I have to be totally clear. We have a 2700 square foot house with an attached garage. I have six children, three grandchildren, and we homeschool. My husband works from home full-time, and my oldest still living at home teaches from here as well. Our house is big, and it has a lot of stuff. We have a yard that is about an acre.
But, the call to minimalizing our possessions has been so strong on me. I desire what minimal living provides, but also plan to live our lives here without being austere.
There are all kinds of minimalists. Some limit their possessions to a particular number, say 30 or 100. I am not going for that. I have more books than that!
Some take on the lifestyle choice of zero waste. While I love the concept, and do try to reduce, reuse and repurpose, this is not my goal either.
My personal goal is for our family to keep only the things we use and love.
Areas I have started working through:
Towels, bedding, pictures, clothes, shoes, various garage items, junk, music CDs, videos, DVDs, trash, books, glasses, plates, cookware and empty boxes. I have also tried to reduce knick-nacks, gift wrap and Christmas decorations. As I am working in layers, and over time, I would say I have made significant progress in many areas, but I am still very far from minimal.
As the next several months go by, I will be sharing our journey to my version of minimalism, in the hopes you will learn some things that will be helpful for you!
For those just thinking about it, I highly recommend:
Joshua Becker’s books, The More of Less and The Minimalist Home and Clutter Free with Kids.
