Day 3090 – Minimalism Series – Take Small Steps To Figure Things Out

Posted on December 26, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

One thing we encourage others about minimalism is that it takes time. It’s a process, sometimes a very long process. We are continually refining things. You don’t have to make sweeping changes all at once, you can do it little by little.

My favorite “how to figure out what clothes to keep” trick is this:
Turn all of your hangers around now. When you hang something back up after you’ve worn it, hang it up the right way. After a few months, give away the clothes you haven’t worn. Maybe give your more special occasion clothes a little more time.

I’m taking my own advice and turned around all my shirts!

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Day 3089 – Minimalism Series – No Christmas Presents

Posted on December 25, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

One way we were minimalists before we even knew to call it that was not giving Christmas presents.

I stopped buying Christmas presents about 9 years ago. Like most things in my life, I started/stopped doing it for a superficial reason but the deeper reasons that resulted from the change became very important to me. I stopped Christmas gifts because of my own debt and the example of a close family from church who didn’t do gifts. I thought, huh, that’s interesting. So, I stopped. I’ll admit, that first Christmas was a little awkward, but my friends and family know I don’t do gifts. I still get a few gifts here and there (which I totally appreciate!) but now it’s expected that I won’t give one back.

As time went on, I still didn’t give Christmas gifts. Bret felt the same about giving gifts, so we didn’t. Looking back, I can see how those deeper reasons were a lot of the points the author of the above article made. Since we’re minimalists, we’re all about less stuff. And in turn, we don’t want to add to someone else’s “stuff.” It also frees us to give generously at other times of the year. The unexpected gifts are the best, in my opinion. 🙂

But I have to say, the biggest benefit has been a nearly stress-free holiday season, every year. There’s no “what am I going to get XXX for Christmas?” or “I have SO much to do!” Honestly, the biggest stress of our holidays is getting to and from the airport and flight delays. Since we’re not stressed about all the “stuff you have to do” at the holidays, we can truly sit back and reflect about the real reason for Christmas (pssst, it’s Jesus).

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Day 3088 – Minimalism Series – What Is Minimalism?

Posted on December 24, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

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.