Embracing a Minimalist Lifestyle

I will attempt to go as minimalist as possible by start of the new year. Since that's only less than two months away, I will need to be swift in my actions. I have already embraced a much simpler lifestyle since my huge health shift in February 2012. Now, nearly nine months later, I feel there are others areas in my life worth improving.

We've probably moved a total of six times in the last seven years. When Kendan and I moved in together, we had hardly anything. A couch, bookshelf, dining table and basic kitchenware and bedding were all that we had. After two years in our first apartment, I still remember me bursting into tears the night we moved when we had so much left to cram into two tiny trailers (that were already pretty full).

I know how this happened. I was GREAT at organizing. When you organize all of your things in your life and home, more can fit. And that was precisely the problem! After our most recent move, we went from a two bedroom apartment down to a modest one bedroom. I still had lots of things, and knew that something had to give. We could only cram so much. During our move, I was able to get rid of a few larger items and even in our new apartment, it took a full day and several people to move all of the boxes.

I blame my shopping problem that I feel I inherited during childhood. I remember going to the mall with my mom and her looking at me and saying, "We only have one check left in the checkbook..." That to me meant: "Let's pick a good store to spend the last one!" And did we ever. I liked to think that I was a smart shopper who would only buy things on sale and mostly necessary items only.

Especially with my ~30 lb. weight loss over the last nine months, I was shopping at thrift stores more often. I was only buying a few clothes so that I could look fairly normal as my body began to change. Nothing crazy; just a few jeans here and there until I needed to buy yet another smaller size. Once I hit my six month mark, I wanted to make even more changes to my life, including the things that are in it.

Join me, either as a bystander, or someone who is also interested in making some minimalistic changes to their lifestyle, as I purge the rest of the unnecessary objects out of my life!

Looking to embrace a minimalist lifestyle? Check out my posts below!

Cutting the Clutter: The 5 C's to More Happiness
5 Lessons I've Learned by Decluttering
Top 5 Reasons for Cutting the Clutter
Cutting the Clutter: Kitchen Revamp
Sell your crap. Pay off your debt. Do what you love.