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 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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Day 3093 – Minimalism Series – Have Multi-Purpose Furniture

Posted on December 29, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

We love our chairs (Amazon affiliate link – if you decide to buy them, we get a a little extra into our taco fund) and they are so versatile. We use them for every day use, as well as camping, sitting on the beach, or on the lawn or balcony.

We didn’t buy it with this intention, but our coffee table has had so many uses over the years. We’ve used it as a dinner table, an office table, and a coffee table. Pretty good for a basic Wal-Mart coffee table.

Our bed on the floor is also our camping bed.

Our clothes drawers were also used as hampers previously.

All of this makes moving and cleaning up very, very easy.