While I certainly subscribe to the values of "less is more," I often find myself in a reality that feels far from it. As this has been on my mind since the beginning of the new year, I thought I should visit this idea from time to time as a sort of "check in" with myself.
Where am I on this quest?
Have I gotten further in my understanding and application?
Are there new interpretations to consider?
What are my future goals?
The hardest part about minimalism is that it does seem as if it takes forms entirely dependent on the eye of the beholder. My intentions of minimalism are going to vary greatly than that of my brother, whose minimalist philosophies are more extreme. For me, I've simply noticed a desire to pare down. To purge. To rid of clutter. Mental and physical clutter which may take the form of piles of junk mail, or unused spices in the cabinet, too many pairs of shoes which I hold on to for the sake of guilt, or too many apps to keep up with. I'm looking for a sense of freedom from having too many things, too much to "keep up," and too much to want more of. The more I have the less I want.
There are times, even at its most basic level, that I wonder if Brian and I will want to move to a different neighborhood. Will the house be big enough. Is the street quaint enough. Are the neighbors young enough. Really all I'm asking myself is Is it good enough? and I go around in my mind for all the reasons we bought this house. At the end I determine, yes. Of course. It is exactly good enough because it is what exactly we wanted, which was so simple.
1. We wanted a yard where we could plant a garden and the dogs could run free.
2. We wanted a mortgage that didn't require staying home all the time for fear of going broke.
3. We wanted to be close to work and our families.
It is a small house at 1100 square feet, but not small at all, really. We have two bedrooms and two bathrooms and a kitchen and a living room and a dining room and a sitting room and a laundry room and a garage. I'm painting it how I want it and have slowly acquired curtains and a new couch and a patio set. I'm perfectly happy living in my 1100 square feet and I want to keep it that way. But I guess what I'm realizing is that it takes some work to not always want for something more.
It takes a little work to maintain what we already have so we aren't wasting money on more things to replace them.
It takes time to organize the constant flow of paperwork and holiday gifts and school supplies that have ways of reproducing in dark corners and creeping in on usable space to the point where it isn't being used anymore.
It takes discipline to realize that magazine subscriptions are mainly ending up in the trash and just because I can afford it doesn't mean I should buy it.
Living below our means means culling the desire to want more. The enjoyment seems found in the empty spaces between the accumulation. Like pockets of air you struggle to find.
Our stuff feels like an avalanche. I am trying to build a snow cave.
