Rosie and I have been in our condo for four weeks so that means we’ve been doing our own version of Ryan Nicodemus’ “packing party” for just over a month. (I closed on the condo on September 29th so the official start of the project was October 1st even though we didn’t move in until October 11th.)

Ryan’s “party” ended after 21 days. I’m giving myself 90, though I’m starting to wonder how much more I’m really going to unpack. I have yet to go a day without unpacking something and I expect to unpack more wintery things as it gets colder but the low right now is only in the 50s. (Ah the joys of living in the desert.)

When I got my first apartment, my mom took my shopping for my kitchen basics – dishes, glasses, cooking supplies, etc. When I moved to Phoenix, the house was fully furnished, so my kitchen gear mostly lived in the garage for 10 years except for a few specialty items. Now I’m rediscovering my cooking supplies and seeing what I actually need and use. I suspect I’ll keep a handful of basics that I barely use – like my hand mixer and my casserole dish – just so I won’t have to replace them when a rarely-used recipe requires one of them.

Here’s what I unpacked in the last week.

Day 22

• Rosie’s flea treatment (she gets this once a month) and doggie bags
• Toaster and plate
• DVD
• T-shirt

Day 23

• T-shirt
• Plate
• DVD
• Hairbrush (that I’m using this as a microphone to practice for an upcoming speech. I’ve always used a brush for this.)

Day 24

• Hat and yoga pants (Yay! It’s finally cold enough for yoga pants!)
• Two knives

Day 25

• Slacks, blouse, and t-shirt
• Clipboard and notebook
• Anniversary card (which I bought on sale in July)
• Knife
• Glow-in-the-dark ball (for Rosie)

Day 26

• T-shirt
• Cookbook (to help me make my shopping list), knife, and plate
• Heating pad and 2 Styrofoam cups (to make an ice cup)
• Lip balm (I have no problem admitting I’m addicted to lip balm.)
• DVD (because I think you’re obligated to watch V for Vendetta on 11/5)

Day 27

• Socks and tank top

Day 28

• Hiking boots and socks
• Caffeine pills

After the end of Week 4, I took some time to go through and combine several half-empty boxes. I’ve gotten rid of at least 4 boxes since my last video. It makes a big difference in the amount of free space I have and has me thinking about how I want to use it going forward.

Other updates from the Minimalism in 90 Days project:
What was Unpacked During Week 1
What was Unpacked During Week 2
What was Unpacked During Week 3