Living Simply: Favourites

I’m of the mindset that one can have many favourites. I don’t have 1 favourite long sleeve t-shirt. All 3 of my long sleeves are my favourite. Generally, I find people assume they can only have one favourite in a category. Which I guess is implied in the definition of the word. But I don’t see why having multiple favourites is a problem.

Oftentimes, in living simply and decluttering conversations it’s a lot about getting rid of things. But what Marie Kondo mentioned in her book (and others have talked about too) is that we should keep items that “spark joy”, meaning pick our favourites. How awesome would it be to have all the items we own be our favourites?

So that’s how I approach everything I own. I ask myself “is this my favourite?”, if the answer is no, and I prefer another thing, then I declutter it. With this concept, sometimes it means I keep “useless” or “knicknacky” shenanigans because they are my favourite and they make me happy.

In the case of items that might be “boring”, let’s say a broom, then I still ask myself if it’s a favourite, but I frame it a little differently. Is it my favourite in terms of the practicality: does it work really well? If it’s broken, tedious to use and hinders the task that it’s meant to accomplish, then it’s a no from me.

The people closest to me will know that I love to know other people’s favourites too. If my dad says he likes a song, my immediate question is “Is it your favourite?”, and the response is always no. It’s kind of comical in a sense, since it’s a little repetitive and childlike. But I’m always seeking to be surrounded my favourites and to know favourites. This also means I’m a particularly great gift-giver because I always know people’s favourite candy or place to eat - so I can surprise them with their favourites.

I can easily narrow down what I own because I know my favourites and letting go of the rest isn’t hard because of that. Why keep an uncomfortable bra if I have a comfortable favourite one? Why keep itchy socks if I have plenty of comfy "favourite" cotton ones?

In my Living Simply series, I strive to simplify my life to reduce my stress. And I think by surrounding myself with my favourite things that bring me joy, I can’t possibly get anxious about the items I own. Instead of stressing out about decluttering and focussing on everything I dislike or don’t need - I can frame the situation in a positive light and make it a positive experience. Let’s all pick our favourites, shall we?