5 Lessons in Minimalistic Living

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
–Hans Hofmann

I could not be more thankful that we are moving, and not just because we creating a different home environment for our children but because we are using this opportunity to simplify and purge our belongings and I had no clue how much stuff we have accumulated in a short 5 years. Like seriously. My 2300 sqft house has a lot of space, including a full basement, that is secretly hiding stuff I’ve long forgotten we even own.

Why? Why do we own all of these possessions? I feel like there’s so much waste and junk in my own home and I cannot stand it. I almost feel like I’m suffocating in it all. As we are going through our closets, dressers, basement and cabinets, there is just so many things that we never use. Ever.

Because we are moving some things into our temporary home, we are taking the bare minimum. Just a few things that we really need and we are putting everything else into a storage space. I already told my husband we are going to be extremely selective about what we will bring back into our new home because our main focus and goal of our new home is simple and sustainable living – being happy with less and knowing what we do have is exactly what we need.

I would never call myself a minimalist, although in my head, I would love to be. But I have learned a couple of things over this past month about living a minimalist life…

#1 – If you haven’t used it in 6 months, get rid of it. Clothes, toys, electronics – this is a baseline rule I have been using when deciding what to keep and what to pass on. Only keep things that have a purpose and and have an impact on your daily life. I have been known to hold on to clothes for years, thinking what if I want to wear it someday. And that someday never comes and it’s still taking up closet space. Purge.

#2 – Differentiate between needs and wants. In a society of getting whatever you want, our basic needs are very simple. Cater your belonging to your actual needs and remind yourself you really don’t need that latest pair of shoes or jeans next time you want something new. There are so many people around the world that don’t have what they truly need and yet we have an abundance of all these things that are valueless and unimportant. Count your blessings!

#3 – Don’t keep things for emotional reasons. While I do have one box of old high school and college memories and childhood keepsakes, I am not one to keep things for emotional reasons. Holding on to something because so-and-so bought it for you, you will drown in all the things you own. I have realized that the emotional attachment is usually about the person or memory associated with a particular item and not the material thing itself. Take a picture of it and start a keepsake photo album…then get rid of it.

#4 – Quality over quantity. Living minimally is really about quality. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a few nice possessions but when you are looking to purchase something new, search for quality not cheapness. It does you no good to have 15 pairs of jeans when you only want to wear 2 really nice-fitting pairs. Look for things that can last you a lifetime – or a good many years – to prevent repurchasing or expensive maintenance.

#5 – Embrace downsizing. Take it day by day and really own your new lifestyle. Know your reasons for downsizing and owning less and encourage family and friends to join you. Accept that this is a lifestyle choice that you are full capable of making each day. Really challenge yourself to live with less and each day, week or month go through and get rid of more and more things. Every night I am packing up boxes, my give-away pile is getting larger and larger and I’m feeling lighter and lighter!

What are some things you have learned by living with less? How have you embraced a more minimalistic life? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

Live Simply so that Others May Simply Live

Living more simply has been a goal of mine for years. It has taking on different meanings as I have grown and right now, living more simply means needing less to live a more full life. Being satisfied with that I have and not needing material things to make myself happy. To walk amongst trees and feel alive and at peace.  To know the most important things in my life are people and experiences – not possessions. To be aware of the greater world around me and conscious of how my every decision affects people everywhere. To understand that our over-consuming ways is destroying our environment and communities. People are dying of obesity in America while the rest of the world starves to death.

I know it’s not something that will ever be fully reached – there will always be a way to par down, to remove clutter, to simplify my life everyday. I would love to have the freedom to get up and go with a backpack of a few necessities and just wander. But I can try, in small ways and in big ways, to live simply. I am more grateful and a better giver. It leaves more room in life for love and selflessness when I am not always worried about me.

What does it mean for you to live more simply?

Live green, love green,
Katherine

Decluttering My Existence

Last month, my husband and I seriously considered selling our home and down-sizing into something smaller and more cost-efficient. Yes, I did say down-sizing and it was mostly because of my pressuring that he even considered the idea.  We spoke with realtors, looked at a handful of houses on the market right now, did a walk-through for pricing our home and pulled reports on homes that have sold in our area recently.

The American Dream

We originally built our house in 2008 and moved in after we were married. Right out of college, I will readily admit that I wanted everything. We were planning our big wedding, we both had good jobs, new cars and I wanted the brand new house to go with it all – the so-called American Dream.  I didn’t care that I was buying a brand new cookie-cutter home in a development that destroyed a whole mini eco-system. I didn’t care about the natural, finite resources  that went into the home or the impact new construction has on our environment. All I saw was a beautiful, new, problem-free home and it was mine. Over the past 4 years, I have evolved into a different person with new priorities and perspective on life and this new outlook has allowed me to look at this scenario as more of a bad dream.

At the time we built, I always rationalized buying a big home with the thought that one day we’d fill it with a family. When I looked around at my larger-than-necessary home, there are literally rooms that we never use. The doors are always shut and no one enters them for months. When I did walk into one of these unused rooms, they were filled with things. I would open their closest, and more things were packed in there that never got touched. I would visit our unused basement, and guess what? Bins and boxes stacked up of things that WE NEVER USE.

The American Nightmare

Society wants young people to strive for a college education to get a “good” job to make a lot of money to buy things that don’t matter. This American Dream involves huge amounts of debt that some people can never recover from.  It is characterized by selfishness, obesity, over-indulgence, over-consumption, laziness and a sense of entitlement.  It treats life as a competition and there are no winners.  There is no freedom in this dream – only burden, debt and attachment to possessions.

Consumerism in America is a huge global problem for our environment. Landfills are packed to the brim as the results of our “disposable” lifestyles. But there is nothing disposable about it. If every country consumed at America’s rate, we would need 3-5 planets to sustain our habits. People have this idea that things will make them happy, and I was just as guilty of this as anyone. I filled up my house & life with possessions, things that never got used, worn or even opened, things that brought zero value to my life, things that are just plain meaningless. I am going to declutter my existence. What I really want to do is sell or donate the majority of my belongings. I want a clean slate and slowly add in items that are necessary and serve a purpose in my every day life.

In the end, my husband and I made the  decision to stay where we are – for now. It took us a while to recognize that our house is already built and the damage was done when we made the purchase 4 years ago. The waste isn’t in selling our home; it occurred when we built it 4 years ago. With the housing market down, we are going to stay put, do our research and possibly take advantage of refinancing with the great rates that are available right now. So for now, I am on a mission to make the best of what I have this next year and make my home as green and eco-conscious as I can.

Live green, love green.
Katherine

Photo Credit: tpauly