In 2012 I accidentally discovered the world of minimalist, and it truly changed my life. Minimalist living means different things to different people, but the common description that I have adopted for myself is to only own things that are useful, beautiful, or bring me and my family joy. I first discovered minimalism through Minimalist Mom and Miss Minimalist. I also encourage anyone who is interested in minimalism (or who simply wants to clean out some household clutter) read The Joy of Less.
I’ve written quite a few posts that map out my own ongoing minimalist journey. Read through these posts to discover how I cleaned my closet, lowered my phone bill, and also became happier and more joyful when unencumbered by excess stuff!
- Would you like to feel more joyful and calm? Check out my post A Minimalist Path that both captures my personal minimalist philosophy and gives a step-by-step guide to starting your own minimalist journey.
- One of the things minimalism helped me appreciate was how few things you really need when you have a baby. Here is my list of Minimalist Baby Needs, all from real parenting experience!
- Here is my number one tip for cutting your spending. And it is quite a minimalist tip!
- On that note, check out how we saved $40 a month on our cellphone bill by upgrading to smart phones!
- Here is a surprise I discovered as I got rid of clothes, books and other things: the less I have, the more I really use! The whole “Less is More” thing really has opened my eyes as I embrace minimalist thinking.
- During the Year of Family Minimalist Mom inspired me to do a Screen-Free Week. The experience was illuminating as you can read about in my Reflections on a Screen-free Week.
- One of the things I learned from cleaning out my physical clutter is that I also am happier when I clear clutter from my time. I love seeing friends and being social, but with kids life just can’t move as fast as it used to. This post, So Many Activities, explains why I now make sure we always have at least one day (or more) in a week with no planned activities. In another post I explain why I shifted to thinking about how I spend my time as much as I think about how to spend my money.
- Minimalism has also helped me learn to Manage Myself and my reaction to the stressors that life throws at me. This minimalist philosophy really has extended to every facet of my life.
- Sometimes decluttering is difficult when sentimental items are involved. The post Memories Sold on Craigslist captures what it feels like to pass on items that meant something to me and my family.
