Letting Go Series (Living Minimally)
Topic Tuesday
Continuing with the “Letting Go” series, one of the areas I felt I needed to let go of is unused stuff.
I shared a little about how important keeping a clean house is for me. During our time at home in these unusual times, we decided to go through everything we own. Living minimally has always sparked my interest but not something I fully understood or practiced.
We listened to a podcast with a guest named Joshua Becker and he defined minimalism as “The intentional promotion of the things I most value in life by removing anything that distracts me from it”.
He shared the goal of minimalism is not about owning the fewest stuff but about pursuing our greatest values and desires with more passion.
We needed to figure out what we valued most. For us, it is about experience, the time and financial freedom to do so. We realized we were spending time and money taking care of our stuff, when we would rather be experiencing, traveling, hiking, and having friends over. For example, there is stuff we moved from AK to OK to TN where we did not even open the box. We spent time figuring out where to store those boxes in each residence and money moving them across the country.
No one ever looks back on their life thankful for their stuff or the things they bought. I want to make sure that I am able to passionately pursue my hobbies and desires to the fullest. For us, it means removing the things we do not use and practice mindfulness when we purchase something. It is about quality not quantity.
This does not mean I only have 10 pieces of clothing or have nothing on the walls. I am choosing to be intentional about what we keep in our house and what we purchase. I free up mental space if I can walk into my closet and know all the items fit and I will wear them. Ultimately, I want to spend my free time exploring and experiencing. It is mentally and physically taxing to clean, organize, maintain, and tend to things which do not advance my goal of an experience driven lifestyle.
For #tipthursday, I am going to share how we practically are doing this. It is not something done in a week. It can take months. It is also not a one and done but a lifestyle.
Is there anything you can let go of? Are there clothes, decorations, or kitchen items taking up space physically but also emotionally and mentally? What are your greatest values and desires? Are you setting yourself up for success by creating time, space and energy in order to pursue them?
topic-tuesday
letting-go
cleaning
mindfulness