I have always been someone that has appreciated a clean, tidy house. I am very much a Type A personality; I love order and for everything to have a place and for it to be in it….at least most of the time. I have kids so I know that things are going to be crazy and out of place sometimes and that is okay. But it really goes deeper than that. I think my love affair with minimalism started when I just wanted to declutter things. Through that process I started to see how much we really have and how much we waste and how much we really do not even need to begin with. Want vs Need, this is a huge concept to understand. We want so many things but we need so little to live a meaningful life. Once I started learning the difference is when everything started falling into place for me.
So what started as a purging of clothes (because I did start in my closet) really became so much more. I began to see what life could be and ultimately what I wanted it to be. I began seeing more clearly what was really important to me instead of wasting so much time on the fleeting things that in scheme of things really mean so little but can take up so much of our life. Our LIFE, just think about that for a minute, think about how special that is and how we have only a limited opportunity to live it and to do the things that we love with the people that we love. How much time do we waste? I am so guilty of this… with all the stupid shit going on around us or dwelling on things that happened in our past that we aren’t living right now! I couldn’t shake these thoughts. I knew I wanted to make changes not only in the things that we own but deep within me.
Everyones minimalist journey is different because what is important to each of us is different. It is not about having a certain amount of clothing or dishes or cars but it is about truly enjoying the things that you do have and being willing to let go of the items that do not add value to your life. By letting go we free up so much more than just space, we free up energy and we free up time, and to me TIME is my most valuable commodity. This is indeed a journey, not a destination, and I am still very much a work in progress and that is fine by me.
In the upcoming weeks I will talk more about this. Please as always feel free to chime in and follow along. I love to hear feedback and ideas!