i have a love-hate relationship with travel-size goods. for the next few weeks, various members of my family are on the road for different reasons, and i've taken this opportunity (?) to clean out 2 bathroom drawers and one linen-closet-shelf. bc these are the spaces that such seemingly innocuous and petite items have decided to take residence.  oh sure, one or two bottles seem harmless, nifty, and oft-times are even free.  but no one tells you the true cost of one to two bottles, that have suddenly multiplied into 10 or 20 in a span of 3 years, until you discover it yourself.

i read a book recently, some random book on happiness, and the author noted that one of her obnoxious "secrets" to happiness is to never accept anything that is free.  as such, she helps ensure that her life is simple, clutter-free, with her home characterized by a scandinavian simplicity with plenty of places for her eyes to rest. clearly, this woman is not of asian descent.

i must admit, however, that if i'm reading such a book in the first place, i'm seeking for some easily adaptable secrets to making my home more livable.  i'm not sure when this began. perhaps with a well-intentioned multi-year subscription to "real simple."  after year 4 or so, hubby turned to me one night while i was deeply absorbed in an article touting "5 simple minutes over 5 days will lead to a cleaner closet!" and asked, with trepidation, "soooo....honey...has that magazine ever, uh, actually helped make our lives more, simple?"

perhaps he was tired of being the one to haul several issues at a time to the recycling bin, as they ironically cluttered up my night stand.

so, anyway, back to decluttering mode. i've discovered that hubby has 3 semi-full 99-cent mini cans of shaving cream.  one semi-full mini can will likely not see him through the entire trip. but does not taking 2 cans defeat the entire purpose?  we also have several mini-tubes of toothpaste at various stages of emptiness, some questionably a bit too aged to leave anyone's mouth feeling minty fresh.

and don't get me started on the shampoos, some purchased, many swiped.  i also have an unhealthy tendency to think i'm going to run out of lotion while on travel in the desert or iceland. somewhere where i'll desperately need lotion, and think, if only i'd swiped that teeny bottle of aveda 2 yrs ago at the nyc w while on business travel.  it's an illness.  my drawers prove it.