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.
This week, I’m pleased to feature Brianna. Inspired by stories of RV living, she and her family have done some dramatic downsizing. Please visit her blog to read more about how minimalism has changed her life.
Brianna writes:
About eight years ago I stumbled onto some blogs about families that travel full-time living in an RV. I loved reading about the simplicity of RV living, even with children. All of a sudden I was struck by the contrast of my own reality. My husband and I, our two children, and my father were renting a large suburban house that we had stuffed to the brim with Stuff.
I began reading everything I could about small living spaces. RV living wasn’t a reality for us but I spent some time figuring out what it is about that lifestyle that had captured my heart so completely. Of course the traveling would be phenomenal, but more than that was the simplicity.
At the time, my husband was working non-stop and I was busy homeschooling our children, running the house and waiting tables part-time. The idea of less was thrilling. Less furniture, less dishes, less clothes, less toys, etc. I decided to try to live as close to that as possible. With my family on board, we had a huge yard sale and moved into an apartment half the size of our house. It was fabulous! Since then we’ve moved twice and are about to move again, this time to an Intentional Community.
Minimalism is a constant process for me because things creep back into our lives constantly, and I keep finding new ability to let go of more. I have taken big strides in the last six months bringing me even closer to my goals of living happily with as little as possible. The feeling of freedom, calm, and gratitude every time I let go of more is wonderful. I have shared my passion for minimizing with my friends and family and really love watching more people realize how life changing it is to live with less.
{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 mondays! Thanks for another great dose of minimalist thinking.
Well done Brianna! I found myself nodding my head when I read “things creep back into our lives constantly.” That’s my area of weakness! Love that you’re moving to an intentional community. All the best, Karen
“things creep back into our lives constantly” I second/third that!!!!
The dreaded CREEP! I feel like for the last several years I was really good at purging and not so good at avoiding bringing it in in the first place; the missing key to minimalism if you will. :) I am committed to working on that now, so far so good!
Brianna, I admire your courage for downsizing while having children! Being single and no kids, I’ve always wondered how they would feel about having less stuff/space. Keep up the great life changes!
Thanks, John! It was a hell of a lot easier when they were littler. Now that they’re older (almost 13 and 9) I give them full control over their possessions. In our new home they have the two biggest rooms and my husband and I the smallest in order to accommodate them. I prefer to lead by example and let them choose their own path. :)
Good for you. I am so happy for you and your family. The stuff crept back into my life when my little grandson came to live with me. Now, nine years alter, he is eleven and we are united in reducing the clutter in our lives. My private spaces have remained open and clear and our home has much less than most people but still so much can go away. It is thrilling when our children “get it” or rather don’t get stuff. :)
Thank you, and how sweet you have your grandson! My kids are totally not minimalists but have so far been OK with the communal spaces being so. Good luck to you getting the rest out!
You are fortunate that your family is willing and supportive. Enjoy the journey, as they say.
My husband definitely is, but the kids are another story. ;) They’ve been on board for moving and accept my taking the lead on the rest of the house being minimal but their own stuff and space is another story!
How great that your husband is on board! Now I will have to google intentional communities…
I have been awfully lucky in that regard. I’ll be blogging more about our Intentional Community shortly. It is a great way to live!
Thanks for sharing your story. Maybe the kids will come around. My son suddenly did about a year. He started hauling bags of stuff from his room for recycling, Goodwill, trash….I asked him what was up and he said, as if he’d figured it out on his own, the less stuff he had, the faster it was to calen his room, which left more time for video games.
When I first started giving things away, my husband had lots more stuff than I did. His folks weren’t hoarders, they just had a lot of stuff. Now, he voluntarily gives things away. He went to our storage space (we live in a condo) and has brought up items to give away . Things we haven’t used in years. I found 10 books to give away and bought 4 pairs of earrings because I love earrings and hadn’t bought any in a year.
I have given away 6 pairs of earrings even though I collect them. I gave away ones I wasn’t wearing. I have also been selling a lot of silver plated trays and big bowls. My daughter in law inherited real sterling and my daughter isn’t going to polish the stuff. I have a lot more to give away. I recycled an old, ripped blanket because it had so many holes and tears it wasn’t warm any more. I still have too many sets of china and other dishes, my next task is to sort through them and just keep a few serving pieces and maybe service for 4. That’s what I did with most of the rest of the china I received. I also have crystal I got from my mother in law and have never used.
I have given away a lot of china teacups and tiny bowls. They are beautiful, so I kept 2 of the bowls to use for candy dishes when we throw a big party. I talked to a friend the other night who says she travels with at least 3 suitcases, one just for shoes. I said I usually travel with a small carry-on and a purse sized tote bag. She said she does a lot of shopping and has shoes in every color. She rents a cart at each airport they pass through and always takes the elevator. I can’t imagine being burdened with so much stuff. But then I think about the lady who went away for the weekend with 5 suitcases. So much to worry about.
I am filling bags for Goodwill. There are sweatshirts I don’t wear very often, so I will give those away. I am keeping my old sweaters to wear when I get cold. My husband found a pile of books and magazines to give away. I am happy when anything goes away.
My youngest, who has the least stuff, got married some months ago and still has a few boxes of books here. Then my brother sent me a box of my Mom’s smelly papers. I started sorting and tossing right away. When they are all sorted, I can find out if they have are worth anything.