No More Nightstands

I am disproportionately loving life without nightstands.

I should back up a bit. Pete and I have been purging our house of excess stuff. We decided that we don't particularly like stuff in general. But once you start this process, it's a bit difficult to stop. You begin to question everything. Do we really NEED that? What would life be like without it? It'd be kinda fun to find out, right? Heck, let's go for it!!!

Topics of simplicity, minimalism, decluttering, downsizing, etc. will definitely be part of this blog. However, I don't think they'll be the only themes - which is why I didn't call this blog "Rosie Declutters," catchy as it might be. But, more background on that later. Meanwhile, please allow me to tell you just a few of the reasons I'm loving my new no-nightstand lifestyle:

1. No surface to collect clutter.
2. No surface to collect dust.
3. No lamp to dust or replace light bulb in or to use electricity or adjust crooked shade or knock over or break or fix or replace....you get the idea.
   
4. No object to awkwardly vacuum around or behind.
5. No corner to stub toe on or jab thigh into in the dark.
6. No drawers to collect random stuff that has no business being there.
7. Can easily reach the outlet it used to block. Especially handy for plugging in our phones at night, which double as alarm clocks.
8. More space in the room.
9. If/when we move, fewer items to deal with.
   

(x2. Because we had two of the darn things).

I read in The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide that the bedroom should be the least cluttered room in the house, and that everything contained therein should directly relate to sleeping or relaxing. Since then I've removed probably 75% of the items originally in the room, and now work the hardest (compared with the rest of the house) at keeping it free of clutter. It quickly became my favorite room in the house. By far. Interestingly, the kids seem to gravitate there more now as well.

How can YOU get in on the nightstand-less action? I'm so glad you asked.

How To Get Rid of Your Nightstands and Begin Disproportionately Loving Life:

1. Make sure there are other ways to get enough light in the room, particularly if you read in bed. We already had a floor lamp in another part of the room that, with a little repositioning, gave us plenty of light.
2. Clean out and clear off nightstand, making a pile of only absolutely essential items (i.e. limit yourself to one bedside book at a time).
3. Put these essential items in a small bin or basket that can be tucked under your bed and easily accessed (better yet, choose the bin and let that limit and determine the items you can keep). Maybe one bin for each side of the bed if necessary.
4. Post your nightstands and lamps on Craigslist as a package deal for a ridiculously low price. Ours were gone in about 30 minutes from time of posting. The key here - forget what you originally paid for them or how much they're worth. Only focus on what will make them go fast. The money isn't important and it's not the goal, it's just an added bonus. We posted our 2 lamps and 2 nightstands for $25 total. Then we ate at PF Changs Happy Hour and went to a gelato place for dessert and had money left over.

What's not to (disproportionately) love?

I should probably post pictures. I'm still a bit shy about that. I'm not a decorator (obviously) and I'm not a photographer (nor aspiring to be either one). But we'll see. Maybe when I get to know you a little better.

Here's some gelato.