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WHEN SIMPLIFYING IS NOT VOLUNTARY

© Mari Brodersen

Until now, this topic has focused on voluntary simplicity. But many people find themselves in circumstances in which they must simplify, like it or not. Since I tend to write from personal experience, I had neglected involuntary simplicity because I had never experienced it. That situation is now being rectified.

I have always had life's necessities and many of the things that I desired. In my naiveté, I thought that I had been simplifying (albeit voluntarily) by finding less expensive ways to obtain what I wanted and by occasionally cleaning out cupboards and closets and donating items that I no longer used. Those are all positive steps, but simplifying recently has taken on a new meaning for me.

My world was turned upside down six months ago, when my husband asked for a divorce. It shouldn't have turned my world upside down; I had seen it coming, but had chosen to go into denial about it. The alternative to denial seemed to be too painful. In retrospect, I can see that I was afraid to face the reality of being alone, on my own.

The divorce meant that now I was in the untenable position of having to start all over from scratch. All the assets we had purchased during our marriage had been paid for from my husband's pre-marriage savings and investments (this was blind stupidity on my part, I realize, but that's a topic for another day), therefore I had no legal right to anything. The only thing I got out of the divorce was my car.

To complicate matters, I have not been able to sustain full-time employment because of health problems, so I have very little cash flow. I had some major doubts about my ability to support myself financially. In addition, I had to find a place to live; and buy furniture, linens, and all the accoutrements of setting up a household.

I found an affordable two-bedroom apartment where I can have pets. The apartment's square footage is well under half of what I had at my husband's house, leaving much less room for storage. I ended up donating 13 or 14 large bags of clothing, kitchen gadgets, books, crafting supplies, knickknacks, etc., to the free store. Even so, I had difficulty finding room for my remaining crafting supplies and guest-room linens at the apartment. The problem was solved when I bought portable storage units on sale at Lowe's; they fit perfectly into the guest-room closet and serve their function well.

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