after piece that I haven’t worn in years. Yet, somehow, they keep traveling through life with me.
Certainly, things for me to think about.
In the meantime, I’m going down to pick up two Amazon packages that arrived this morning. Funny, I don’t even remember what I ordered.
Jim Higley is the co-founder of Puffer Hug, a company whose mission is to connect the world with kindness, one hug at a time. Learn more about Puffer Hug here.