Living with Les(s)

Normally, I try to steer away from trends. My hair, fashion, and what have you has not changed much in the last 10 years. 

However, this is a trend that I'm happy to take on! It's called Minimalism. It's basically Living with Les(s) - see what I did there? I can legitimately pun my name! A couple of posts ago, I mentioned I was doing a major purge (still am) of all the stuff we have in our home.

It's been an amazing experience! I feel less frazzled, and know where everything is now. My time is used more efficiently. Most of all, my eyes don't get overwhelmed by endless clutter. Each morning, I feel more 'in charge'.


Suffice to say, my house is not completely junk free. There are some areas that are a work in progress - like my office and garage. I've KonMari'd my home as much as I can, within reason. It does not look like an art gallery, but at least it's a bit more organized (my drawers especially). I know that Rome wasn't built in a day, and my home isn't going to look as neat as I'd like it to be overnight.

Someday my kitchen will look like this! Oh dreams... (photo credit flickr)

In the last couple of weeks, I've gone back to reading more of Mr. Money Mustache's blog, watched Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things on Netflix, and Becoming Minimalist, a blog-journey Joshua Becker, a father of 2 (and a pastor to boot!). Even my friend, Leah, runs a blog called Get Unpackaged which has underlying tones of minimalism. She's able to steer away from wasteful items while raising her young family. There's actually a number of great blogs/articles that one can find on Google for inspiration. 

One of my favorite ways to get rid of my junk in Victoria. Varagesale!

So far, we've sold about $400 worth of stuff since December, and more coming. I've given away items that I thought no one would take (an old school egg timer!), and have been surprised as to how much my junk costs. We sold a pair of folding bikes for $50 more than what we paid for it! Talk about extra cash to fund our next vacation! We don't miss anything that we've given away.

Now, this blog might be about me being hard of hearing, but as a mommy, I'm over the moon not having as many things in my home! Still have a ways to go.

The best part? My 3 year old donated a full box of toys she doesn't play with anymore to a new single moms village. I was incredibly proud of her, and hope that she continues to realize that it isn't 'stuff' that makes us truly happy. 

One challenge I've set myself for Lent (which starts today!) is to fill up a box with 40 items to donate. 40 days. 40 items. 

May the Purge be with you!