My Must Have Stuff List

For the first twelve years of my life, we lived in the then middle class neighbourhood of Pembroke Hall in Kingston, Jamaica. Labels are not my favourite things but to contextualize this conversation about using less, it feels necessary to describe the social-economic background of my first community.

Frankly, for most of those years, I did not really understand what it meant to be “poor.” Judging from today’s standards and the political jargon of the time – I guess we were poor or at least residing on the border of poverty.

Looking around our house you really could not tell that my mother was a “hustler” – doing anything and everything imaginable to keep a roof over our heads and our belly full. We had a Phillips stereo from the 1960’s, its matching television set, more glassware and cutlery than Ammars, bed linen galore, area rugs – everything that any 'ghetto' Martha Stewart would want in her home.

Did we need all of this stuff?

No, we did not. Considering that my mother never owned her own house, all these trappings decorated many rented accommodations.  My friends know that unlike most of them, I love relocating. Why? It was just something we did when I was growing up. I remember us moving six times in two years and twice into the same house under disguise. And all that stuff had to be carefully wrapped, packed and transported!

That tradition of regularly moving was passed on to me. Since her birth to when she moved out at 18 years old, my daughter has moved with me, including to Canada and around Edmonton, at least ten times. None of these moves had to do with us not being able to pay our rent, like my mother. Rather, we moved “up” as well as into our ‘owned’ home.

The accumulated moves over my life meant there was a lot and I mean a lot of stuff to pack, discard, give away, etc.

Am I done moving? No. I actually love it. However, the amount of stuff that would go with me is minimal. I am a re-born minimalist and cheapskate! LOL My current accommodation has the bare essentials and most of them were given to me, bought second-hand or inexpensive enough to have paid for themselves in the three months since purchased.

There is few stuff that are ‘must-haves’ for me, aside from my medication. They are:

1. Heinz Kitchen
2. Good coffee
3. Uggs winter boots (and my daughter has been touting Flurries boots to me so this one is questionable)
4. Revlon Eyeliner
5. La Senza bra and underwear

Everything else is either negotiable, replaceable or I can do without. 

What about you? What is on your “Must Have Stuff” list? Share it with me her or on our Facebook page.

Do enjoy the rest of this #UseLessStuff Day.