How is it mid-June already? The summer comes and goes quicker and quicker each year! We have had a lot going on this year, but I'm trying to find that delicate balance between filling our time with fun and still taking a moment to just breathe and "be". This,of course, can be very hard with three very high energetic and active children! But that brings me to the subject of this post: minimalism.
The dictionary definition of minimalism:
Definition of MINIMALISM
1
: a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity
I don't like the word "extreme". Extreme is a word I try to stay away from in almost all aspects of my life, but it helps paint a picture. "Extreme simplicity" isn't necessarily a bad thing though. :) But aside from all that, I am working on taking a minimalist approach to my household. I simply spend to much time cleaning, organizing, and fussing with all of our stuff! I want it to end! I love plating with my kids, creating, exploring, reading and just... 'being" Even when I'm keeping up well with house work, there's just to much of it! I don't want to spend so much of my time maintaining a clean household and keeping up with our many items, I want to be living life! Not sorting through another box of toys and folding limitless loads of laundry.
A quick search of "minimalists" online will bring up some extreme examples. Those who limit themselves to 100 items, people who insist on fitting everything into a certain number of containers, some even insist on cataloging and photographing each and every single item they own.
Whoa.
Although you can be overcome and obsessed with all that you own, I have come to the realization that you can also become just as obsessed with what you don't have and maintaining a certain quota. I don't think either of these extremes fit me or our family because I simply don't want to focus on what I own one way or another. I just want to be doing the things that will matter for eternity, like reading outside to my kids or snuggling with hubby and coffee, as compared to washing a ton of dishes while my kids play or doing the umpteenth load of laundry while my husband is sitting in the other room.
I'm tired of:
... fighting with the kids about keeping their room clean
... putting off creating things for my home so I can clean my home
... an overflowing laudryroom
...an overflowing closet and nothing to wear
... feeling overwhelmed with my responsibility of keeping up with all the cooking, cleaning, organizing, folding dishes, ect...
Ah! There's so much more! But I'm ready to let go and get going with life. It's time to play more and clean less. Create more and organize less.
It's summer and our family is ready to have fun and come fall, I'l be busy with homeschooling and don't want the pressure of housework constantly looming overhead.
This will be a ongoing journey for me, as I assume minimalism is much more of journey thing than a destination thing. Especially for me. But, I'm ready to dive in head first and start having less so we are free to do more!
I'll be posting my progress and sharing in my blog what I'm doing so I can keep track of my progress and help sort out what works and what isn't working. Feel free to follow along and offer suggestions! These are some of the things I'll be working on implementing in our home:
+ Less table/ desk space = less clutter. Get rid of things that only gather clutter and don't enhance our home atmosphere.
+ Freezer meal planning / cooking! By shopping in bulk and cooking a bunch of meals at once, I'll be spending less money, cooking less, and washing dishes less! It's a win, win...win. ;)
+ Creating a capsule wardrobe. Instead of so many "so so" clothes, I'll have less clothing but more timeless, classic clothing that works well with a lot of what I own, as compared to so many odd, trendy, or ill fitting pieces.
+ Less TV! This may not help with actual clutter, but will help clear the mind clutter :)
So, here we go! Do you have any tips on letting go???
1 comment:
I am so with you on this! I work all day long, but nobody would ever know it. Although I really focused on getting rid of stuff when we were showing our house and then when we moved, I guess we still have too much. As I was sorting and deciding what to keep, it helped to ask myself if I ever wanted to pick that item up again. No? Pitch it! I always wanted to be a mom, not a maid, so I am going to re-commit to getting rid of stuff again!
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