A Good Idea

I apologise that this is neither seasonal nor uplifting – just a really good idea.

Because of my endless quest to own less Stuff, I’m always interested in dual-purpose items – like a seat that is also a storage unit or a sofa you can also sleep on.

Also because of the quest to own less, I often get rid of things in a fit of simplicity enthusiasm, then later wish I had them again.

In recent times I’ve had a dear little Victorian dressing table – the kind that has drawers so you can keep clothes in it. It has a large mirror.

Now, in the quest-for-simplicity, clothes are my terrible weakness. I haven’t got any New Year resolutions yet, but I should formulate one along the lines of managing to keep my weight and my wardrobe stable (because those two things are connected). I do love clothes, and in fact my wardrobe is more of a dressing-up box in truth, all be it a rather restrained and sober version.

I like skirts, and these days shirts with collars suit my ageing neckline better than scoop or crew necked tees. I don’t like ironing. This all means hangers are my friends, not shelves. Deb, if you are reading this, I know you have achieved the art of compleat minimalism in the clothes department, with your three skirts and tops folded neatly in a drawer, and I bow to you in utter respect. I have lots of clothes, because I get bored and like a change. Even so, they do all fit in one normal-sized wardrobe. Well, that’s not quite true. I have summer dresses and sandals in the attic ready to be swapped over with the warm skirts and winter sweaters. But the clothes I’m wearing in any given season all fit in one wardrobe.

Only, it’s a long time since I had a wardrobe, in the sense of an item of furniture. Well over a decade ago I had a wardrobe, briefly, then we lost our home and it had to go. Since then I’ve lived pretty much out of a couple of drawers. But, fed up with my expensive habit of acquiring and ditching clothes (and weight), I’m trying hard to hang on to a sensible range of garments and a sensible level of fat – both of those being more than the minimalists and the doctor think I need, but hey.

So the Badger is making me a wardrobe (I’ll post a pic when it’s all finished).

And this means I no longer need the dear little Victorian dressing table. I love it very much, but my room is so very small that if I add in a dressing table with a seat and a wardrobe, there isn’t a lot of floor left over and it all gets to feel overwhelmed. Or I do, anyway.

So the dear little Victorian dressing table will be on its way, to some carefully chosen recipient who will love it as much as I do. If they don’t, they can’t have it. I’ll be sorry to say goodbye to it – Hebe and I bought it together when we were rebuilding our life after our massive family crash years ago, and it’s travelled with us in various locations ever since. It’s a most useful piece of furniture because it’s small and neat, fits in almost anywhere. But not in my tiny room if I have a wardrobe.

But there is a snag. I do need a mirror – just for hair and make-up and checking I haven’t got kale or bran on my teeth.

I was annoyed about this, because I used to have a free-standing mirror back in the day, but I moved it along when I got the dressing table. And at one time I had a very small wall mirror too, but no longer. So I thought – sigh – I’ll have to get a new one.

And now we come to the Good Idea. At last. You may have been wondering what happened to it.

Oh, wait a minute, I thought, as I was considering this. I can use the photo booth on my laptop as a mirror! I can stand it wherever I want it to be, and when it’s not in use it will just vanish completely. How neat is that? And it angles, so it can sit at any height and still do the job.

I feel really pleased with myself for having thought of that even if hundreds of other people are doing it already and I didn’t know.

It’s a bit gloomy and dark still on this stormy winter morning, but even so it works perfectly!