Keep it simple

A friend hooked me up to this ladies website and I love it. One of the hardest things for me to do is to de-clutter. I love all my belongings around me...who knows why?!?! I have realized that our generation is way to focused on how many "things" we can get instead of how much time we can spend with the ones we love. Believe me, i'm not perfect, i have a list of new furniture I want, new clothes and a new car. But God is working on me and little by little i'm trying to keep it simple. The Minimalist Lifestyle I’m no millionaire turned minimalist. Minimalism has been thrust upon our family due to lack of excessive spendable income. However, not only have I embraced this lifestyle, I ever long to be more deeply committed to it. The essence of the minimalist lifestyle is simplicity and contentment. Easily said. Everyone struggles with contentment no matter how much or how little one has. The seemingly eternal question for each of us is “When is ‘enough’ enough?” We can apply this to all areas of our lives: money, cars, clothing, house size, vacations, hobbies, ministry, time, children’s toys, etc. We are, by nature, selfish and hoarding. I know minimalism is the environmentally big thing right now and I’m all on board with that but it’s not my religion, if you know what I mean, and I don’t judge others who aren’t like minded. I just find it to be a fascinating challenge. I also find it to be biblical, relaxing and healthy in so many ways. I like a simple, clean, uncluttered home. It’s a quiet environment to me. This has always been my style - even when I wasn’t married with children (and had a large spendable income). I appreciate quality over quantity. Eye junk is distracting. I like having a place for everything. Doesn’t my home sound wonderful? Anyone who walks in my home may laugh at the fact I believe in minimalist living. On my not so good days I have junk laying around, mounds of dirty laundry and loud children running through the house. Don’t get me wrong. I have my ideals I strive for and I have my reality. On the good days they mesh. On the bad days…well…not so much. Low budget living causes me to look at my spending, consumption and ecological footprint (am I sounding too green for ya?). I want to lower those three areas of my life while still living comfortably. We all prefer simply being than constantly doing. There’s no one way to do it. It’s just making changes in your thinking and doing. One could start with a single room. Declutter (sell it or give it away): Junk (papers, magazines, etc.) Decorations (outdated, non-quality) Accessories (how many throw pillow, blankets, rugs do you need?) Furniture (does it just hold surface junk that should go as well?) Don’t need a TV in every room Do one room and see how you feel in a week, two weeks. Perhaps in a month you may find yourself wanting to get rid of more stuff in that same room. It really is soothing.