Confessions of a Minimalist Hoarder
Empty containers + magazine cutouts + toilet paper before it was the world’s most precious material
Though moving every two years with only two suitcases helped me achieve financial independence, and once I have moved I try only to buy things I really need, when I need them, there are some items that years of living in developing countries have taught me to value more than your average American.
You might think surviving a coup would have taught me to always be prepared for say, to be confined to my home for an extended amount of time, but I don’t hoard canned food and always seem to be without any working batteries. When I was still working, we were perpetually running out of drinking water, and sometimes toilet paper (not just due to making piñatas out of it). Although we almost always had wine...
While I have now stocked my pantry and freezer in the face of the pandemic, in normal times I am utterly unprepared for surviving a quarantine or zombie apocalypse. Fresh food is cheaper and better, and I stick to my shopping list of just what I need - with some notable exceptions. Last week I was randomly at the store when a rare shipment from the US arrived and got some Daisy sour cream. I beat the embassy hoard and snagged one squeeze pouch for $7. Worth every shilling.
While I aspire to be a minimalist, I also abhor waste. Especially so when living in developing countries where a. So many people have so little and b. There is not a well-organized system for managing trash. I heard an episode of Planet Money that argued for many types of recyclable materials it is better for the environment to landfill or burn it than send it to Asia to be recycled - which made me feel a little less bad about not having recycling consistently available. Instead, I’m all about reducing and reusing (and upcycling)!
Empty containers
So many exciting possibilities!
I love empty containers so much other people save them for me. We make a lot of things from scratch here, but there are still some things like jam, honey, and peanut butter that we buy in glass or plastic jars. I try to avoid buying produce than comes in containers, but sometimes there is no alternative for certain goods.
They can be used for so many things- storing dry goods in the pantry to keep bugs out, drinking glasses, making quick picked everything (chilis, cabbage, beets, etc), holding homemade sauces, flower vases, keeping art supplies organized, sneaking booze into hotels, and more. You can bring food in them to a party and not worry about getting them back. Who needs a Tupperware party or fancy Mason jars when you can get a free container when buying what’s inside?
Things like bottle caps and empty non-reusable (wine) bottles (that we have a lot of), I hoard until I can make it to the local place that uses them for crafty upcycling.
Old Magazines
Making tiger art before it was cool.
We get magazines very rarely, usually visitor’s castoffs, and after we read them cover to cover we save them for future art supplies.
My daughter is not just a hoarder, but also a cutter. We have been passing many a stay-at-home day cutting to shreds old magazines, newspapers and drafts of (mostly unimportant?) business contracts. Also sadly my entire stash of paper planes, so I guess I’m not saving those anymore.
Combine these with empty boxes and pre-pandemic toilet paper, and you’ve got yourself a piñata!
Free Stuff from Hotels
These never expire, right?
It’s hard to find good pens in Africa. I started taking the pens for all the hotels I stayed at when I lived in Mali and never stopped. I’d also take the tea if it was any good…
I also take the mini toiletries whenever they seem nice, and Man who Works does it every time, so we have quite the collection. Half of them are from China so who knows what is inside. In Mexico, we used to use them for our Airbnb, but here we just use them as our regular toiletries. I haven’t bought any shampoo, conditioner or shower gel in over a year.
Generally Worthless Currency
Mo’ money, Mo’ problems
In our safe, I have a bag with at least 15 different currencies, which aside from a €50 bill I found when taking this picture (cha-ching!) has a total value of about $5. We are almost certain to forget to take these leftovers if we ever go back to Malawi, or the UAE - but I can’t bring myself to throw it away. We also have a bag of coins that we use as ‘diving money’ in the pool for my daughter. It’s got Haitian gourde, Sri Lankan rupees, and even those fun Japanese yen with the holes in the middle.
The difference between me and actual hoarders is that I have no problem getting rid of this stuff (except maybe the money…) when it’s time to move. In the past few weeks, there have been a couple of times when we had to consider leaving the country for good in less than 24 hours, and it makes me feel much better than I could pack up everything important in less than two hours if needed. Not wasting my luggage allowance on old magazines.
I also keep my stashes all out of sight - having piles of things all over the place makes me even crazier than I already am. Since school has been canceled I’ve even enlisted my daughter to help Marie Kondo her multiple hoards! Some minimal but important progress has been made. Lots of things bring her joy…
I’m happy to say we are no longer hoarding crayons.