Minimalist in the Making.

Do this for me if you will.  Imagine a world within your home that is 100% decluttered.  

I’ll wait, because I’m sure for some, like me that sentence causes one to ponder, cogitate on, chew on, dwell on and even dream on.  A house that is 100% tidy and not overcrowded with unnecessary items is doable beyond measure.  How do I know?  I’ve just completed the #minsgame, and I let go of 460+/- items from my home within one month.  I’d like to share my journey with you. 

What is it to be a minimalist?  For the past five years I’ve been looking for a type of freedom; to be able to live with fewer material possessions, to not be bound to material things.  Six years ago a friend of mine had a blog.  He started writing about a world that would change and force every citizen into a space of unfamiliarity, a hostile takeover where people would have to learn to live off of nothing.   He asked me and several others to write a piece for the ongoing saga, and I did.  Mine was about minimalism; in fact my piece was called the Minimalist.  I’d never read or wrote anything on minimalism, but the words flowed like liquid and the story was amazing.  It was one of those “I wrote this?” moments.  I was impressed with what poured from me through writing, and it caused me to look deeper at what I’d written to see if I could live like that now without the fiction part making me live that way.  After tampering with my writers mind, a fiction became a fantasy which became a reality.

Am I the minimalist that doesn’t own a car, am I the nomad who has no permanent home?  Nope. But let me tell you what I was, so you can understand the type of minimalist I am.  I was the compulsive person who would buy on a whim, not giving careful thought or planning.  I had irresistible, compulsive desires to have things I’d never owned before.  Not necessarily huge things, it could be something as small as a kitchen gadget, or something as large as a new car. I’d figure out a way to get it.  Where did that leave me?  Broke, afraid, feeling helpless, guilty and ashamed when I couldn’t meet the rent obligation.

Please don’t misunderstand me, there’s nothing wrong with the person who owns material possessions.  However for me, I was giving a different meaning to the things I owned, and because of the turmoil it caused me I was forsaking the things that really brought me peace; my creative passions like writing, reading, learning, sewing, cooking, scrapbooking.  Being a minimalist helps me make more conscious decisions about what I choose to do with my money; it frees me to use my time wisely, it gives me the freedom to choose what surrounds me.  I live in the moment more.  I can pursue my passions. I can focus on me as an entire creative being.  I see more of me daily, as I am now focused on experiencing real freedom to grow into the woman with purpose and power versus the woman bound with limitations.

In my daily life, if I purchase a piece of clothing, once I am home before it goes in my closet a piece comes out and is donated.  I do not purchase anything, until what I have is gone. I am a huge recycler; everything goes to the recycling center to possibly be re-purposed.  

After my participation in the #minsgame, including my daughter and granddaughter’s things, there are 33 pieces of furniture currently in my home.  I’m positive within the next year, it will be tremendously less; got something new coming down the pike in 2018. I’m conscience about the 33 pieces because when it’s time to make a move, it should be quick and efficient.

I’ve started a new minimalism challenge for the month of December, called #monthofminimal.  It’s a 30-day checklist.  Looks like fun, however I will say if you’re an experienced minimalist, you’ve more than likely done all 30 of the tasks!  It is a great introduction to minimalism though; for me a minimalist in the making, I’m going to do it anyway.  Can’t hurt.  Mins away!