Hey y’all! So I updated my blog and added some new categories I hope to write more about in the future. One of those is minimalism! I wanted to write a little about this since my idea of minimalism might be different than what some people imagine when they hear the term.

To me minimalism isn’t having less than 100 possessions, having a perfect house with plain white walls, or some sleek modern decor. I’m not about that. There’s nothing wrong with any of it, it’s just not me. To me minimalism looks like this!

Living Simply- I don’t want to be materialistic…I don’t want my happiness to come from things! We live in a society of excess, and I truly believe that less is more!

Side story- my most memorable Christmas EVER with my family was the one where we unexpectedly moved back home to Virginia from Pennsylvania a few days before Christmas (Long story) and we didn’t have ANY decorations and very very few presents. We cut down a puny little ugly tree from the yard and decorated it with random bits of string/ribbon, fishing bobbers and stuff left in the shed. (All our belongings were packed away in moving boxes) It was so redneck and simple but we made it so special and made some fun family memories that year and we were all so happy to be together and be home. Just a little proof that you don’t need all the extra stuff and a big pile of lavish gifts to make special Christmas memories. 🙂

Having less material possessions means MORE of so many other things. Such as.. More time to spend doing what you want and less time cleaning and picking up stuff. Buying less stuff means more money you can spend on experiences and making memories. Less clutter means more peace of mind. I’m the type of person that will get easily overwhelmed and anxious if I’m surrounded by clutter. I have to have a clean/organized space to be able to focus at all. I can’t even cook dinner without first making sure all the dishes are done and counters wiped down. If I can’t find what I need or have to constantly be cleaning/picking stuff up it becomes stressful and a chore I’m constantly trying to stay on top of. Since I purged all my “excess” (thanks to intense “nesting” while pregnant ;)), I’ve made it a goal of mine to keep only things that are useful and serve a purpose, or things that just make me happy. I think everything you own should either bring you joy or be something useful in your day to day life. If it does neither, why do you even have it? I used to always want to hold on to things “just in case”! That shirt I haven’t worn in years, a kitchen gadget I’m never going to use.. Stuff you know deep down you wouldn’t miss if it was gone…I just got rid of it all. And I don’t miss anything I’ve purged. I’m constantly reevaluating what I do have and if I realize that something I have wouldn’t be missed, it’s on its way out the door too. I always have a donate bag going in the house for stuff like this. It’s so freeing. I love getting rid of stuff! It feels like a weight being lifted.

Being Intentional About What I Have and What I Buy- Since I try to only own things that are functional or things that make me happy, it makes me more intentional when it comes to shopping, which I rarely do as it is. Before buying something I’ll ask myself if I’m actually going to use it, or if it’s something that will make me really happy, and do I actually need it? Occasionally I do buy things I don’t NEED because it’ll make me happy regardless. I think that’s okay! I’m not minimalistic with absolutely everything. I love collecting coffee mugs for example. I need to get rid of some because I do have too many, but it’s a collection that genuinely makes me smile and brings joy to my life in picking out my daily mug. 🙂 If it ever ceases to bring me joy it’ll be on its way out the door! I try to still be intentional and not go overboard with my “fun” purchases. If I buy something new I’ll try to make room for it by getting rid of other things I don’t want as much. This way I’m not just accumulating more and more things, I’m gradually replacing my current things with better things that align with my style and lifestyle more.

Quality Over Quantity- I’d rather have two pairs of really nice jeans that I LOVE to wear than 5 pairs of jeans that are just adequate. I’m slowly making my way towards having a capsule wardrobe, which is is a smaller wardrobe filled with a few quality classic staple pieces. Everything goes together and can be mixed and matched. Nothing overly trendy or bold, and nothing that will quickly be out of style. My current wardrobe is kind of like his, but it still needs to be narrowed down and I’m slowly switching out things like tops and dresses that aren’t nursing friendly. (Something I never considered before having a baby!) As I’m getting older I’m appreciating quality so much more. When you pay for all your own stuff you want said stuff to last and not break, wear out, or go out of style too quickly. I used to go to Goodwill and buy tons of things that I only kind-of liked because they were so cheap I couldn’t resist it and I thought having more clothes to choose from was better. This was always exciting at first because “holy cow, look at allllllll this stuff I got for only $25!!” But it wasn’t worth it in the long run because it just gave me a wardrobe that was a mess and stuffed full of clothes I didn’t love and didn’t care much about. My thrift shopping is mostly done online now for this reason- Mercari and Poshmark are two apps for buying and selling clothing that I use constantly to buy and sell. You can look for specific brands you love and get them at a fraction of retail prices. Appreciating higher quality things goes for everything! From toys for my child, to clothing, kitchen appliances, electronics, etc! I think about how something is going to hold up and how much use I’ll get out of it before buying it. It usually ends up being cheaper in the long run to buy something a little nicer than will last longer than buying crap you’ll have to quickly replace. 😉

That’s kind of the tip of the iceberg of my thoughts on minimalism and living a more simple life. I look forward to writing more about this and how I incorporate the idea of minimalism into my life. I hope y’all will enjoy my future posts around this! If you have any questions or ideas for posts about minimalism let me know in the comments!

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