Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
Today we meet Andrea, who looks back over her last 40 years and offers a wonderful perspective on living lightly.
Andrea writes:
I may be one of your older minimalists, having been married for 40 years to a wonderful man who totally agrees with the minimalist way of life. We not only live minimally, but eat minimally and use our natural resources minimally.
Instead of owning a lot of unnecessary exercise equipment, my husband jogs everyday. He is 62 and in supreme health. I walk our dogs and run on the local high school track for my exercise. My health is also excellent. We eat vegetarian and we keep our cupboards and our refrigerator/freezer lightly stocked with groceries that we rotate and use quickly as not to waste. We had a problem with mealy worms years ago because we kept too many boxes of cereal and other grain products that the little moths got into. We had to throw out tons of good food and we decided then that it is a huge mistake to “load up” on sale items just to be “safe”. Safe from what?? I used to collect cookbooks, but rarely used any of them…when I would open a cupboard, the cookbooks would come raining down on my head. How foolish was that? I can get any recipe offline. There are millions to choose from.
My husband used to keep every receipt from bills, accounts, etc…now, he keeps one small box of receipts and purges those regularly…all of the paper trash was never necessary. And, I speak from long experience. We share one closet that holds all of our shoes and clothes on hangers. I set a small baby-changing table inside of the closet to stack our folded sweaters and shoes and scarves on. I found out that I did not need 70 pairs of shoes many years ago. We do not have a garage, a shed, a basement or an attic, so everything that we own HAS to be kept under our 3 bedroom home’s roof. Our children have their own homes.
I used to be a big time collector and had to force myself to purge and purge, but I was heavily motivated to live a minimalist life after watching every episode of Hoarders and Hoarding:Buried Alive. I kept every episode taped on my DVR and watched them repeatedly…I still watch the reruns to keep motivated. My sons accuse me of “hoarding” hoarders shows! Thank goodness for DVRs! No old VCR tapes in this house! I find that we can just as easily get any book from our library than to collect books like I used to do. I let the libraries “hoard” my books for me now. I have given Goodwill and other charities literally tons of clothing, books, appliances, toys, linens, etc. We kept just enough dishes and flatwear to have a couple over to eat. If we want to have more over, we can always use decorative paper plates and plastic cutlery.
All of our friends live such hectic lifestyles, they rarely even find the time to eat at other’s home any longer. Their calendars are packed with commitments and activities…We learned how to say NO long ago to commitments that our hearts were not in. What a relief NOT to have to go to jewelry parties (I have enough, thank you) clubs, ballgames, etc. We go to these events only if we truly desire to do it, not because we feel like someone will get mad if we don’t. There are many motivational books out there on how to say NO and also great books on minimalism and decluttering, as we all know from reading these blogs and resources.
We have constructed our lives to be carefree and calm through living a minimalist lifestyle. My home is now neat, clean and spacious and we love it! Speaking from 40 years of experience, you DO NOT need all of those items that you THINK you can’t live without. Begin to live a clutter-free life in all areas of your life and see what a huge burden is taken off of your shoulders. Let your home and your body breath a huge sigh of relief!
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
I love your descriptions of your home and life. Very inspiring, as I’m of your generation. You prove that you don’t have to be a twenty-something with a backpack to be a minimalist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. .:-).
I am far from twenty…multiply that 3X…ha ha….I know exactly what you mean though…we “seasoned” men and women can all keep growing and learning and being inspired by each other! Thanks for your comments!
What a pleasure to read a story from another “seasoned” reader (that is, my age, I’m 62). I enjoyed reading the perspective of one of my peers and hope you publish more from the baby-boomer generation.
Thank you so much….I feel like I have “been there, done that” with the collecting/not to collect argument in my head….years of experience with those “mind games”. I hate that double-personality that wants to impress itself on my decisions….so, reading the inspiring stories on this site always brings me back to my “real self”.
Thank you Miss Minimalist for this post and thank you Andrea for sharing your story. My husband and I are in our fifties and we started downsizing about 10 years ago in our effort to embrace minimalism. Much of what you wrote parallels what we have done/are doing. There was just a huge arts and crafts show held in our town last weekend. So many lovely things and people were buying and buying. We just walked hand and hand, looked at everything and enjoyed it without having the desire to own it. I dread getting invited to parties where there is pressure to buy something, especially jewelry. And we too want our lives to be calm and carefree. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it. :-)
What a sweet analogy Lorraine! My husband and I can now attend auctions and festivals and not feel pressured to buy a thing…we are both on the same page, as it sounds like you and your hubby are! Isn’t that freeing!
Thank you once again for including my story….I noticed the type that I made….offline should have said ONLINE. As I wake up each morning, I watch the sunrise with that same carefree and peaceful contentment. No heavy schedule of commitments today. No rushing around trying to find things that I’ve lost under a pile of this or that. We actually went through our kitchen cupboards again last night and reorganized things. We have since gone to a vegan way of living and the milk and eggs and other dairy products are now gone from our lives. Life is precious. Handle with prayer instead of care.
Ha Ha….I can’t quit…my post above came out TYPE instead of TYPO….oh well…I can laugh at myself because we all know that we’re not perfect…(:
Oh, how I envy you! I am probably in your age bracket, and I’m just starting on a minimilist journey. I have ‘way too much stuff! I, too, watch and save Hoarders episodes to motivate me, but your letter really resonated with me. Thanks so much for giving me an additional boost!
Susan, I have many friends who say watching these shows is too depressing…I, on the other hand, like you, get great motivation from them…I need that “kick in the pants” to get me to turn the TV off and clean out a drawer or just one shelf of a closet, etc. It is so motivating to me…may be the way my brain works…believe me though when I say, I do not judge the people on these shows, I would love to help them too!
I find Hoarders really motivating- at least, the episodes when they have a breakthrough and their house is transformed! I then want to tramsform my own space.
Yes, NicolaB….I totally agree with you…when they just fight against those who care about them and only want to help them have a better life, yet they resist and won’t cooperate whatsoever, I do grieve for the family and friends…I’m sure that this happens more times than not in actuality.
Hello Andrea. I am so very happy for you and your husband. In my own life, I have also found that keeping less perishable food is better. I visit the market several times a week to get produce and the like. I have eaten vegan for many years now and am in perfect health at age 58. The last five years have really been my flashpoint for minimalism. I never had the amount of clutter most people do but it was way too much for my comfort.
Bless you and your husband. You are an inspiration.
Ahsha, thank you so much! Isn’t fresh food just the best?!….I was one who kept the food in the crisper until it practically sprouted! I felt like I was wasting if I threw anything into the compost pile…but, over the years, I have learned to buy less, but more often and use it up quickly while it’s still fresh and delicious….I like organic, which is very hard to get in the small town that I live in, so we make a trip to the bigger cities nearby to buy most of our veggies, fruit and grains….we thrive on this stuff!
I thought I was weird in this area and am so relieved to find that others have the same idea. Thank you. I, too, just buy what I need to eat for the week, raw, whole foods and do not “stock up” anymore. I shop on Fridays, chop, prepare meals on Saturdays and eat it the whole week, the same things for every meal. Simple, raw, healthy. Sometimes I can throw something in the freezer but prefer to have it eaten or tossed by the end of the week and a whole new “fresh” menu of foods on grocery day. I do have a 7 day supply of canned goods for a natural disaster I can just grab and go with and will keep that, but when my dad comes over and sees all fresh foods and nothing much in the cupboards, he’s confused. But it seems like there are some here who get it. Who wants “food clutter”.
We just love eating more raw meals Cynthia! This is pretty new to us….I have always LOVED veggies and can eat just about anything out there that came out of the earth….we have been watching a lot of motivating videos on “clean” eating…trying to go totally organic too…got off Diet Coke last week…WOW! No headaches either….no more Sweet & Low in our tea either…a lot of spring water and green tea…my husband makes a huge green smoothie for himself for breakfast. I have invented some awesome recipes in the last few weeks…I have been a vegetarian for 13 years, but I’m going a step further….feeling awesome too!! Prevention instead of medication…haven’t taken a prescription drug in 41 years!! Woo Hoo!
Enjoyed your post – enjoyed even more that you have put in alot of time on this Earth. I always enjoy the message that I’m not crazy when I try to ignore the marketing – and that I don’t have to keep up with the Jones-es to be happy. My best to you.
You are so right, Cindy….we do not have to keep up with anyone…in fact the Jones-es will find out one day that they are so deeply in debt, they can barely hope on to their sanity…why are so many marriages split and families shattered? Instead of having a garage full of cars, boats, motorcycles, a golf cart and thousands of dollars worth of power tools, we use a shovel, a rake and our muscles…planting herbs, a few veggies and mowing with a push mower…all great exercise and no credit card debt….life can be so much more stress-less when we determine that we can be the person that we want to be and not fit into someone else’s mold…how wonderful that feeling is!!
Your response made me pause – did I mention that my husband has all the power tools, a garage full of tractors and heavy equipment, the golf cart and more?! I thought for awhile that I should find a way to keep up with him. Luckily, I’ve pretty much gotten over that. I stay home with our kids and keep our home and family in shape, while trying not to compare my daily successes to those of my fellow law school alum. So far all is good – and my husband is slowly realizing he has too much to take care of already. I don’t think we’ll ever be true minimalists – but I just never want us to lose track of what is truly important in life.
“We have constructed our lives to be carefree and calm” I like that, and that is my goal as well, having grown up in a family where life was always hectic, full of stuff and too much harried activity. My husband and I have finally cleaned out the garage that we could barely walk through, much less keep our car in, to one with nothing but our 3 containers of recyclables on the floor, and it feels so freeing, I smile every time I pull in. I can’t drive past a storage facility without thinking about the people who are unable to contain their stuff inside their (sometimes 3 car) garages . . . I was nearly there. Thanks for the inspiration; I really enjoyed reading your story!
Wow Lora! That is great! I’m sure that you noticed that we don’t even have a garage…we’ve been married for 41 years now and have NEVER owned a garage, which is something that I have always wanted, but we have never lived in a house that had one….BUT, I have to say, if a person lives a minimalist life, they only need it for the car and not just another excuse to fill a space with MORE. And, if I had a garage, that may have been what it would have become. Another storage area…more space, doesn’t have to mean, more stuff..it can mean more SPACE, as you have clearly expressed through your post!
I am around the same age as you. I found Francine’s book last year and got rid of half (or more) of what I had then. Now I am ready to get rid of half of what’s left. I’ve also discovered the 80-10-10 diet by Dr. Douglas Graham, which is minimalist. Love it! I just wish I could get my husband to declutter more–in both food and stuff.
Kathie, I am sure that eventually your hubby will see your example and what a difference it will make in your life and jump on board…my husband wasn’t always as dedicated…he liked his meat and fast food….we watch a lot of motivating programs online about raw food, veganism, natural living, etc…it has really opened new doors for him too. He has always been athletic, but it doesn’t help to ride a bike 24 miles and then go to Mcdonalds. The damage is still being done to the body…he was told years ago by a P.E. teacher/jogger/athlete that if you run every day, you can eat anything that you want…well, that is not true…if you put toxic junk in your body, no amount of running will reverse that damage….sorry Mr. P.E. teacher…you don’t know the facts..that is just your consolation.
I too am struggling with my husband….ok that probably doesn’t sound good! What I mean is that now I am embarking on a minimalist lifestyle I find it very hard to turn a blind eye to the things he buys and likes to accumulate. Any advice on how to tackle this if one person in the relationship is actively trying to declutter and remove unnecessary items and the other is not?
Cyndi, I can only tell you to be patient and loving…give out more love to your hubby and please don’t be harsh…I found that sugar works better than vinegar….I have struggled to the nth degree with my mother on her accumulating and thinking that she has to keep everything…every jar and plastic bag, closets full of old clothes and shoes that she does not wear….we helped her clean out some when my Dad died 4 years ago, but she still loves to shop and get more…she sees value in everything….even though she wears the same few outfits, she has enough old clothing for 10 women….I can stew about it, but I can’t criticize her or she just gets her feelings hurt…maybe if you keep your parts of the house clean and tidy…like your own dresser drawers or where you do your thing, whether it’s cooking, gardening, art, bookshelves, etc…keep those all super clean, neat and decluttered…eventually your man will see how much easier it is for you to “exist”….OR, you could randomly watch some shows on minimalism on TV or online and if he’s in the room, he’ll overhear something that may spark something in him.
How nice that your husband is “on board” with this process. That makes it so much easier. We went vegan, then my husband went back to meat. I decluttered and he started collecting. Big time. Something’s wrong here besides stuff, yes, but it’s so much more difficult to move on when the significant other in your life isn’t on the same page. Best to you, Andrea.
Hopefully, he will come to the realization that what he was doing before is the “better way, Gigi. I would be totally frustrated if my hubby went back….I have to say, he has been tempted and pressured to go back to meat and junk food…he worked with men who lived on farms…they no doubt, thought that he was hen-pecked at home, but honestly…I left everything up to his own conscience. He now loves all of the fresh fruits and veggies and grains that we fix together…he is retired though and that makes a big difference…no pressure from the so called “macho men”.
What an inspirational post! Thanks for telling your story, Andrea!
Thanks Alix! I love this site!
Andrea, you made me smile when you mentioned watching the hoarders shows for inspiration…I do that too! Thank you for sharing your story. All the best to you and your husband.
Yes, like I said…my adult sons say that I “hoard” Hoarders shows….some of the shows are very sad, but overall, when the people get the help, it makes me cry….I get so inspired to clean out even more…thank you Karen!
Hello, Andrea ~
Your story is beautiful on so many levels. I find it interesting that so many of us in our later years are finding minimalism as a tool to construct a better, more rewarding life. I can’t watch the hoarder shows because it makes me sick inside. You see, my own mother is somewhat of a hoarder; she calls it “conscious collecting” but truthfully, it’s hoarding.
She knows where every item is and knows if it has been moved so there’s been no going in there when she isn’t looking to clear out what I consider to be trash. Very recently she was diagnosed with a recurrence of lung cancer. I’ve never spent much time with my mother because I just couldn’t stand to be in her home for a day much less overnight. But I have pushed my disgust aside because she needs the help.
In an odd way, the cancer has brought us closer together. We’ve looked at old pictures and movies, I’ve learned what some of the “stuff” means to her and she has been able to let some of it go. That’s a gift. I’m clear that things can own you more than you own them and I’m committed to building memories in my head over collecting things that remind me of good times.
Don’t get me wrong, I have “things” as well and need to pare down. That for me, like most of us, is an ongoing effort. Thank you again for letting your voice be heard ~
Ree
Lovely post Ree! I am in a similar situation with my 85 yr. old mother…I don’t accept the excuse that she grew up in the Depression…this is 2014 and she has plenty of food, plenty of clothing and no need for 2 closets that are completely stuffed with old clothes and shoes. She basically wears the same few outfits, she doesn’t even have any idea what is lurking back there in that dark abyss…she is not having health issues and I know that she has mold in her house…we tried to help her clean when my Dad died 4 years ago, but she is very resistant…she has a back room with a concrete floor that is the length of her house…it is stacked with junk and it makes me so sad…she will offer me a book and it will have mold in it….my parents used to own an antiques store..they saw value in everything….I totally understand your dilemma Ree and I pray that your Mother and you grow closer and closer. (:
Ah, the antiques…we used to go “antique hunting” with mom as kids, so I fully understand. My mother owned a couple of craft stores over the years and so she has hoarded tons of craft supplies. I have that tendency, too, because I love to create. I’m sorry you lost your father. I dread the day when that happens to me. Have you ever considered writing a book or starting your own blog, Andrea? You are a very good writer and it’s clear that people resonate with you!
Thank you for the sweet compliment Ree! No, I really have never considered writing a book…a blog might be nice…actually, I would prefer to help others just through my experiences with healthy living and decluttering one’s life…not just the home, but the body and the serious defects in our overcrowded and overworked lives. I’m afraid that I may not be too popular with the current generations though….but, I can say that writing this short article has been a lot of fun and if I can help anyone with some changes to their own lifestyles, it’s been an added plus!
Andrea, I am 27 and one of my favorite blogs is written by someone in her mid-fifties. Often I feel like I can connect more with older generations as my own are busy buying very large homes and LOTS of stuff. My house is around 650 sq. feet. It is just my husband and I, and our 2 dogs but I certainly do not think we need anything bigger! I can say too that I really wish my own parents would realize that they do not need to keep collecting. They have a full-size shipping container in their backyard full of stuff (instead of an off-site storage unit), a 2 car garage, and my dad is building a barn (not a shed), a large barn(!) and expanding their house this summer, for 3 people, although 1 will be moving out in about 5 years. I cringe when I think about it.
Thanks for sharing your story Andrea ~ it was lovely and incredibly inspiring. I agree with Ashley, I love hearing from all ages / walks of life and their minimalist journeys. The more information and inspiration the better :)
Well put Ashley :) My parents are similar – they also built a large barn in their backyard and already have a two car garage and a few pop-up garages to store business equipment and vehicles – but still, it’s such excess. I’m creating a very large list of things to donate, sell or toss (and that list is growing bigger every day) and I’m curious if you wouldn’t mind saying what the blog is you mention above? I’m constantly looking for more inspiration and motivation :) I also wish my mom, dad and brother would get on board with minimizing their belongings. I dread the day when cleaning out the house is left up to my brother and I. This is one big reason why I want less.
Allison, I also dread the day my sister and I have to clean out the house. We just finished cleaning out and selling my grandparents home last May after my grandma passed. They lived in the same home for around 60 years. A lot went in the trash. I remember my dad saying she saved everything. I don’t think it has clicked that he does the same.
I seem to be the weird one in my family though. Vegan, and minimizing (not done yet!).
the blog is http://thegardenerscottage.blogspot.com/ Janet is so classy!
Ashley, it sounds like you have it all together…I guess that your parents are going to do what they want to do…if they aren’t very old, they may live many more years and enjoy what they have and build…but, one day, all of this will fall on the kids….that is a worry I have with my own Mother who has SO much junk…a houseful, a huge backroom, a barn full of junk and a shed that fell down….if she would only take some of the stuff and put it in the trash each week to be hauled away, but it’s like she doesn’t even see it…I see every little scrap…guess I’m kind of OCD on that level….
Also, we own 1 car…we have pets that we’ve rescued and they are very important to us. We don’t have a golf cart, a riding mower, power tools, grills, etc. We own two lawn chairs….if someone is coming over and we are going to sit on the deck, we ask them to bring a folding chair..I know that this sounds pretty silly to some….but, no one has ever complained and my husband and I are not stuck with storing tons of lawn furniture in the winter or even bumping up against a lot of stuff on our deck..we can sit back with a book and look around at the birds and the trees and the blue sky, without thoughts of “oh, that chair needs replaced”…we are very minimal in our home, our yard, and what we eat….also, as I wrote, our calendar is very uncrowded…we don’t make all kinds of commitments unless our hearts are really in it…funny how people think that they HAVE to attend everything….we see that with many of our friends…they HAVE to go to every ball game, recital, gymnastic meet…even if the grandkid is 3 years old! If they don’t they think their children will get mad at them…wow…that is what I call SHALLOW love. If kids really love their aging parents, they won’t put that pressure on them to come to every single event that the grandkids are in….if the grandparents really want to go, that is another story, but if the grandparents are not ALWAYS in the audience, then that does NOT make them bad grandparents…on the contrary, somebody has their priorities about what true love really is out of whack.
Ah, Hoarders! Not only does it motivate me to pare down, it also helps me to keep a clear head about my husband’s reluctance to embrace minimalism. The minimalist in me wants spaciousness; my husband tends to clutter…after watching Hoarders, I go clean feeling appreciative that at least DH doesn’t hoard. :)
Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on staying married for so long!
Thank you Rachel! I’m glad to find another person that appreciates these shows…I just hate that the show Hoarders was taken off of the air and that we have to watch reruns of it now…Hoarding:Buried Alive is still coming out with new episodes, though….I also have recently read books by Dorothy Breininger and Matt Paxton (Hoarders TV show)…there are more and more books coming out on the subject…Plus, there are many books on the subject of minimalization and natural food. Of course, I get everything through my library system or read it online, as I refuse to get back in the habit of buying more books to clutter my home…been there, done that. I have to say that today I went to the library to get some books that I had ordered to read and lo and behold, there was a book sale going on!!! Now, normally, I would a sack for $2.00….NO! I would fill 4 sacks and spend $8! But, today, I walked right by the book sale room, got my books on hoarding and eating green and went right home!…(:
Hi Andrea,
What a lovely post you wrote! It speaks to me in every way. I’m 61, vegan and married to a vegetarian. All is well on that front, but not on the ‘things’ front: he is a hoarder and I’m on the opposite end. When we married some ten years ago, he (somewhat unwillingly) gave me the green light to weed out some of his stuff~ out of necessity because there was no space for me to move in unless I did! I had a great time- he was working and I was home alone and going like a fury, decluttering like crazy :-D He had so much stuff that he never knew how much went missing, except that the house (minus his bedroom hoard) was amazingly almost empty! It made him a bit nervous, “What did you do with all my stuff in here?”, but he also said he liked being able to have space and see the floor for the first time ever. Fast forward to now, when he knows well how I get rid of excess, and he has become very worried about keeping his ‘stuff’ intact. He keeps a worried eye on me when I’m zipping around the rooms with big trash bags in hand! It’s as hard for him as it is for me. Given our ages and rather fixed ideas, I doubt things are going to miraculously change. Most of our home is light and airy and as empty as I can get away with, but his room is book laden and ‘thing’ ‘thing’ ‘thing’ laden and he loves it and I….don’t really. Any thoughts on this? Thanks for your input, Andrea!
Would he even begin to consider reading books with a Kindle or online…seeing more empty horizontal space other than the floor?? If he liked seeing the space that your decluttering made, would he feel even better if there was more space…less clutter means less tripping over things, an ability to FIND things that are misplaced and lurking under a pile of magazines and books?? Would he consider getting more books from the library and donating some of his books to the library for them to make some money with their next book sale….if he loves books, he may loves libraries also…or at least the institution of the library..maybe, he hasn’t taken advantage of what they have in a long time. My husband had tons of history books…World War 1 & 2 and the Civil War….after he read them, I knew that he would NEVER read them again…so, I asked him this question, “After you are done reading this book, will you ever want to take the time to read it again, when you have so many other books to read first?” He agreed that he would probably never read the same book again…I asked him if he would consider donating the book so that someone else with similar interests could read this book. He eventually “saw the light” of my method and he now donates every book that he finishes to our library…I don’t even have to take it inside, I just drop it in the dropbox…they see that it doesn’t have a due date or any identification on it, so they know that it is a donation for their next book sale. My husband still has two small bookcases of history books, but he is slowly chiseling those down to where he will eventually read them all. After that, he has agreed to get all of his books from the library..renting them, not buying them…When we die, our two adult sons will not be stuck with carrying out tons of books…we all know how heavy those boxes of books can be! I pray that maybe your husband would understand this philosophy that I have about books….you can read a book, but there are so many millions of books out there to be read…why let the books own me? If I own hundreds and hundreds of books, which I never read, it may be because I’m feeling overwhelmed with just the magnitude of the whole mess that I’ve gotten myself into…just food for thought…
Thank you, Andrea, for your wonderful response. I could not respond until now…our dear dog of 13 years died yesterday and I couldn’t think of much else until now. “Would he even begin to consider reading books with a Kindle or online..?” “Would he consider getting more books from the library and donating some of his books..?” In a word, no! lol! When he goes to the library and sees books he likes, he wants to buy them for his own. He was given a kindle and it languishes on one of his shelves, nestled in between numerous antique cameras. His room feels like a mausoleum to me, but to him it is a safe cocoon, full of his favorite things, inspirations and the known universe. I’m slightly acquainted with feng shui, enough to know that a house can be divided into sections that correspond to wealth, health, marriage, etc. Oh dear, I don’t even want to know what area of our lives the ‘mausoleum’ affects! I hear you, Andrea, about sparing our offspring the onerous task of taking out all our garbage. In our case, there’s at least one room where our kids will have to hire an excavation team….!
I understand your husband and I understand you, because I’ve been on both sides of the coin….Books are something that I can really get into big time…I have in the past…but, I have to give up even many of the things that held me back from living the life that I wanted to live…even if it meant taking boxes and boxes of books to the library to donate…I have owned thousands of books in the past…I actually worked as a librarian..LOL…I know the magnetism that books can hold over people. I was daily surrounded by book lovers and seeing them every day only caused me to want more…my own personal library…but, a home is not intended to be a library or a museum and I had to come to the place in my life where I said to myself, “This is more trouble than it’s worth. These books and magazines and collections are controlling me and they are taking over this house!” I would go into a spare bedroom and just sigh…I couldn’t walk around in there…I couldn’t find anything….things came tumbling down….I was NOT reading the books, just moving them from place to place…a stack here, a box there, I had stacks on the tables and under the tables, on the chairs and under the chairs…it was like a growing cancer…totally out of control and it was all my fault…I would go to auctions every week and buy boxes and boxes of books and STUFF. It was cheap! How could I pass it up? My solution??? I quit going to the auctions…no more temptation….sure, it was tough at first…I would be at home and think that I was missing out…but, the only thing that I was missing was spending money and using gas to drive 45 miles one way and coming home with my car completely loaded down with STUFF. I admit it..I was heading down a road that could only end in disaster…So, I say all that to say this…if someone like myself can change and have that lightbulb go on in my head, I believe that it can happen for anyone, including your husband…we all have to come to that place on our own. Whether it’s a minimalized life that includes our homes, our bodies and our schedules or just minimizes how much we are spending…it has to be a personal experience…
You do indeed understand, dear Andrea! I’ll be rereading this from time to time, there’s so much truth in it. Thank you for your wisdom, for shining a light at the end of this tunnel.
Thank you for sharing Andrea.
The show Hoarders is also where I got my motivation to clean and get rid of stuff. After watching 2 or 3 episodes, I would get up and start cleaning. I also have friends who couldn’t stomach the shows, say they were too depressing, etc., but I found much motivation from them.
You are so right about cookbooks. I’ve managed to purge most of mine, give them away, but I hold on to Betty Crocker.
I have given away so many items to Goodwill and friends; people are really starting to take notice, and some are even starting to say it makes sense and ask for advice to start cleaning their own lives.
Judy
That is great news Judy! It is always refreshing to be a good example for others…I have had many mentors too…at first, when I was a young bride and mother, I had a friend that really “turned me off” because her house was so clean and neat and she didn’t get into materialism…now that I look back, she was actually a silent inspiration to me and I didn’t even know it until I had a few gray hairs in my head…(:
Great post and great writing Andrea. Very inspiring. Thanks!
Thank you Lilly! We are all in this together!
While watching something on TV about the disappearing middle class, one person said the middle class are the biggest spenders, the middle class stimulate the economy, but an average middle class has about 100 dollars in their savings account.
I would love to think I am middle class, but because of minimalism I stopped, falling into this trap.
the speaker also said this: “If you desire more, than what you have, you become less of what you are”
Great and inspiring post, I am just over the hill as far as age is concern, but you inspired me :)
I just LOVE that quote Flor, “If you desire more, than what you have, you become less of what you are”…thank you for sharing that…I am going to keep that along with several other great quotes that I have picked up over the last few years…
I’ll keep it stored in my laptop though, not on a scrap of paper that will get stuck in a drawer, which eventually get stuffed with other scraps of paper and defeat the whole purpose of what the quote is intended for. (:
I love your quote Flor!! I am going to keep that on my laptop with several other great quotes that inspire me…notice, I said I would keep it on my laptop? Not on a scrap of paper that would get added to a lot of other scraps of paper that would fill a drawer and cause me to wince every time that I pulled that drawer open…the computer can be a great piece of equipment when used wisely. “If you desire more, than what you have, you become less of what you are”
I wrote that reply twice…the first time, it did not post and the second time, there was the 1st and 2nd reply…same message, written two different ways. Sorry about that Flor! (:
Andrea, thank you for your post. I can’t even tell you how timely and inspiring it is for me right now. I will be turning 65 and retiring in a couple of months, and my whole focus will be to purge my house of the hundreds of books, hundreds of shoes, hundreds of clothing items, unnecessary furniture, dishes, cookbooks, sheets, towels, and so many things that are no longer necessary. Also, my garage is full of more furniture, lamps, curtains, etc., that I no longer need or want. I used to be one of those women who was ready at all times for guests and dinner parties and brunches, and I changed my home decor every couple of months just by shopping in my garage. That was fun for a long time — I don’t regret it, but now that I’m divorced and the children are grown and gone, it’s all just too much. I crave simplicity and space and sunlight and small dinners with only close friends, and your post just made me SO motivated. Thank you so much!
Cat, I loved reading your post! We sound like birds of a feather! I had all of the same things that you mentioned…I would buy all of the decorating magazines and subscribed to the others…I would get so engrossed in the “hostess with the mostess” sales pitch, that I was always changing my décor too…I enjoyed it, but it sure put a lot of strain on the budget and on my time…I have come to the realization that true friends will come and eat on paper plates and have a good time no matter what…I only have 4 china plates and enough drinking glasses for 6…doing dishes is a breeze when you don’t have 100 pieces of silverware….why do we get into the trap of thinking that we have to have so many dishes and pans and utensils and appliances?? Now that we don’t even own a crock pot, guess what?? We can find alternative ways to cook….we own 3 saucepans and 1 frying pan. We are doing a lot more fresh, raw food preparation for our health…here is the honest truth….say, I cook in a pan and then need it later in the day…if I haven’t done the dishes, which my hubby usually does since he retired, it takes 1 minute to squirt a little detergent in the frying pan, run it under the hot water tap and dry it out and reuse it….how hard is that? I thought that I had to have 5 or 10 frying pans in order to exist….how crazy is that???? No, it’s crazy to have to dig through those pans that are trying to LEAP out of the cabinets every time that I open the door. And then digging through to find the right one….I have found that one frying pan can be THE right one every single time….what a wonderful feeling to open my pan cabinet and there are 3 pans in there….it is so liberating….nothing falls out, nothing is hard to find….so simple..so calming…love this way of living!!
“No, it’s crazy to have to dig through those pans that are trying to LEAP out of the cabinets every time that I open the door.”
Andrea, that made me laugh out loud! Have you been in my kitchen??? It’s so comforting to know that someone else has been where I am now and understands the struggle, and your reply has made me even MORE motivated to just let go of it all. I know it will feel so wonderful to walk into the kitchen and see clear counters and half-empty cabinets. Thank you for your words of wisdom and for making all of us feel that we’re not alone out there.
Oh Cat, you are so kind to post and it makes me feeled so fulfilled to know that others are on board with me. Like I said, I have very few pans now…so funny, that while looking at a “natural” eco-friendly magazine (I checked it out from the library, I DIDN’T buy it), there was a section that advertised products that they recommended….there was a set of pans and lids…there were at least 10 pans in this set…all different sizes…I was astounded! How could they feature such a huge set of pans for a simple lifestyle home that is attempting to make a smaller ecological footprint on this earth?? What a waste of resources and money! And, think of the space that 10 pans and their lids will take up in a kitchen! I have the bare minimum of pans and I cook a lot…we rarely eat out anymore, as most restaurants don’t fix the organic/vegetarian/vegan dishes that we have learned to love. I know that the bottom line for this magazine is money, so no doubt, they weren’t thinking about the carbon footprint as much as the mighty dollar. Too bad for them.
I love love love your story & have shared it in a Facebook group. Such an inspiration :) I felt calm just reading your words,xx this is what I’d love eventually & I’m in a good position now to keep decluttering and editing my life so it’s only what I love & need,xx ‘safe from what?’ Got me hooked on your story – yes indeed we are all perfectly safe right now :) xx
Fiona, how kind of you to share my little story….I would love to see so many transformed into living the same lifestyle…one of less stress, less STUFF, less weight (for me) and better health. Less commitments, less of a whirlwind life..that carries us away, to where? Nowhere except the “land of WHY!” Why did I say I would go to this event? Why did I commit to doing something that my heart is not in? With less STUFF, better health, and a peaceful and calm homelife…what is left to do??? How about a nice hike through the woods, sitting on the porch and looking up into the trees, a good book….
How many of us have stopped to watch jets fly through the sky? With less clutter in my life and schedule, I can honestly say that one day, I counted 25 jets in the sky…Yes, I really enjoyed doing that too!
Wow Andrea. There’s a whole lot of vibrancy come through your story and all your replies. Brilliant
Thank you so much Jane! I appreciate that you took the time to write your post!
LOVED reading your post, Andrea! So refreshing! The one thing that I really cannot bear to be parted with it my DVD collection of classic films. Many of them simply aren’t available any longer and, living in the UK, we do not have TV channels like TCM in the States, who show only classic movies. I also enjoy the artwork on the DVD cases. Minimalism should – for me – be about enjoying what you have and actually using it: the pleasure these films give me (I watch them regularly as I detest everything that is on TV!) more than makes up for the not-huge amount of space they take up.
Anna, I agree that most of what is on television is not worth wasting my brain cells on. I love the old classic movies…thankfully, DVDs are flat and don’t take up much space…(: enjoy your movie watching…I am blessed with a satellite dish and it makes life so much simpler…I can record programs and keep them forever or watch and delete. Since I don’t enjoy going to the movie theater anymore, I do appreciate the convenience that the dish affords. (:
I too watch these Hoarder shows – and find them pretty inspiring. Although I am frequently gobsmacked when one partner really fills up the house and the spouse stays with them even though the house is a fire and health hazard.
They are quite superficial though – I’ve watched some programmes on the BBC which were much more in-depth. They were made by a journalist whose mother is a hoarder.
I would love to see the BBC show on hoarding…I will have to do a search and find them. Thank you for bringing these up, as many on here enough these programs so much. I’m sure that others will be looking for them too.
Britain’s Biggest Hoarders…some of the episodes are on BBC. Again, I do not judge these people, I’m only thrilled when they get help and the shows inspire me…not only to help others and understand the issue better, but they motivate me to do more to my own home.
What a terrific story, Andrea. I took have decluttered the same items as you and continue to do so. My parents moved again recently and cannot store all their furniture in their new retirement home so it is now stored in my dining room. I was going to sell if until Iheard that my brother has a friend who emigrated to Canada from the Cameroon and he will be sponsoring three other families, so I when through the closets and drawers again and found more things to give away. What a great feeling to keep unloading our homes and our lives of unncessary things. Thank you for sharing — I feel truly inspired to declutter some more!
Diane, your post made me take a vital step this morning…I am going to work on cleaning out some more of my extensive stash of papers from my children’s school days…they are both adults now, closing in on 40 years old…they can take their awards and report cards and newspaper clippings with them and the next time that I need to find something, I won’t have to go through boxes of paper….this is something that I have put off for years…the memories will always be there…I never look at this stuff anyway….isn’t it a mind game? I never look at this stuff, but it has sat and cluttered my closet for countless years? I want to be free of it…the purging may be slightly painful, maybe not. I know the feeling of a good clean out and I actually can’t wait to see the results!!
Good for you! We’re conditioned early on to think “What if?” I mean, that’s why we have car insurance and home insurance and health insurance, for the what ifs, so I believe it carries over into other aspects of our lives like shopping. My Italian friend who loves to cook and entertain has 50 place settings (yes, 50) before her move into a smaller house. I got her down to 25 (the max number she entertains today is 8). She had the what if she entertained more; what if her kids had more children; what if she made more friends, etc.
Yes, the WHAT IFS can hold us in bondage…it’s all centered in fear…fear of lack, fear of the unexpected…your comparison to having insurance is perfect. It’s funny though how everything always works out, even if we don’t have 50 place settings…I used to have so much china…a buffet full of antique bowls and platters, two curio cabinets full of place settings, all antiques…I love or should say I Loved Shabby Chic dishes and linens…I was always motivated to go and buy more Shabby Chic things, because I was always subscribing to magazines that encouraged and tempted me to go out and buy more…oh my…what a trap! I don’t get those magazines any longer…if we are tempted by something, whether it be magazine articles full of beautifully decorated homes or auctions or yard sales or shopping networks on the television, we should CUT the temptation out of our lives…just don’t put the temptation out there…an alcoholic shouldn’t go to a bar…a dieter shouldn’t go to the ice cream or donut shop…the same with someone who likes to collect like the lady that I was for most of my life….I just need to use some discipline…it gets easier…what a relief…I pat myself on the back…my reward???? Empty floor space and clean horizontal areas!! So easy to dust now!
I know how you feel about the magazines. I used to get Martha Stewart Living and Victoria magazines and every month I felt like changing my dishes or tea cups, etc. because the ones in the magazines were so much prettier or in a colour I didn’t have. Ended both subscriptions and never look at any decorating ones either!
“Begin to live a clutter-free life in all areas of your life and see what a huge burden is taken off of your shoulders. Let your home and your body breath a huge sigh of relief!”
Can I please just say an enormous “AMEN!” to that!
Glad you’re onboard Lexi! It is so refreshing to get up in the morning and not face a day of STUFF everywhere…so much easier to clean when horizontal surfaces hold very little or nothing. Today, I purged a big drawer…there were some things in there that I THOUGHT I MIGHT need one day….some day…ummmmm….message to Andrea’s brain….that day will probably NEVER come, so why hold on to these things for another 20 years….They have already been hauled off, never to darken my door again! How liberating is that? (:
This was so inspiring and reaffirms some of my own choices (I’m 46 btw), thank you! I’m far from being a minimalist but I do not go to the gym and have lost 20 of a 50 lb goal over the last year by taking long walks in a hilly area and swimming laps (we do have an above ground pool in the backyard). Yet, my friends still keep asking me “when am I going to join a gym”. I’ve gone through various stages in my life of being in shape and not being a shape and my gym memberships didn’t have much to do with it, except I did used to love to attend spinning class at one for a few years once a week (the rest of the time I was on the tennis court or running with my dog).
I’m one of the few people I know who don’t think Costco is “god’s gift” to grocery shopping, particularly for a single person or a couple. It’s just me and I feel like it is simpler to not buy too much food from Costco when you do not have an entire family to feed. I do pick up wine, cheese and on some weeks one salad (which will feed me dinner for almost a week). I also buy laundry detergent and a few toiletries but I do not stock up on pantry or prepared food items. Sure, if you broke it down by unit cost I’m likely paying more per unit but because I don’t overbuy I spend less on food than I did when I used to shop at warehouse stores on a regular basis (less impulse buying too). It also is a big hassle to go to Costco where I live as there is only one location. I save probably an hour if I just run to the grocery store & farmers market closer to my home.
Tania, you are making me smile as I read your post…I do not go to a gym either….God created plenty of opportunities for those of us who are losing weight….I can walk or jog…climb hills…jump rope…there are so many options…I have joined gyms…I have spent the big bucks..I have signed on the dotted line and then been under contract to pay the monthly installments and then quit going after 6 months, but the payments don’t stop! What a waste of money that could be used for something more meaningful.
I have friends who buy at Costco and Sams and I don’t get it..not being judgmental, but I don’t want to store 24 rolls of paper towels or 10 pounds of chicken fingers in my tiny freezer….I don’t eat meat anyway…lol….but, people pay a fee to join these food clubs and then I wonder how much food they waste every month? We are a society of high consumers…WHY? Is it to prove how affluent we are? Is it really a convenience? We need to rethink this whole system. Do we really need to eat this much??? Have people read the statistics of childhood obesity? Have people sat in a fast food chain and seen countless teenagers walk in who are so stuffed into their clothing, they can hardly walk or bend over..it is an epidemic! I have read and heard this statistic 2 times in the last week from two totally different sources…”This may be the first generation EVER who will die at an earlier age than their parents.” In other words, Costco bulk buying is not improving our lives or the lives of our children…the next time that someone is buying one of those super sized poor quality family meals that you heat in the oven, they should think that feeding this stuff to their kids may cause them to die before they die….that is a sobering thought!
How true about the Costco. I visited one with a friend several years ago because I my friend could not believe I had never been to one. I walked around with my mouth open saying Oh my God about three times in a row. I could not believe my eyes! Such large amounts of food just turned me off buying it. I did walk out with a box of tampons that lasted for six months. Never been back. I buy at farmers markets and health food stores.
Diane, please read my reply to Maximalist…I think that you would agree.
Andrea, thank you so much for sharing your story. It is so motivating to hear from someone who has been at this minimalist thing for a while and has not only lived to tell the tell, but is thriving and better than ever. It is inspiring to those of us on the road to living that kind of life to the max as well! Thank you!
So very welcome…Maximalist! I have learned from experience…I have learned that I don’t need a spare this and a spare that…and that can mean a spare tire around my waist too! I looked up the word SPARE…here are the meanings..
1. additional to what is required for ordinary use…..notice the word REQUIRED….and who makes the rules for what is required anyway?????
2. with no excess fat; thin. AWWWW! That one fit me (in the past)
3. refrain from killing, injuring, or distressing. My choice many years ago…sparing the lives of innocent animals, by not eating their meat or putting them in harsh conditions through buying eggs and milk. There are so many better products out there that are so much better for our longevity. We are the only creatures that God created that choose to drink another creatures milk…why do we do that??? Sounds kind of gross when you really think it through.
4. an item kept in case another item of the same type is lost, broken, or worn out. Oh Boy! There’s that fear factor again…fear of the unknown…fear of what???
I have a pet peeve….when they announce on the weather that there is going to be a snowstorm or whatever, everyone rushes to the store to buy up/stock up…people don’t care if they wipe out the shelves….it’s all “gotta take care of ME and my family!” So, what if…..let’s say, it really does snow 5 inches…or 1 inch..the weatherman has put out a lot of false distress signals where I live this winter…why oh why oh why can’t people live a day or a few hours without a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk??? Milk and bread…that seems to be the 2 items that people rush out to buy more than anything else…
My argument would be….we all as a general rule, have some food in our house at all times…maybe, it’s some canned goods or a freezer full of whatever…can’t we just eat those things for a day? Can’t we survive?!? Come on folks…Walmart is open 24/7 365 days of the year..they won’t close if it snows 5 inches or 10 inches or whatever…I don’t like to shop there, but why do people go into panic mode? Why do they suddenly get so selfish? Why can’t people cope with difficult times anymore? I can understand running to the store if you have a baby and you need baby food or something for an elderly parent, but we are teaching our kids to FEAR…fear that they might miss having that sugary bowl of cereal..fear they might not get their daily bag of Doritos…we need to get that pioneer spirit back…the spirit that knew how to go without if they had to…we are so spoiled in this country and it’s only getting worse…the whole idea of having SPARE this and SPARE that has grown disgusting to me over the years…if we would all just live the minimalist life, we could see how strong we really are.
Andrea, I think we were separated at birth, we have so much in common :) I’ve been vegetarian for over 20 years and trying to be vegan but have difficulties giving up cheese. I’ve never cared for milk – I agree – why do we drink cow’s milk? Why not elephant milk or gorilla? Always hated butter and find even plain yogourt too sweet. But the French in me (half French; half English) loves an assortment of cheese on a baguette with a nice bottle of Bordeaux (and my father’s French Onion Soup). However, I only eat that occassionally as it loaded with saturated fat.
I don’t shop at Walmart because of their politics. Their employees in one of the provinces in Canada tried to unionize and the company close the store leaving hundreds in a very small town unemployed. As well, I don’t like that Chinese children work 10 hours per day at $.10 per hour making the products — they should be in school like our children (are our children more valuable than theirs?) Did you know that the second and third largest imports of products from China are made by Russia and the UK. And the first, no, not the USA, but Walmart! As well, the state of California spends $9 million per year on welfare payments to Walmart employees who are so terribly underpaid. What a sin!
And yes, we live in a culture of fear thanks to our various governments. Politicians found out long ago that the only way to make big changes to policy is to put the citizens in a state of fear first, then they’ll agree to anything, and it works — just look at the US with the Patriot Act which removes all kinds of freedom and allows the US govt to snoop into people private lives (i.e. what you take out at the library; what you spend on your credit card; etc.) And look at Canada’s Prime Minister who said in 2006 when he got a majority govt “You won’t recognize Canada once I’ve finished with it.” He’s right and we hope to vote him out next year.
I think with the economic problems felt around the world that many will be downsizing and reevaluating what they spend their money on. Lucky for us minimalists that we learned this sooner than later and can now enjoy a simpler, stress-free life with more money to enjoy with family and friends doing things instead of buying things, less housework (more free time) and better quality food.
I have read the books about Walmart..they caused half of our town to shut down by moving here, even causing one of my sons to lose his beloved job when the store that he worked in went out of business…our downtown struggles to keep anything open and alive..
It doesn’t really matter what the big box store is called, it’s all about how they can become super rich and if people get stepped on in the process, it makes no difference…
This is why I choose to go to farmer’s markets and how much healthier could you get than that?
Diane, I went to a large library today and almost picked up Victorian Homes…this would have been a mistake…I don’t need any temptations to buy more things to fill my home…I used to do that and wasted so much money and efforts….now, the house is decorated minimally and it is so freeing…I don’t need to even look at homes full of crowded décor…I picked up a healthy eating magazine instead.
Good for you for resisting as it’s not easy since we’re bombarded with ads and mags. I now get turned off by the decorating mags because the rooms are just too full and my money can be better spent elsewhere.
Absolutely Diane! We have gone to a vegan diet…I was a vegetarian for 13 years and then went back to the standard diet…spent lots of money on soda, pizza and fast food…now, we’re spending our money on the great non-GMO, organic products, which cost more, but we are spending so much less on STUFF that we have the extra money to take care of ourselves..our exercise is bike riding, jogging and hikes…those are all free! I really want to not only have a lighter home, but a lighter body…freeing myself from the self-imposed burdens that my un-natural lifestyle caused
It’s very inspiring for ‘youngsters’ like me to read about experienced individuals living their minimalist lifestyle. I often feel a bit alone in my choice not to cling to material posessions (especially since the people of your generation that I’m familiar with are all VERY into collecting expensive and precious stuff). Love your active attitude towards the present and conscious living!
Kaede, you are so right…the baby boomers were so into materialism….maybe it had something to do with the fact that most of our parents were from the “depression” era and they held on to everything…we had to eat everything on our plates, because some kid in China was going hungry….my answer to that now would be, how is my putting more food in my stomach to make me fat and miserable going to help that kid in China? Also, it is a known fact that people in China are much healthier than Americans…except now, Mcdonalds and many other fast food chains are beginning to open in China and the people are getting the same diseases that we have here…very sad commentary on our society. Our parents also felt like they had to keep everything out of fear that they might need it one day…everything from the plastic container that the cottage cheese came in to the rubber bands that came on the daily newspapers…My take on that….fix smaller quanities for supper and you won’t have leftovers…why buy these huge bulk bags of everything? Most of it is manufactured garbage anyway…sorry for my rant, but do people read labels? So, if I buy a small amount of food that will sustain me and keep me light and healthy, I won’t ever, ever, ever need the containers to store all of these leftovers. If I quit taking the newspaper and read my news online, I save trees and don’t have 1,000 rubber bands in my home…honestly, how often do we need a rubber band anyway?? I grew up this way and it’s difficult to get past that fear of the unknown and fear of what we may NEED tomorrow, but DARN!, we threw it out yesterday….as a rule, that NEED tomorrow never comes. We are collecting and holding on to things that will never have their day in the sun…they will fill our cabinets and our closets and our drawers for years and only make our lives more stressful and complicated…I’m all for “less is more”…less of everything, except the freedom and peace that come from a minimalist life.
Thanks for sharing your story, Andrea! I enjoyed reading it and the many interesting replies, too. I have always been a minimalist and over the years I have had many conversations about minimalism with friends, family and colleagues. Often I have heard people say that they have waaaay too much stuff and that they really should get rid of some stuff, BUT… Funny that nobody has ever asked me for advice – they know how I live and that minimalism works for me.
About five years ago I discovered ultralight backpacking, and when I go hiking I meet a lot of traditional backpackers with pack weights of 15 to 25 kg. I see them suffer with their heavy packs in Southern France under the hot August sun. They see me with my ultralight pack of max. 3 kg, and they all seem impressed. I show them my gear and explain the ultralight philosophy to them, BUT for some reason nobody ever considers reducing their packweight, even though I would be more than willing to give them advice for free. Instead people justify why they need to have the heavy gear (“The ultralight xy may work for YOU, but I need the heavier version, because…”).
Why are people so afraid of letting go of their stuff?
I find it really refreshing to read the articles on this blog, as it gives me the feeling that I am not the only minimalist in the world!
Alma, I find it exhilarating to find others who feel that “less is more”. I’m sure that it would be quite easy for both of us to find many blogs on obtaining and shopping…I would have gone right to blogs on decorating my home and even my yard. I have found that the more STUFF I put into my yard as décor, the more work my husband had to do to mow the grass. He was forever moving this little statue and this big pot, etc. When some new neighbors moved in a few houses down and started filling their own yard with every item possible including a large tent in the front yard, I realized that although others love the way that my yard looks with minimal décor and more natural features like rocks and bushes, small flowering trees, flowers and herbs, everyone is not like me…some feel that there is more curb appeal in a yard full of the proverbial flamingos and gnomes…I personally would hate to care for all that STUFF…what an eyesore..reminds me of the words to that song Take Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot.
I feel that others will jump on the bandwagon once they realize there can be a huge difference if they would just try the minimalist life. I
Alma, I find it exhilarating to find others who feel that “less is more”. I’m sure that it would be quite easy for both of us to find many blogs on obtaining and shopping…I would have gone right to blogs on decorating my home and even my yard. I have found that the more STUFF I put into my yard as décor, the more work my husband had to do to mow the grass. He was forever moving this little statue and this big pot, etc. When some new neighbors moved in a few houses down and started filling their own yard with every item possible including a large tent in the front yard, I realized that although others love the way that my yard looks with minimal décor and more natural features like rocks and bushes, small flowering trees, flowers and herbs, everyone is not like me…some feel that there is more curb appeal in a yard full of the proverbial flamingos and gnomes…I personally would hate to care for all that STUFF…what an eyesore..reminds me of the words to that song Take Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot.
I feel that others will jump on the bandwagon once they realize there can be a huge difference if they would just try the minimalist life. It is not just beneficial to our own personal lives, but to the world as a whole. People should have to study what they are doing to this earth…start classes when kids are in Jr. High.
Maximum 3 kgs… Respect…. I’d love to see your packing list!
Packing list? Do you mean for a trip or for a full house move?
We do travel a lot, as we have a pretty open schedule….we don’t have a lot of commitments…we used to….oh my! I didn’t know how to say NO. Then, I began to read books on becoming more assertive. I was always intimidated to say NO when asked to join this or that or attend this or that….how liberating to be able to say NO, we really don’t want to…instead of making excuses and having our arms twisted off…made to feel guilty…I would never do that to others, but it was constantly happening to us…even over church related events and functions…but, now people have come to see that my hubby and I don’t like to attend every function or follow every event. We don’t like to join clubs just because they are popular at the time…we don’t like home parties, we don’t like to meet together for weekly card games…we still have plenty of friends, but they don’t pressure us. They have learned that it does them no good. And, they still love us. (:
Let me know what you mean by packing list, please…I’m curious.
Hey Andrea, I was referring to Alma’s story about ultra light travelling, 3 kilos is AWESOME. And I wanted to know what she packs to be able to travel so lightly – her list of things to pack, her packing list.
Makes sense now?
Yes, it sure does Mrs. Brady….thanks for clearing that up for me…(:
One thing that we always say when we travel in America….if we forget something, we can always get it on the road…not that we take a lot with us. I used to stress over forgetting something….if I forget shaving cream, there are a million and one stores out there when I can buy a small one for my husband…less stress and worrying before the trip.
Andrea, I so much agree with Ree “You are a very good writer and it’s clear that people resonate with you”
I have obtained so much inspiration from your post and your replies to the comments, how will we ever know if you do decide to start a blog. . . would hate to miss out!
Jane, I would let you know..no plans for now though…thank you so much for your sweet comment. (:
I commented earlier, but this really is good stuff. I’ll be sharing this post with friends because it holds so much that I feel is helpful to minimalist and simple living. I’ve naturally come to the point of going Vegan from vegetarian and I’m so excited. Best wishes Andrea
Thank you again Jane! I was really excited to read everyone’s posts and get more inspiration for myself!
Thank you this post is so inspiring, and the resulting comments are too. I love what you say about stockpiling food “be safe from what”??? I also don’t understand why people run out everytime a snowstorm is predicted and stock up, usually on junk. How likely is it that we really won’t able to get to the store for longer than maybe one day? I have also slimmed down my kitchenware considerably. I used to get frustrated at how little storage space we have. But I realized it was my outsized expections about what I needed. And that goes for every room in my now right-sized or even too-large-seeming house.
Susan, you are so right, the kitchen can be one of the worst rooms to keep clutter-free, because we use a variety of items in there…but, as I’ve written above, I use one large frying pan and I have one little one and I may get rid of it….I have a pan to boil gluten-free pasta made with whole grains, no GMOs, and a saucepan to boil whole grain (usually the black) rice….I fix a lot of greens…all organic..I am actually looking forward to foraging, which as you know, is finding edible weeds and other plant-based foods in the wild. I have been studying up on that…my grandmother did this back in the early 1920-1970s…I wish that she was still around to help me find the good stuff…(: We get “suckered” into buying all of these new gadgets…I have found that I can use one utensil for multiple uses…in other words, I don’t need an 8 piece set of measuring cups….I need 1/3 and 1/2 sizes…I can use the 1/2 for 1/4 or eyeball 1/8 (which is rarely in recipes) and 1 cup….just use it twice…simple, simple, simple…I can use the 1/3 for 2/3. So much easier to find in the drawer…We rarely use the measuring spoons…after being married for 40 years and cooking since I was 12 years old, I can pretty much eyeball what a teaspoon is or 1/2 teaspoon, etc..and to be honest, if you add a few grains too many of baking soda or whatever, it doesn’t affect the finished product…I don’t need all of the crazy electric appliances either…I have learned my lesson the hard way with those space aliens….I mean SPACE taker-uppers…lol
I now own very few and OH, it so much easier to get into the cabinets and find things! I’m love SPACE now rather than those stressful ALIENS!
Hi Andrea,
Your post is truly wonderful. Like what Francine said, your post gives me wonderful perspective in a long time span the healthy minds and advantages of being long time minimalist.
i’m in my early 40 fulltime homemaker, so is my hubby. we have 2 toddlers, so these years are quite hectic. Time and energy is the key, i try to be minimalist and streamline everything i can to get that. it is so difficult to find what we need quickly if we dont streamline and stay minimalist. i hope my hubby would join us soonest to adopt minimalist lifestyle. wish you and your husband all the very best.
Thank you Vivien! I have actually been inspired by the responses on here and gotten rid of even more…things that were a little difficult to part with, but oh my!! so glad now that I have!!
a truly beautiful and inspiring story… you opened my eyes again.. I guess I have to really start parting ways with my huge collection of books… come to think of it, you are right.. we don’t need those things that we thought we can’t live without.. thank you so much for sharing your story..
Thank you Bheng! Books were hard to part with, but I don’t miss them at all! I go to the library now and let them “hoard” the books for me…they are responsible for holding them for me and dusting them and maintaining them! I pared my cookbook collection down to around 8 over the weekend…went from around 200 to 8!! What a huge difference…it’s been several years since I had 200, but I was pretty sluggish about parting with them…as I had posted before, I can find any recipe online…I want to try new recipes anyway…living a vegan life and finding so many wonderful things to fix for Hubby and myself…I was able to part with some of my larger sized clothing…no, I’m NOT saving them for next winter, because I don’t need them…I will not go back to that size again…even my clothes are going to take up less room!
Andrea, I really enjoyed your post and all the replies. You said in one of your replies that you recently were decluttering your kids old schoolwork. That is what I am doing today. It is so hard for me to know what to keep or not. Also, old letters or sentimental items are what keeps me with so much clutter. Do you have any advice for this?
My sister-in-law scans all of those things….you can always print them off again if you want copies later on. It is difficult, I agree.
Just a short update….I have continued my decluttering since I wrote this post….many more things have been donated or sold…we no longer use the storage unit that we once had…we have far far less books…I get books from the library now only….my closet has much more room to breath, 2 sets of sheets for the bed, less furniture, much more closet space in the spare closets…I will never stop…I love the minimalist life!!
I forgot to mention that we are both still losing weight, slowly but in a natural way….I’ve lost 35 pounds and he’s lost over 30…this is just from eating better and walking/jogging…..we are now vegans…we eat a lot of raw foods also…we feel great and have no health issues. Our lives are so content and that is a huge thing! It is better the “invisible”
We are also vegans now and loving that…continuing to lose weight the natural way and we have zero health issues….living life to the fullest without having to own material items to give us contentment.
I read all the comments back and forth. There is pressure to buy and have a lot of things you don’t need. I ‘m glad to find people my age who aren’t stocking up. In 42 years of marriage we haven’t needed more than a few days’ worth of food and the worst is when the power goes out because of a storm. Then you have to worry that the food in the fridge and freezer will spoil, unless it’s winter. I like the hoarding shows,too. They make me throw more things out and give more away.
I just recycled a bunch of plastic bottles. I had saved them for a friend’s art project but she found a size she liked better. I have some magazines to give away because I got some others free. Then there is a cabinet with tchotchkes in it I need to sort through.
I threw out my mother’s books because they were all moldy. Then I went to a sale at the library and replaced them all with non moldy ones. I also check the free pile at our synagogue and found a biography my mom wanted. So much of what hoarders keep is replaceable.
I watch the hoarding shows and I feel sorry for the animals living in the filth and mess. My mom has always hoarded papers, plastic silverware, glass containers, etc. But except for a dog fifty years ago, she never had pets. I like to declutter and I do it as often as I can.
I am Rereading some older posts. I was cleaning my brother’s walk- in closet and filled 8 or 9 big plastic bags with clothes to give away. Then I found lots of sheets and towels and dishes to give away. Bags and boxes full of stuff. I only own a few of anything because I can always wash clothes, dishes or sheets and towels. A cousin gave me a bunch of dishes and I am giving away half of them plus some others I have but don’t like that I was given years ago. My friend lives all alone in a 3 bedroom split level house. She has a 2 car garage full of stuff, the basement is full and all the bedroom closets are full. She thinks everything she has is great stuff and won’t give anything away. Most of her stuff is at least 10 years old. I eat meat about 4 times a year, some chicken, fish and eggs. I have food for about 2 weeks in the house, mostly pasta, rice and dried beans. I’ve been married for 45 years and except for being snowed in or the power being out we’ve always been able to shop.