Living Simple.......

Have you ever heard of the term "Minimalist"? It was new to me up until about a year ago. I am now a Minimalist fanatic! Here is my own personal definition of the word, "Someone who is NOT defined by their STUFF. Someone who strives to have a clutter free home and mind".  I could sit here for hours and write about being a minimalist, and it's benefits for you..but I am instead going to just give you bits and pieces (along with photos) in several different posts.

We will call this post,"Being a minimalist introduction".

Since i was a kid I have always been pretty tidy and organized. I can even remember removing things from the kitchen counter top and shoving them in my mom's kitchen cupboards as a kid because I disliked clutter. What kinda weirdo kid does that?? :)  So, I will confess that as an adult, I am an admitted  organized clean freak!   If you are still engaged into this post...I am going to assume that you are also giddy over the mere thought storage bins, labels, and the delightful smell of bleach?? (I may be going to far here...i hope i did not scare you away!) Lets dive in then shall we? What does it mean to be a Minimalist:

#1 You need to see your STUFF for what it is. I tend to put things in 3 different categories. Stuff that makes my heart smile, useful stuff and lastly emotional stuff. Let's start with useful stuff. These are the things that you NEED. Clothes, shoes, dishes, food, toiletries, COFFEE, blankets, wine....you get the gist. Here is where we get confused though. We DO NOT need 16 pairs of shoes *insert a nudge to my sister* :) We do Not need 3 different types of dishes, or 7 brushes, or 13 purses (I do not own one purse :o) Chances are, if you have more than you NEED...you are using your stuff to define who you are. Or maybe you need lots of stuff to make yourself feel whole? I am here to let you in on a secret! The LESS stuff you have the HAPPIER you will be! It's true! So, get rid of duplicates. Keep only ONE of everything that you need. It will be easier to let the STUFF that makes you smile shine through. Which leads us to our next category. Things that make your heart smile. For me, this is a picture of me and my husband from our wedding day, a few framed family pictures that my kids have painted, some candles, a cross on the wall, photo of my parents, couple of pine cones from a date day with my husband that i collected, and last but certainly not least a vase of flowers (even a cup of dandelions from my daughters will do) I do not have an overabundance whatsoever of these things. Only a select few..because less is MORE. Category three, emotional stuff. I know that for a lot of you that this is a toughie! Personally, I have never been one to put to much emotion on things. However....Up in my daughters closet, their are roughly 14ish blankets (folded nicely) on the shelf. Do they NEED 14 blankets?? Umm...NO! For whatever reason, I am emotionally attached to them. I look at each one and it reminds me of when they were babies, I love every single one and I am emotionally attached to them. I gave away about 4 of them the other day...baby steps! There are several options to help with purging out emotional items. For example, My husband had a sheer genius idea the other day in regards to the baby blankets. He suggested that I take a chunk of each blanket and have it made into a giant quilt!! That hubby of mine, he made me proud with that idea! If you had collected a huge amount of sea shells from your honeymoon, and you could not imagine giving them away..then don't give them all away. Pick 3 of your favorites and let go of the rest. You get the idea. Just come to the realization that getting rid of the stuff will not get rid of the memories. The LESS you have to more you will really enjoy and appreciate what you do have.

I am going to wrap this post up (as i literally have kids climbing up my legs) I am going to conclude this post with a couple of photos from my own home. Hopefully, these will give you a visual of what it means to me to be a minimalist.
                                      

                                      

                                                                          My bedroom
                          

 

                                                                           My kitchen

                                                    Our family room (Baby toys taking over...grrrrrrrrr)


I will be back soon, hopefully tomorrow (baby permitting) with part two of becoming a minimalist!!