Striving For A More Simple/Minimalist Life - Page 5

[redveg]

Hello mamas, I hope you don't mind me jumping in. I am right now in the process of going through everything we own and getting rid of things we don't need and can do without. About six months ago I thought our barn would be ready so I packed up everything we don't use on a daily basis, this included a lot of my kitchen items. I kept one glass for each member of our family, one plate, etc. Well, moving is off till Spring, and now I have found I don't miss any of these things. I am planning to donate to some families in our area.

I am hoping to use this experience to teach my children before they are off on their own. I am subbing and hope to learn many things from you mamas.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by mags.bubble

I have enjoyed reading all the thoughtful replies. I like what the pp said about focusing what I did right.

Yesterday, I said 'yes' to a friend and went out sit at Border's to knit/chat. Since I work several evenings a week (after dinner), I usually like to stay home and put the kids to bed. But, this was so simple and enjoyable I am glad I went. While enjoying the company, I also was knitting a chanukkah gift for one of my son's.

Maggie

This is what I am talking about! You can say Yes to things you want, not to the 3 xmas or holiday celebrations, or a golf outing morning, party in the afternoon, and then dinner out sort of days.

Kind of off topic, my BIL is head of a program run thru our local metro area food pantry. He runs a program that helps people who are rehabiltating their lives enter a food service program and become chefs, caterers etc. Part of his budget this year is to start a library of different books such as recipe and cook books but other related topics as well. I went thru my cook books and other types of books and donated 12 books. Some were cook books, but others like the book written about laptop lunches, ominoves dilemna, and showed him a few more titles to order. It was nice to help someone else, but also make a dent in my bookshelf since I have to take away in order to add more.

It seems like I go thru this decluttering ritual every quarter or so, even like when the season change.

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by Amys1st

It seems like I go thru this decluttering ritual every quarter or so, even like when the season change.

My aunt used to have this policy (dont' know if she still does) that if she brought something into her home she had to get rid of something...so for example she wouldn't buy any new hangars--if she bought a new item of clothing, some old item had to go. If she got a new book, some old book had to go... I don't do that exactly, but i do try to think really carefully before bringing anything into my home (or giving it as a gift) "is this something that will get a lot of use/can serve multiple purposes?" If it's only good for one thing, or won't really get used that often, then I typically don't get it. (Although I do also consider size...if it's tiny, I might go ahead and get it...but if it's big--say, a special roasting pan or something--then I tend to forgo it.) For example, I look at my MIL who has this huge set of fancy china. She has two entire cupboards full of it, and you know how often she uses it? Christmas and Easter. That's it. 363 days of the year it sits on those shelves collecting dust. I'm sure it's worth 100s of dollars, and it is beautiful, but wow! I opted to go with simple white corelle plates--practical for every day (unbreakable and not too pricy), but absolutely workable for formal meals too if I just put out a tablecloth and some candles or something.

[Om Girl]

Jenni-We have the same philosophy here as your aunt! I just recently went through DD1's shoes, which are going to be given to a friends small daughter. I also like replacing multiple items with just one good quality item. So today, 5 pairs of shoes went out and were replaced with just 2, a sneaker and a Mary Jane shoe. We stocked up on tights for the Mary Jane's and un-earthed the winter boots from the storage bench! Yea!

[SageR]

I have another question for all of you - how do you balance having/doing less with the need for a creative outlet? I really enjoy "crafty" kinds of things, but I don't have the space or the desire for a fully stocked studio. I usually have some kind of project going and it is always something that will be used as opposed to purely decorative (or art for the sake of art), but it is still more stuff. And there is only so much we need (need being relative of course) and so much I can give away to make room for other things.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by SageR

I have another question for all of you - how do you balance having/doing less with the need for a creative outlet? I really enjoy "crafty" kinds of things, but I don't have the space or the desire for a fully stocked studio. I usually have some kind of project going and it is always something that will be used as opposed to purely decorative (or art for the sake of art), but it is still more stuff. And there is only so much we need (need being relative of course) and so much I can give away to make room for other things.

I have my crafty stuff organized into one place. IT can be a rolling bag, tub or desk area. Now, my Scrapbooking stuff is all in a rolling bag so I can go to crops etc. I used to just scrapbook at my very large kitchen table, but now the kids are older, its impossible. So I go out to the late night scraps etc. I also keep it quite organized and I declutter after every other cropnight so I am giving stuff away etc. Like, I am not having any more babies, so I put the light pink stuff and baby stuff in a pile at a recent crop and someone else used it. I did a wedding book several years ago with my wedding proofs, so I passed on the wedding stuff too.

[jennlyn]

delete

[greenluv]

I'm joining this thread because we've come to downsizing and forced simplifying due to circumstances. The weird thing is, we had planned to do this at some point but we weren't real sure how we'd swing it. Dh ended up losing his job so we've been pushed-HARD-into doing stuff that's been necessary but things we'd planned to anyway. KWIM?? As in, desperation has forced us to look at things we assumed we had leisure to change.

Serendipity has led us by the nose into a smaller house with a large plot for garden. This cottage even has a clothesline and a basement for storage. I tell you, things have come together for us in strange and remarkable ways! I recognize a couple ladies (maggie and brighton woman, I think) here from another site I belong to-hey girls! Anyway, joining in and looking forward to re-reading the whole thread!

[ParisApril]

I have decided to not bring in my houseplants in for the winter.

My houseplants never do well inside. I'm tired of struggling to keep them alive (barely). I will open a window when the house needs air purifying and enjoy my clutter free spaces this winter.

[Amys1st]

I want to put some plants in our master bedroom. We have a sort of Asian, craftmans style to our home and now our bedroom. What would you suggest?

[Kino]

Originally Posted by ParisApril

My houseplants never do well inside. I'm tired of struggling to keep them alive (barely). I will open a window when the house needs air purifying and enjoy my clutter free spaces this winter.

I don't do houseplants either and I'm a gardener/landscaper Plants go outside for me!

Have you guys identified any new habits lately that keep you from your simplified life goal?

It's obvious I dump everything by the front door as I go in and out, but I never took the time to consider how that takes away from my life. The habit adds up; clutters the living room and makes it impossible to sweep/mop so I put it off... I need to stop dumping on the floor! I'm turning the hall closet into a mudroom. And going to start the habit of putting everything in its place as I come home instead of "later."

[Purple Sage]

Originally Posted by ParisApril

My houseplants never do well inside. I'm tired of struggling to keep them alive (barely). I will open a window when the house needs air purifying and enjoy my clutter free spaces this winter.

I'm just the opposite - the plants outside don't do very well (it's very hot and dry here most of the year) but the ones inside are a lot easier to maintain. Nevertheless, I hope to have a nice garden outside one of these years.

[wholewheatchick]

Wow this is awesome!

I just read through all of the posts, and found everything really interesting. DH and I have been married for 1 year, and we are really trying not to accumulate too much stuff. We will have moved 3 times in 18 months by Feb, so that helps! I do need to go through the kitchen stuff before we move; that's a big one. And books are definitely my downfall!

For the holidays this year, we are doing almost all handmade gifts, though DH is going to take my dad flying (DH is a pilot for the Coast Guard). I'm doing a recipe book for my MIL, a ring sling for my sister, and placemats and napkins for my mom. FIL will get a big box of homemade goodies from us (he's in Afghanistan).

Haven't quite gotten to the point of telling ouf families "nothing new" although DH's family is already awesome about that, and live VERY simply themselves. My parents and sister are def more the stereotypical American dream people.

As for decorating our house...most of our furniture at this point is hand me downs from our parents, a few garage sale pieces, and some that DH has built. We plan on replacing things as they break in the moves by DH building new items. I have no "theme" or anything; mostly lots of books and a few plants!

[madskye]

My challenge with my house is that we don't have a lot of storage. DD, 4, really doesn't have a ton of toys, but other than her room there's not a place for them. So that makes her room look packed. Also, people are always giving us stuff for when she is older. Hard to say no to, but where to store it? Just not having stuff would make life a lot easier, but it seems more frugal to accept it for laster.

We simplified our holidays quite a bit last year. We do a basket for family with a bottle of wine that my husband makes, cookies from me, and a craft and a picture of DD. I made really cute home-made gift tags last year. It was fun to make the baskets and felt like just the right amount of giving.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by madskye

My challenge with my house is that we don't have a lot of storage. DD, 4, really doesn't have a ton of toys, but other than her room there's not a place for them. So that makes her room look packed. Also, people are always giving us stuff for when she is older. Hard to say no to, but where to store it? Just not having stuff would make life a lot easier, but it seems more frugal to accept it for laster.

We simplified our holidays quite a bit last year. We do a basket for family with a bottle of wine that my husband makes, cookies from me, and a craft and a picture of DD. I made really cute home-made gift tags last year. It was fun to make the baskets and felt like just the right amount of giving.

The baskets is a really cute idea, and they get lots of things in all, so cant feel like you didnt give them plenty.

I hear you on the storage issues! We dont have one cupboard or pantry in our house as its the older style. Its so hard to make boxes look neat and the suitcases are driving me nuts as they look so untidy and cant be stacked...

[ParisApril]

Originally Posted by Amys1st

I want to put some plants in our master bedroom. We have a sort of Asian, craftmans style to our home and now our bedroom. What would you suggest?

Bamboo and ginger. Then you can eat them too!

Originally Posted by Kino

I don't do houseplants either and I'm a gardener/landscaper Plants go outside for me!

Have you guys identified any new habits lately that keep you from your simplified life goal?

It's obvious I dump everything by the front door as I go in and out, but I never took the time to consider how that takes away from my life. The habit adds up; clutters the living room and makes it impossible to sweep/mop so I put it off... I need to stop dumping on the floor! I'm turning the hall closet into a mudroom. And going to start the habit of putting everything in its place as I come home instead of "later."

My gardens look fab. I always forget to water eveything inside and I'm not great on fertilizing either. I did bring in my bay plant as I like to cook with it.

We live in a small house and the entry is 3 1/2' x 4' with a tiny closet. When the seasons change the closet get jammed with coats and footwear because you have to be ready for everything. I keep the door closed what a mess right now.

We have a small canoe shelf just outside the entry for our keys, wallets, sunglasses and other small stuff. One shelf each.

Originally Posted by Purple Sage

I'm just the opposite - the plants outside don't do very well (it's very hot and dry here most of the year) but the ones inside are a lot easier to maintain. Nevertheless, I hope to have a nice garden outside one of these years.

Different climates. We are wet here year round.

Perennials are the best to plant outside they don't need a lot of attention. We just buy some mulch in the spring to mulch the gardens and then weed and trim 3 times for the season. We turned the whole front yard into garden and I'm trying to convince DH to do the back as well. Then we would NEVER have to mow the lawn! He's hesitant because the mulch would run $500-$1000 a year to mulch the whole thing. Anyone know of anything cheaper to keep grass and weeds away?

[boogiemonster]

[catscharm74]

We are moving towards a more minimalist lifestyle. This is after 3 years of purging, dontating, yard sale and curbside giveaways. We have been holding pretty well, with small spurts of decluttering here and there. Then, I made my Vision Board, about a year ago. I listed my top five priorities and have been moving to keep only what enhances and helps me reach these priorities and the rest can go. As we live with a little less each month, we really don't miss it. Yes, we still have to clean each week and I do keep on top of things but honestly, it's not something I fret about anymore. We are at the point where it is cotrollable way that is not overwhelming. I am a bit of a clean freak and this way sits with me nicely.

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by wholewheatchick

And books are definitely my downfall!

This was our big downfall for a long time too. Finally we settled on something: is this something we will read more than a couple of times, or that we want to have on hand all the time as a reference? If not, we dont' own it. It doesn't matter how good a deal it is or how good a book, if we're not going to read it over and over and over, or don't need it as a reference (eg: breastfeeding book or medical reference) then we don't own it. We do have library cards and use them often. I'm also thinking I want to get involved with that book swapper website thing (I can't remember the link) but I don't have many books on hand at the moment

[caiesmommy]

I'm purging my yarn it seems! I've been knitting up so many xmas presents and instead of buying new yarn I've been trying to work projects around what I have already. Feels great to get rid of some of it! AND get some presents done!