Minimalism & Simplicity | Unstuffing
Minimalism. This is all the rage right now- does it seem that way to everyone else? I had no idea until I had by chance picked up the Marie Kondo tidying book, read this article on Verily, and listened to this RobCast within a two day period (very proverbial lightning strike like).Now I should preface this by saying... I'm not sure how I feel about calling myself a minimalist or that I'm starting a minimalist lifestyle. I'm hesitant for a plethora of reasons- a tiny bit of it is because I'm doubting myself, but another part of it is just my aversion to be labeled. This is a thing in my life- I will only call myself a few things (I'm a graphic designer, a wife, a daughter, and a female). I'm undeclared on my voter registration. I don't feel comfortable being called a vegetarian (because I do eat fish) or a pescatarian (because if you don't know I don't eat meat and serve me meat... I'll eat it cause I don't want to waste it). Every other label I can think of feels more like a description that I can't really change like my race and my height and etc.The thing about labels is that in my experience they're so rigid- if you're *insert label here* you believe this, this, and you never do this. I just like the flexibility of saying "I don't eat meat very often except for fish."Of course, I had HEARD people say the word minimalist and I had winced at the idea of being limited to like ten pieces of clothing and getting rid of anything fun/not necessary for my survival. I love clothes and shoes and our mountain of books and all my art supplies...But then I also felt like I was drowning in stuff... every drawer in my house was full of stuff, both bathrooms had run out of storage despite the fact they are both fairly big bathrooms, and my office had turned into a room I couldn't find things in let alone work in. So I picked up this book that was sitting on the best sellers self at Barnes and Noble about the magic of tidying up... and I read all of it within in two days. Then I also stumbled across a podcast with The Minimalists and Rob Bell... and I suddenly I couldn't handle the idea of having more than what I needed.It wasn't about what was necessary for survival- but what was necessary for a happy and content survival. I certainly had so much more than what I needed for a 'happy and content' survival as I was constantly stressing out about keeping my home clean.So my hubby and I spent a long weekend going through everything in our home and getting rid of everything we had to much of- like how we owned well over one hundred pens strewn about our entire home or the like how I had eight bottles of lotion I had NEVER used and another six that were only partially used. I got rid of at least 50% of my clothing (shoes included) OR how we had over ten extra sleeping pillows throughout our house that I had completely forgotten about. My hubby got rid of 75% of his books (he buys books more than I do). We went through too many trash bags to count (everything went into trash bags that could fit- donations and trash). We had to take two trips to the donation center... even though we borrowed his big work truck.It became all so clear to me that focusing on a more minimal life doesn't mean you have only have ten articles of clothing and its not really about throwing everything away. It means focusing on the stuff that you truly have- the items and the people and the experiences and the values that you HAVE. Just because you purchased something doesn't make it useful or beneficial. If I own something but never use it... do I really HAVE it? All those things stuffed into my nightstand drawers were doing nothing- I had forgotten about almost everything that was in those drawers.I glance around now and see space. I can see every single pair of socks I own now when I open my drawer- no more digging. No more holding onto things 'just because.'But no- I'm not calling myself a minimalist. Maybe I will later (but based on my track record - it is more likely I won't). I will tell you in conversation that I'm trying to live a much simpler life.And now I'm on this journey- toward a simpler life. I have to unlearn a lot of things... and relearn new things. So if you don't mind- I'm going to blog about the different steps I take. Honestly I doubt I'll ever be like "okay, done. I am at the perfect point of simplicity in my life." So I don't know how many will be in the series, but I feel like there will be a point when if feels completed. So we will stop at that point. :)