My clothes are ancient by today’s standards. In a world of 50-100 fashion “seasons” per year, disposable clothing that is only meant to last a night, and t-shirts that cost $5, my closet is an anomaly.

I have had everything in my closet and drawers, from my pea coat down to my running tights, an average of five years. And while at first that doesn’t sound like much, many of the pieces in my closet are still going strong 10+ years after they were handed down to me.

While I will be the first to admit that a few things in my drawers need to be replaced, for the most part my wardrobe—both my daily clothing and athletic wear—still looks like I bought it within the last year.

Why does the age of your clothing or wardrobe matter?

Lately I have been seeing posts from slow fashion and ethical fashion bloggers about #30wears and why it’s important to only buy clothes you can see yourself wearing at least 30 times. The idea is to ensure you don’t buy something you will never wear or only wear a handful of times before getting rid of it.

While I love this idea, I think we should hold ourselves to higher standards. With my closet, I try to only add items that I can see myself wearing frequently over the next five years. For basic pieces that will always be in my life like a coat or a dress, I imagine myself in it 10 years from now.

The longer I keep each item, the less of an impact I have on the Earth. Growing and producing fibers, manufacturing clothing, and shipping them around the world is extremely costly to the environment. The longer I hold onto a piece—and actually wear it!—the more I save in the long run.

Wearing clothes for years means you aren’t going out to buy a new one every year or so. It means you are saving all of those resources that are required to make a replacement in addition to the money it takes to purchase it. In other words, the longer you keep and wear your clothes, the smaller your impact.

What I learned from this exercise:

1. Many of my clothes came from my mom either as hand me downs or gifts. Thanks mom!

2. With proper care, clothes can last years, if not decades.

3. I get more joy out of clothes the more I wear them. Yes, I could have seven pairs of pants so each one is only worn once a week to theoretically stretch out their lifespans, but I feel great knowing that my black jeans that lasted roughly two years had at least 200+ wears over their lifetime. Not too shabby! I wear my favorites on a weekly basis, and I love them just as much each time I put them on.

4. My small closet has served me well through so many transitions and climates.

5. I generally avoid trends and any clothing that I’m on the fence about, and calculating the age of my clothes really reinforced those habits. I likely won’t want to wear “boyfriend” clothes 10 years from now (or, you know, now), just like how my emo band shirts from high school aren’t still hanging around. Classic, timeless pieces give me the best cost per wear, have the most longevity, and end up being the most sustainable.

6. Quality is almost always worth the investment. I hate shopping, and it’s extremely important to me that my clothes are high quality pieces that will last me for years. The pieces that have been around the longest or appear to be the most likely to keep going for another decade are the ones that are made out of natural fibers that age well, are constructed well, and are classically styled.

7. I foresee the average age of my clothing increasing over time. Most of my clothes were bought in college or right after I graduated. I had a school uniform K-12, and it took me ages to figure out what I actually like to wear. Now that I am getting the hang of dressing myself, I am slowly replacing old, not-so-nice-looking items for pieces I hope to see me through the next decade.

Don’t you have a lot of clothes for a minimalist?

My wardrobe is broken up into two capsules and three categories: cool capsule, warm capsule, and year-round essentials. In general, this keeps my clothes feeling fresh and saves me space in my closet and drawers since out-of-season clothes live under my bed in a zippered canvas bag. It also means everything that I pull out for the season is worn frequently, sometimes almost daily.

I have a lot of athletic clothing—more than what’s in my “daily wardrobe.” Half of my drawer space is dedicated to it. And yet I wear all of it frequently. In the summer, I layer with my long sleeve tops to stay warm to and from the gym. In the winter, my tank tops and running shirts are often hiding under my thick running tops to help keep me warm on brisk runs or gym sessions. My leggings are layered with sweaters and dresses, and when the temperature really drops my warmer running clothes become baselayers under my regular, non-athletic clothes.

That said, unless you are also exercising or getting sweaty 6-8 times a week, this is likely aggressive. I could make it work with 2/3 of the clothes that I have, but I would have to do mid-week laundry and the load would never be close to full, which wastes water and energy. As is, most of my athletic clothes are worn 1-2 times a week, and this jumps up to a good 90 percent if you take seasonality into account.

Related: See what’s in my daily minimalist wardrobe and my workout capsule.

This might seem like a weird thing to write about for someone who calls herself a minimalist, but this post really does have a place here. Part of cutting back on purchases and unnecessary stuff is being able to appreciate what you have and realize what has really made a difference.

I haven’t purchased much this year, although this list has reminded me that I bought more than I realized. This list includes most of what I bought, and for good reason. The things below all made a tangible difference in my life and were the best things I bought this year.

My Best Purchases of 2017

1. Bike

I was pretty devastated when my bike was stolen. It took me months of going to bike shops and relentlessly scanning the internet to find my new bike. I eventually found the perfect used road bike on Craigslist. When I brought her in to my local bike shop to get her all set up the (amazingly patient and super helpful) guy said he never sees used bikes that fit that well.

Since purchasing her (and an unfortunately expensive slew of other necessary things like a helmet and pedals), I have reduced my driving down to once a week. I love flying down hills and racing past traffic. Lexy (yes, she has a name) is by far the best physical thing I bought this year. She makes stupid happy and we go nearly everywhere together. She’s now my main set of wheels.

2. Allbirds

It feels near impossible to find a relatively sustainable shoe that is also comfortable and not hideous. I pined after these wool shoes for nearly a year before I finally purchased some. They were my main travel shoes this year (they went all over Iceland and New Zealand wonderfully). They were also my main every day shoe. From commuting to riding my bike on errands, I take them everywhere.

3. Fleece Sweatshirt

I’ll be honest with you, I have some guilt about this one. I am very aware that my fleece sweatshirt leaches plastic fibers into the environment and the water every time I wear and wash it. The synthetic fibers wash out of the garment and into the waterways, ocean, and even our drinking water. I’m planning to purchase a bag that traps the fibers and helps keep them out of the water, but it will still end up in the trash or blown away.

With that said, I couldn’t find a warm sweatshirt or mid layer made from natural fibers that I could afford. I also needed something that could pack small, get wet, and handle being shoved in a suitcase. This Patagonia fleece is ethically produced from recycled polyester, which made me feel slightly (just slightly) less terrible about the whole thing. It does everything I need it to do, and it will last me for years. I wear this sweatshirt every single day, and it’s on my must-have list for any trip. (Don’t worry, I wash it around twice a month, so it’s not too grungy and it sheds less.)

4. Handkerchiefs

I never thought I would love using handkerchiefs. I am a complete convert. My nose has never felt better, they wash and dry like a dream, and we have massively reduced our trash. I bought some handmade handkerchiefs off Etsy, but you can find them all over including in thrift stores and zero waste online shops like Life Without Plastic and Package Free Shop.

5. Hiking Boots

While hiking in New Zealand I would not shut up about how great of an investment these boots were. After 4 hours of rain and 2 hours of snow my feet were still completely dry. They handled plodding through an unexpected foot of snow for hours on end like a champ. It took me forever to find a hiking boot that my feet accepted, and I was happy to discover that these are made in Europe and that the company takes their impact seriously.

6. Vacuum

I am a cleaning nerd, and I’m not ashamed of it. I dreamed of owning this vacuum* for almost a full year before we decided it was worth the investment (both money and space). I’m so glad we finally brought it home. It works great in our small space, and I’m thrilled to no longer have to sweep the stairs (which really just meant throwing all of the dust and debris into the air).

7. Time Off to Travel

Of course this is on the list, and it’s definitely not really last. Sure, it’s not something physical, but it was my biggest expenditure this year. I took on extra clients and projects and gave up some weekends throughout the year to be able to spend more than six weeks traveling in 2017. From Iceland to New Zealand to Hawaii to visiting family, it was worth every extra bit of hard work.

Freelance has been a huge learning experience with some serious lows, but the ability to take off when I like and travel has made it all worth it.

PS. I don’t make any money off of the links I included here. They’re just for reference/ nosy people like me. 

*Much too patient boyfriend not included.

For years I have been dreaming about this day, but I always told myself ‘I couldn’t possibly actually do that.’ Well past self, I definitely did.

I haven’t used Facebook with any regularity since college. In the years after I would go on and catch up with people’s lives that I never see or talk to. I don’t know about you, but this left me feeling more like a stalker than a far away friend. Once the timeline updated and stupid videos that acquaintances shared started to take over my feed like virulent mold, I stopped logging in altogether.

It’s been at least two and a half years since the Facebook app was on my phone, but I still couldn’t quite bring myself to delete my account entirely.

Facebook Isn’t for Friends

My account was my ‘binders full’ of friends. I held on to it for so long because I had convinced myself that all of the people who were a part of my life in the past – elementary school classmates, high school friends and lab partners, family that moved away when I was child – were still relevant and connected to my current life. Deleting my account made me face the fact that I never interact with anyone on there. They give me a false sense of friendship when in reality we are strangers with each other’s names on a website.

Facebook has not built my friendships. If anything, it made me feel less connected to the people who are in my life. When I actually used Facebook I would follow along with what all of my high school classmates were up to in their new lives while my college roommates sat in the room with me.

I no longer buy into the idea that social media deepens our relationships or helps us connect meaningfully with new people. Of course you can make new friends via social media, but the real friendship building happens offline.

My Last Straw

This has been building for years. Facebook’s lack of response to harassment, trolling, and blatant hatred toward women was reason enough. I was sick and tired of Facebook using predatory ad practices to market me more things I don’t need. I am still tired of all of the all companies selling my data to other companies who want to get me to give them money. Each and every update to the service feels more and more like it’s for brands and people who profit from the site.

The election pushed me over the edge. From the widespread infection of truly made-up ‘news’ and false events to the hate groups that grew their faithful lackeys to the constant barrage of outrage and poorly thought-out rants, I was done.

Facebook’s complicity in Russia’s hostile attack on our election was my final straw. I want them to suffer for what they’ve done, and deleting accounts and rapidly deflating their user numbers is one way that I can contribute.

No more fake friends.

Twitter and Snapchat were deleted years ago for failing to hold my interest (and taking up way too much of my tiny 8Gs of space). My Twitter account hangs on by a thread due to career obligations (but my do I salivate about cutting it).

Instagram is still on my phone. And I need to do a lot better about using it meaningfully.

From here on out I want to be better at interacting with the people I follow on Instagram. Like many, I follow people who I admire or who inspire me. As long as that’s still true, I think they deserve space in my feed. For everyone else, it’s time I reached out and used Instagram as a way to build our connection, not just watch from afar. An engaged comment on a friend’s posts, a quick text to start a real conversation, or, even better, a request to hear about their recent stunning vacation in real life would go a long way towards what I’m really after – richer relationships in my real (a.k.a. offline) life.

The End of Social Media?

I can’t help but hope so. This article by Nick Bilton in Vanity Fair about the future of social media gave me a little bit of hope.

Looking for a little peace in the digital world? You might like my posts about my Distraction-Free Smartphone, Minimizing Social Media, and a hearty Digital Decluttering.

I don’t talk much in this space about my daily work. It often feels weird to bring up the projects I’m working on or share endless links here. I can never quite figure out how I feel about posting my published pieces (too self-promotional? A nice change of pace? A smart way to share my work?).

But since I’m traveling this month in New Zealand (and am thus in another place), I wanted to give a better idea of what my life really looks like, how I spend my time, and the work I do. I also want to be able to share the words I write elsewhere with you, and this seems to be the best way to do it (at least for now).

There is a lot of stuff here (and it’s not everything I wrote this month. In total I turned in 15 stories, which is far from what most months look like for me). If I had to only pick one, I’d suggest:

Let Me Tell You What It’s Really Like To Be A Minimalist

Includes more pictures of our tiny space : )

Hello, Holidays

October is often a crazy month for publishing. It’s the last big push for holiday content before everyone turns there gaze to New Year’s. I spent the month fully immersed in Christmas, and it’s been weird to say the least. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to working on holiday stories and gift guides when it’s still 80 degrees outside and I have yet to even eat a bite of pumpkin-flavored something.

15 Gifts Your Friends Will Love – Sunset Magazine

16 Great Gifts for Your Coworkers – Sunset Magazine

11 Gifts Your Parents Will Love – Sunset Magazine

13 Gifts for the Bon Vivant – Sunset Magazine

12 Gifts for People Who Love Camping – Sunset Magazine

15 Gifts for the Garden-to-Table Cook – Sunset Magazine

7 Gifts with Stylish Desert Vibes – Sunset Magazine

Gluten Free Gift Guide – Healthline

Always On the Go Gift Guide – Healthline

Essential Gifts for the Outdoors Adventurer – Healthline

Oh, hello. My story on the best West Coast breweries to visit this fall is tucked into @sunsetmag's gorgeous (rose gold) October issue.

A post shared by Mandy Ferreira (@treading_lightly) on Sep 7, 2017 at 9:04am PDT

Other Things

Let Me Tell You What It’s Really Like To Be A Minimalist

25 Ways to Fix Oily Hair

Even More Things

October was an exceptionally busy month for me. I was trying to squeeze in as much as I could before going on a longer trip. Even so, the things you see above weren’t the only things I was working on. I also do website production in house for Sunset, copywriting for a local startup, editorial work for an amazing book producer, and in theory, write here for you.

In hindsight, I don’t know how I did it all this month. But I’d say it was worth it.

I long ago cut out paper towels at home, but I have been plagued by paper towels in public restrooms and offices for years. It’s easy to forget just how many paper towels we use in a day. In the U.S. we use an estimated 13 billion pounds of paper towels per year according to the Paperless Project. That’s a whopping 45 pounds per person. To add insult to the landfill-busting number, paper towels use more energy and create more waste than other drying methods.

Since April I have been working in an office a couple days a week. I bring my own lunch and all of the things I need to eat zero waste all day like a cloth napkin and my own fork, but each trip to the bathroom or kitchen would end with me guiltily drying my hands on the only available option – paper towels.

Paper towel conundrums are not new to me. In college I helped launch an initiative to reduce the amount of paper towels used on campus by encouraging people to use the bare minimum instead of cranking out towels longer than toddlers.

But using a single towel or one crank still felt unnecessary and like a lot of trash. As soon as I started working in the office, my daily/weekly trash at least doubled from paper towels alone. I wash my hands a minimum of 10 times a day (between bathroom trips, snacking, and general cleanliness), which means over the course of the month I was using a minimum of 120 paper towels.

While this is still less than the average (according to an reusable towel manufacturer), I wanted to do better. I needed a zero waste paper towel substitute.

On the Go Paper Towel Substitutes

1. A Small Hand Towel

For a while I had small hand towels that could be clipped to a bag or a drawer to dry. After more than a year working from home, I let them go. They are a great size, and feel more like a regular towel than some of the other options (and I miss them a little bit).

You can also cut a sad looking towel into smaller pieces to take with you. This would work best if the towel is thin, or it will be bulky to carry and dry slowly.

2. Old T-Shirt

Much like an old towel, an old t-shirt can be cut into little hand towels.

3. Camp Towel

A small, quick-drying towel is also a great option. I decided not to go this route because I didn’t want to buy something new, but you might score a good one used. A larger microfiber or quick-dry towel could also be cut into smaller sizes.

4. Reusable Baby Wipes / Handkerchiefs

This is the option I ended up going with. Each day I grab two handkerchiefs off the stack. Half of our handkerchiefs are reusable baby wipes that I bought online, and the other half is handmade tissue-sized handkerchiefs. I honestly can’t tell the difference. Both are absorbent, the same size and thickness, and they work great for nose-blowing or hand drying.

5. Air Dry or Use a Dryer

If it’s available and you don’t have a reusable option, a hand drier is a great alternative to paper towels. Just be mindful of how long you spend with the dryer turned on, and try to use jet air dryers over the old-school hot air dryers to save energy and avoid extra bacteria growth.

How I Avoid Paper Towels

I’m still not in a place where I’m proud of my zero waste solutions. I don’t like drawing extra attention to myself, so my handkerchief solution works great as an incognito alternative. I tuck it into my back pocket, waist band, or a strap before leaving my desk.

So far I’ve dried my hands in front of people, and clearly haven’t taken a paper towel first, but no one has said anything. It definitely helps that my handkerchiefs are close in color to a bleached paper towel. I’m starting to get more bold with it. I used to try to time my drying to when other people weren’t paying attention, but these days I just whip it out and move on with my life.

When I get back to my desk I drape my handkerchief over a handle. If I’m out I keep it in a outside mesh pocket in my backpack so it can dry. No backpack? I typically just choose to air dry with a few good shakes over the sink first instead of shoving a wet towel into my bag to fester.

But Isn’t This Unsanitary?

While I certainly wouldn’t recommend this method for a surgeon before they clock in, using a reusable cloth or a jet air dryer is perfectly hygienic. It’s important to let your towel dry and use a new small towel daily. If you’re really worried about it, you could also bring a small stack of the reusable baby wipes or handkerchiefs and use them a few times before moving on to next.

When I’m really worried about the cleanliness of my towel (like before I want a quick snack at the end of the day), I don’t beat myself up over using a single paper towel or shaking my hands off until they’re dry.

Every little bit saved counts. It’s not about perfection, but about consistently making choices that reduce waste, save resources (and money), and feel empowering. Each paper towel I refuse to use is one less that paper companies can use to justify cutting down old growth forests and dumping bleach into our waterways. Every small rebellion and bit of resistance matters.

The past three months have had a lot more things going in and out than the first quarter of the year. We’re both facing aging clothes that we’ve had since college… or before in some cases. Quite a few things also unexpectedly broke or disappeared from our lives without warning.

Out:

Donated:

Dress (too small and haven’t reached for it in well over a year)
Plastic spatula
Knit blazer (didn’t love it, haven’t worn it in over a year)
Old plastic Brita filter pitcher (I’ve been using a plain charcoal stick instead)
Broken colander that came with our place
Fleece sweatshirt
Matt’s replacement shoe laces that didn’t match
Matt’s old running shorts
Yoga mat towel (Gifted years ago. I used it twice as a travel towel, but I’m ready to upgrade to a real travel towel that will work for the beach and showering instead of just being something to sit on and awkwardly dry with it.)

Recycled

2 broken computer chargers (mine and his)
1 broken electronic toothbrush
1 broken sleep tracker that was sent to me for a story… and then refused to take back

Stolen

My beloved bike
Helmet
Lock
Pump
Patch kit
Reversible pedals
Water bottle cage

In:

Me

1 pair of underwear
A gifted computer charger that saved the day month
Fleece sweatshirt
A used bike (more on that soon)

Matt

2 pairs of underwear
1 pair of running shorts
Free pair of socks (the sock hater loves them)
A Nintendo Switch (very kindly shared)

Both

Stainless steel spatula (mine from college, had been stored at my parent’s house)
A new stainless steel colander that doesn’t slice open your fingers every time you reach into it.
Vacuum: Our beloved first joint purchase.

Overall we made quite a few more purchases in the last quarter than normal, but they were all things we had been thinking about for a while. Okay, the bike and the new computer charger definitely weren’t on my list, but we had been talking about buying a small vacuum since we moved in together… last year.

But everything is heavily used, and we definitely made room before taking them home.

There’s a (good) reason things have been quiet around here. I spent the last few weeks working like crazy so I could take a full eight days off in stunning Iceland. While I have plenty more to say about our trip (and enough pictures to break the internet), I’m excited to share what I packed.

Why?

Because this was my best packing job yet! All of my stuff fit in my 45L backpack, including my bulky hiking boots and my plane snacks. My big down jacket? Oh yeah, that was in there too. Nailed it!

What to Pack for Iceland in Spring

I put weeks of thought into what I would bring to Iceland, mostly because the weather was constantly changing leading up to the trip. That didn’t change once we were there either – Iceland’s weather is unpredictable and extremely variable. I highly recommend being prepared for cooler or wetter weather than weeklong forecasts predict for a spring trip.

I wore every item I brought, except for emergency underwear, a couple pairs of thin socks, a sports bra, and a short-sleeve athletic shirt that would have been used had we hiked another day or two.

Staying for more than eight days? Simply wash every 5-7 days. Most of the guest houses, hostels, and Airbnbs we looked at or stayed in had washers. No need to pack more.

Clothes

Tops

• 2 long sleeve cotton t-shirts
• 2 long sleeve technical t-shirts (if you aren’t planning on hiking, sub for any warm base layers)
• 1 short sleeve shirt
• 1 technical short sleeve shirt
• Fleece sweatshirt
• Swim suit
• 1 bra
• 2 sports bras
• 1 knit sweater
• Pajamas
• Rain coat/ wind breaker
• Down coat

Bottoms

• Corduroy pants
• 2 pairs of hiking socks
• 5 pairs of regular socks (I wore 1 pair…)
• 8 pairs of underwear
• Fleece sweats (for hiking and lounging)
• Thick leggings/tights (winter running tights, long underwear, or ski tights)

Shoes/ Accessories

• Hiking boots
• Athletic shoes/ warm, comfortable walking shoes
• Flip flops (especially if you are staying in a hostel or visiting hot springs)
• Scarf
• Gloves
• Beanie/thermal headband
• Small backpack for hiking or a crossbody bag

My boyfriend and I shared his small backpack while hiking and my crossbody bag everywhere else. I used my medium-sized crossbody bag on the plane for reading material, my journal, passport, snacks, and my water bottle.

On the Plane

I broke every single rule and packed my hiking boots. I HATE wearing shoes on a plane, and there was no way in hell I was going to spend 20 some odd hours shoved into my hiking boots. Or take them off and put them back on through security. No thanks.

• Comfortable athletic shoes
• Cords
• Fleece
• Short sleeve shirt
• Compression socks (for my ankle)
• Bra

What my daily wear looked like:

long sleeve base layer + fleece + thick socks + warm pants + down jacket (+/- rain coat) = warm, dry, happy traveler

Daily temperatures were anywhere between 14C (around 60 F) and 3-4C (mid to upper 30s) as we traveled along the Ring Road. Reykjavík was quite a bit warmer than the mountains in the north, but wind chill could still drop the temperature quite steeply in the city. Layers made it easy for me to stay comfortable throughout the 30 degree swing.

I lived in my cords and fleece sweatshirt, but we rarely stayed in one place for more than a day and no one could see my sweatshirt under all of my jackets anyway. You could easily bring another pair of pants if wearing the same pair frequently bothers you. I personally didn’t mind, especially since I was mixing it up on the days that we were outside exploring. I hiked in my thick tights (technically winter running tights) with my fleece sweats on top. Wind-resistant hiking pants would also work great.

Yes, I wore two pairs of hiking socks for our entire 8-day trip. It was too cold for my feet to get nasty, so I wore each pair twice before washing and hanging them over the radiator. It worked great.

Zero Waste Gear/ On the Go Eating

It was important to me to make as little waste as possible on our trip, especially because Iceland is a fragile environment that is suddenly experiencing a massive surge in tourism. All of these things also made bringing my own food on the plane a breeze. These were by far our most used items, and I am really glad I brought them.

• Bamboo cutlery set
• Cloth napkin
• 5 handkerchiefs
• Foldable grocery/tote bag
• Metal water bottle
• Insulated metal water bottle
• 3 metal food containers (packed with food in both directions : ) )

I filled both of my bottles for our flights, and still had to ask for a bit of water on the plane (which they gladly poured straight into my water bottle). The extra bag was perfect for buying groceries, wrangling stuff for a short trip, and hitting the hot springs.

Toiletries

• Sleep mask (hello constant daylight)
• Ear plugs
• Bar soap
• Mini hair brush
• Floss
• Deodorant
• Small container of laundry soap
• Medications as needed
• Tooth brush
• Hand towel
• Nail clippers/file
• Hair clip and hair tie
• (Optional: full-sized towel)

Liquids

• Hand sanitizer
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Toothpaste
• Face oil
• Body oil/ butter
• Eye drops
• Face sunscreen

I ended up deciding to not bring a full-sized towel to use at hot springs or where we were staying. Most of our guest houses/ hostels had towels already included in the price, and the rest were relatively inexpensive. We went to one hot spring that didn’t have towel rentals (or an attendant), and we just brought one of our towels from that night’s guest house with us. It would have been difficult for us to get our towels to dry while we were driving the Ring Road, and I really didn’t want to have to worry about them. We paid a bit extra overall, but we always had a warm towel and it really wasn’t that expensive in comparison to Iceland’s prices in general. My small hand towel (below) was used for drying our hands and dishes as needed.

[This is what happens when you have been up for 24 hours and you realize you haven’t taken a picture of your pack – you take a blurry photo in the airport at midnight on your way home.]

Bottom Line

Iceland’s weather changes rapidly year-round. It’s especially important to pack lots of layers in spring. If you plan on hiking or doing the Ring Road, definitely bring clothes that would keep you warm in snow just in case. You may not need them, but they will be priceless if you do (speaking of price, EVERYTHING in Iceland is expensive. This is not the place you want to be buying an emergency jacket). We also particularly enjoyed our extra-warm clothes on our whale watching tour.

Packing cubes are clutch, and highly consider bringing a backpacking backpack if you plan to go outside of Reykjavík. We carried our packs up muddy hillsides, down long gravel roads, and up many flights of stairs to get to our bed for the night.

There’s something satisfying about watching things go. Even if it’s not my stuff, a donation pile is soothing and full of promise. I love checking in on #minsgame and reading blog posts about what people choose to keep or get rid of.

I never really thought to track my own ins and outs until I saw this post from 600 Square Feet and a Baby. Her pile was so inspiring that I thought I would share my own. This is a list of everything we’ve donated, trashed, sold, or bought in the last three months.

Outs

Donated:

1 pair of snowboard boots
Plastic cutting board (was saving for camping, but it’s not in good shape)
Pair of socks (too big)
Sample mouthwash (new dentist, didn’t know to refuse)
8-year-old water filter jug

Sold:

Sweatshirt
Fancy bookmark
Leggings

Recycled:

Pair of black pants (replaced in December)
Broken raincoat
4 shirts
Old swim trunks

Trash:

An 80% full bottle of hair spray from 2009…maybe earlier. It hadn’t been used in at least four years.

In:

Matt:

1 pair of swim shorts, replaced dingy, two small trunks
1 t-shirt, replaced one of the ones that was recycled
1 raincoat, a much better fit than my old, broken one that he was squeezing in to.

Me:

Nothing.

Although to be fair I did try my best to find a new fleece jacket. So far no luck, but I’m still looking. Once I find one my two, sad fleeces will be donated and recycled respectively.