My desire to live more simply came on gradually beginning about a year ago. I did not really know about the minimalist movement and did not have a name to put with my ideas. I just knew that day after day I felt bogged down and drained by all of the possessions around me. It was like a constant battle of moving stuff from here to there, cleaning stuff, fixing stuff, organizing stuff…stuff, stuff, stuff. And that’s all it was, just… stuff. Not necessarily things I cared about or enjoyed or things that were necessary for living and raising kids.
The first thing I deliberately chose to get rid of was my drain board. I know strange start right? But it was like one day I couldn’t figure out why I spent hours cleaning my kitchen and at the end of the day the kitchen still didn’t feel clean. I traced all of the kitchen dissension back to the drain board. The drainboard was the catch all for everything, was impossible to keep cleaned out, and took up an enormous amount of counter space. Not to mention that it was just an eye sore. So I took a test run and put the drain board in the laundry room just in case I decided this was a bad idea. I was amazed at the immediate results! By removing just that one item the kitchen had a whole new feel and look to it. I found that I was able to keep non dish-washable items cleaned and put away without much effort and after my cleaning chores were done the kitchen actually looked and felt clean. The drain board had been the problem all along.
After my kitchen “WOW” moment I started looking into simple living and came across several blogs that were describing what I was thinking and using the term “minimalism” or “minimalists”. So I started researching minimalist lifestyles and techniques. For the most part I really like what I was learning. I was intrigued by the idea that we as a middle class American family could actually over come the American mindset of more, more, more and bigger, bigger, bigger! How glorious would it be to live in a home where I knew every item inside of it, everything we owned was something that either really meant something to us or was being efficiently used on a regular basis. There was no unnecessary useless stuff around. I wanted that. And even more I wanted to spend less of my time worrying about where stuff was going and investing that time in my kids.
After my research on minimalism I did learn that I will never be a hard core minimalist. It just isn’t me. Will I ever be able to live out of one suitcase and really enjoy it? Most likely not. Will I ever keep a strict count on every item I own? I seriously doubt it. I really enjoy some of the antique furniture and family heirlooms that I have inherited and I enjoy a few of the saved items from my childhood and the few things I am saving for my kids. I don’t like to take much of anything to extremes. But I have found that there is definitely a benefit to living more simply with less stuff and I think I will be able to find a middle ground that will work great for our family dynamic. I look forward to making more headway and trips to the Goodwill donation center!
P.S. Here is a link to my favorite minimalist blog:
http://www.becomingminimalist.com/
The first thing I deliberately chose to get rid of was my drain board. I know strange start right? But it was like one day I couldn’t figure out why I spent hours cleaning my kitchen and at the end of the day the kitchen still didn’t feel clean. I traced all of the kitchen dissension back to the drain board. The drainboard was the catch all for everything, was impossible to keep cleaned out, and took up an enormous amount of counter space. Not to mention that it was just an eye sore. So I took a test run and put the drain board in the laundry room just in case I decided this was a bad idea. I was amazed at the immediate results! By removing just that one item the kitchen had a whole new feel and look to it. I found that I was able to keep non dish-washable items cleaned and put away without much effort and after my cleaning chores were done the kitchen actually looked and felt clean. The drain board had been the problem all along.
After my kitchen “WOW” moment I started looking into simple living and came across several blogs that were describing what I was thinking and using the term “minimalism” or “minimalists”. So I started researching minimalist lifestyles and techniques. For the most part I really like what I was learning. I was intrigued by the idea that we as a middle class American family could actually over come the American mindset of more, more, more and bigger, bigger, bigger! How glorious would it be to live in a home where I knew every item inside of it, everything we owned was something that either really meant something to us or was being efficiently used on a regular basis. There was no unnecessary useless stuff around. I wanted that. And even more I wanted to spend less of my time worrying about where stuff was going and investing that time in my kids.
After my research on minimalism I did learn that I will never be a hard core minimalist. It just isn’t me. Will I ever be able to live out of one suitcase and really enjoy it? Most likely not. Will I ever keep a strict count on every item I own? I seriously doubt it. I really enjoy some of the antique furniture and family heirlooms that I have inherited and I enjoy a few of the saved items from my childhood and the few things I am saving for my kids. I don’t like to take much of anything to extremes. But I have found that there is definitely a benefit to living more simply with less stuff and I think I will be able to find a middle ground that will work great for our family dynamic. I look forward to making more headway and trips to the Goodwill donation center!
P.S. Here is a link to my favorite minimalist blog:
http://www.becomingminimalist.com/
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