Day 3225 – Minimalism Series – What Is Minimalism? – repost

Posted on May 10, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

Ah, I’m getting super close to finishing my review of my blog and cataloging my posts. This post was the last I reviewed this morning and as we get a lot of questions about minimalism when we talk to people, I thought it would be good to give you our definition again.

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As we’re gearing up for a new year, I wanted to do a series for y’all about minimalism. I’ll share some things we’ve learned over the past few years and give you some tips to make changes in your life.

For today, I wanted to answer the question “what is minimalism?” What I love about it is that it can have a million definitions and I don’t think any of them would be wrong.

To me, minimalism is minimizing the bad (and the good) to make room for the great.

If you want to get rid of a lot of things just so you can have a massive movie collection, I think you’re still a minimalist, for example. Or if you have a big house with furniture, you can still be a minimalist.

What minimalism has taught me is that is causes you to ask why more often about what you own, as well as the things you do, more often and more deeply. It’s not about getting rid of all of your clothes, it’s about asking – “Do I wear this? Do I enjoy wearing it? If it doesn’t fit right, why do I keep it?” Some things are harder to let go than others, to be sure, but it’s a continual process. I can tell you, about 90% of the clothes in my closet bring me joy and I would call them my favorite clothes.

It also makes me more purposeful in the things I own and do. I don’t just whittle down my to do list and social calendar for no reason. Everything I do and everyone I see is on purpose. This gives me more time to hit the businesses hard, to read a lot, and hang out with Bret.

Originally posted 12/24/17

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Day 3222 – Sleeping On The Floor, By Choice – repost – With Updates

Posted on May 7, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

Three years ago today, I wrote the following post. Three years later and we still sleep on the floor. It continues to be the best sleep I’ve ever had – though, I have also been sober for the duration of sleeping on the floor, so I’m sure that has some weight on the quality of sleep.

We made a YouTube video about sleeping on the floor, which you can watch here, if you haven’t seen it already.

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Originally posted 5/7/15
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We have been sleeping on the floor for almost 3 weeks. Here’s how it’s going!

First and foremost, we LOVE it! I feel like we get pretty restful sleep…even if it isn’t a full 8-9 hours. I want to say the last 3-4 nights, I’ve gotten between 6-7 hours…yet, I’m getting up with Bret and I’m feeling great throughout the day. I don’t really yawn (except for right now…because I said something about it) and I don’t really feel tired. I have no aches and pains.

Sleeping on a pile of blankets means that cleaning is SO easy. Just pull the blankets to the other side of the room, vacuum, move back and done!

There was one bad….a huge bug….a centipede bent on attack. Seriously, it RAN toward our bed! The alarms sounded and I was sitting up slowly and I saw his approach and I leaped from the floor with the grace of, well, there is nothing I can compare it to….I did not sound out a verbal alarm, only the wide eyed look of fear and Bret leaped too. This guy was in the corner of the room and RACED to our bed and ran around on it! Bret grabbed a shoe and that was the end of that. As far as I know, there have been no other attacks….but for the sweet sleep, a bug here and there is a small price to pay.

Since we’ve been trying to “live light” and only have things that we need, it’s helped with cleaning the apartment. I did a good scrub down and vacuum yesterday and I think I finished in under 30 minutes. What? I mean, that’s awesome! What have I learned in this area? By George, I want to get rid of more! It’s crazy how easy it becomes once you start. It is so easy to throw things away when your eyes are not on this world.

So, would you sleep on the floor?

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Day 3169 – What It’s Like To Share A Car In Your 30’s – repost (with an update)

Posted on March 15, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

I have really enjoyed sharing a car with Bret for the past 3+ish years. Man, I can’t believe it’s been that long already! In some ways, it feels like we’ve always shared a car. I still agree with all the reasons I gave below. But the biggest thing that we’ve gained, that we didn’t know we’d need, was more money to invest in our real estate investing business. I’m grateful that God saw where we would be going a few steps down the line and set us up perfectly for where we needed to be.

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originally posted 10/15/15
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I have been sharing a car with my husband for about ten months. It’s not the “normal” thing that people do these days. “Normal” people have two vehicles. We realized though, that we don’t need two vehicles.

Here’s what we’ve learned over the last ten months:
– Sharing increases our patience with each other. There have been times one or both of us have had to wait for the other.
– Sharing a car gives us more time together in the morning and afternoon on the days we both need to be somewhere.
– Sharing a car has decreased our expenses.
– We are thankful for the vehicle we DO have.
– It has shown us we don’t have to be “normal.”
– And finally, it really isn’t that big of a deal. Thankfully, my current job doesn’t require a lot of driving and when it does, it’s an easy “drop Bret off at school, drive where I need to and pick him up” situation.

What about you, have you shared a vehicle? What did you learn?

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3095 – Minimalism Series – Challenges To Help You Minimize Your Life In January

Posted on December 31, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

To finish out the series, here are some challenges to you to minimize your life this January!

Go through one drawer each day until you go through all the drawers in the house. Throw things out, recycle, shred, whatever you need to do to get it organized.

Turn all your hangers around and set a reminder to see what’s still backwards in a few months.

Get rid of dishes and cups you really don’t use. 12 place settings, there’s only two of you, and you NEVER have company? Why keep them?

Go through your movies – get rid of the ones you have watched before but haven’t watched in the last 2 years.

Go through your books – get rid of the ones you’ve read and won’t read again. Find a little free library or two and leave them there.

Create a custom friends list on Facebook. Bookmark that for when you go to Facebook.

Unsubscribe from 5 email lists each day. Seriously, are you EVER going to read those emails? Cut them loose.

Sit and enjoy your current situation. Life is about the journey, not the destination, so enjoy where you are today!

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Day 3094 – Minimalism Series – Cautions To Minimalism

Posted on December 30, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

As you make changes, you will find yourself with more free time, but be careful how you fill it. Like I mentioned before, you get into minimalism to make room for the great.

Don’t try to fill the space you empty – whether it’s getting rid of physical stuff or mental stuff. This goes back to how minimalism forces you to be honest with yourself.

You will never arrive.

You will never finish.

Minimalism is a lifestyle change. It is a mindset shift.

And you will continue to change and shift as time goes by.

As Bret and I have been talking about if we ever “settle down” and buy a home, we’ve actually (GASP!) been talking about getting furniture. I don’t think this makes us less “minimal” but again, purposeful in what we own.

I could see a few hammock chairs in our future.

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365daysofmarriage

Simplicity in Marriage, Christianity, Travel, Business, Life

Tag Archives: living light

Day 3225 – Minimalism Series – What Is Minimalism? – repost

Day 3222 – Sleeping On The Floor, By Choice – repost – With Updates

Day 3095 – Minimalism Series – Challenges To Help You Minimize Your Life In January

Day 3094 – Minimalism Series – Cautions To Minimalism