The Minimalism Plan

                                       {Walking the Walk}


As a family and an individual I am not aiming for extreme minimalism and I know many would not even call it minimalism. I do not want to count, unless for fun or to realize how many possessions I have or need!
 
I want to use it as a tool to accomplish more in my day and to spend more times on things/people that matter to me. I have made a list of friends that I want to become closer too and plan to actively spend time pursuing those relationships, I also have all of the other goals written down on the front of my household binder so that I can keep a clear focus and vision of where I want to go and what I really want to accomplish. 
 
I do not want our home to be barren, but rather simple and beautiful. Only keeping the things that I truly love, things that bring joy to my life and don't weigh me down. I know that will mean different things to different people and to me at different times of life. 
 
My plan is to do a major purge every 3 months, and until we get down to an amount I am happy and comfortable with I plan to purge bits here and there on a daily basis, at least 1 thing a day. 
 
1 thing in, 1 thing out.

Why Minimalism?

The purpose of all this purging torment/exhilaration? To Simplify, but just to a more extreme measure. 

To put it simply I am sick of being suffocated by clutter and disgusted by consumerism and trying to one up each other. 
 
We lived in Mexico for a year and I remember being so happy with the little we had, and most of our neighbors had far less. Far less meaning “houses” made of cardboard, sticks and tarps. Not joking. 
 
I loved living there, I loved the simplicity of it all and how relationship based the culture was. Teenage boys would rub my nephews hair lovingly as we walked by. I have never seen a north american teenager do that!

Life is too short to waste organizing, cleaning and maintaining your clutter. 
 
For example I have always done a seasonal wardrobe. So every season, spring, summer, fall and winter I would take out all of the clothes from my closet that wouldn't work for the upcoming season and switch them for what did.  
I never remembered what clothes/accessories I had, it was very confusing for switching with maternity and I had tons of stuff that actually didn't match anything!
(My goal now is to have one bin of every size - maternity, after baby, regular. )

Everyone's journey and goal to simplicity or minimalism will look different in every aspect including the end result, but the important thing is what you get out of it.

A life that's free from the weight of things gives you freedom to enjoy what you do have. 
 

It's a life that's not wasteful, only buying what you need. 

 

It's simple. 

I'm not there yet, but everyday progress is being made! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

From Sherrie Reimer

2/3 c oil
1/2 c honey (melted)
20 drops stevia
6 bananas mashed
2 c flour
2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
choc chips

Mix everything together, I like to use my handheld blender to really blend the bananas.
Grease your muffin tins and preheat the oven to 350. Bake 15 min for mini or regular.

Where Minimalism Begin for Me

It finally happened, I changed. My entire mindset and view of THINGS and STUFF and CLUTTER, which I would lovingly clean, organize and maintain is now turned upside down. And this is my story.
 
I started nannying for a family in August 2011 and thought that they were so crazy to have a perfectly spotless house at all times with 1 and 3 year old boys! They didn't seem to have much stuff although I wouldn't call them minimalist. I thought maybe they had just moved in and not unpacked all their stuff, so was very surprised to learn they had lived there for a few years already! Where was all their stuff?? Me being so competetive tried very hard to organize and clean my way to this level but it seemed like I wasn't making much progress. Unless you count dusting all your clutter every week progress! But the seeds had been planted.
 
January 2012, I began to research Simplifying as I knew our house was just too chaotic and wanted to focus on the things that really mattered to me. I created my goals to simplify.
 
In April we planned on moving, so I started with packing/purging everything that was of no use to us for the next 3 months so we could show our 1, 050 sq ft, 1 floor house and it would look more “open” as said all the websites I researched. So everything was packed and in our unfinished basement, the upstairs was perfect, clean and ready for an open house. We kept it that way for just over a month and then realized we couldn't get financing for the house we wanted! (Very Frustrating!) But the upstairs was in a pretty good situation and I could at least keep the house clean. :)

Now July, my cousin in law was going through her stuff. They had moved almost a year before (only 2 weeks after having a baby) so friends had packed up her house for her. Needless to say she had tons of boxes they hadn't gone through so I suggested a yardsale thinking I would have maybe 2 garbage bags of things to put in as I had already done that big clean.
 
In my researching of simplifying I stumbled upon minimalism. Zen Habits to be more specific. I read through the archives and kept researching and searching. There are some really fantastic blogs out there! MinimalistMommi has house tour videos on her blog which really inspired me. I had never seen a house so empty! It's like candy! It was also very intriguing to see how much (or little) other people actually lived with.

July 1^st I actually started my purge. The date was accidental, I just bought a journal and started making point form notes in it daily starting July 1^st. Some days I did write in more detail which I will share with you in later posts about how it felt to declutter and free myself from the burden of stuff. We scheduled the yard sale for July 21^st and I spent most of those nights up late going through boxes of baby clothes, bedding etc. I got rid of over half of our items. Nearly filling a concrete trailer! 1 month was not nearly enough time to go through and sort everything though so I still have a ways to go in my journey! 

I hope you will join me as I share my process and how I go about choosing to live my life intentionally. Being aware of my purchases in a minimal, frugal and environmentally-conscious way. I want to live with less.

My Simplicity Goals for 2012

I do only the important things...keeping my house guest ready,

Take excellent care of A – playing outside, reading him books, doing crafts

Maintaining friendships

I use my time well and wisely

My workflow is easy, efficient and effective

I engage in activities that are fun, fulfilling and in line with my goals and dreams

The things in my life are useful, in great shape and aesthetically pleasing

I please the Lord in all my actions, words, and thoughts

I cook healthy and delicious meals for myself and bless my family

Written January 2012