Minimalism and my Journey Towards It

Josh quietly chuckles to himself on the settee, I don't have to ask what he's laughing to himself about because I already know. Another purchase from Amazon has come up on his Kindle account and it's a book called, Hands Free Mama. You and your self help books, more laughter, and I laugh alongside him because it is kind of funny. It began with a mindfulness and meditation class, progressed to a Happiness book, and then began venturing out towards blogs about parenting, blogs about happiness, and blogs with yummy recipes. I told Josh that I'm just furthering myself in my career, my career now being a mother to Cyril and perhaps one or two little munchkins in the future. Hands Free Mama was a recommendation from another blog I follow called, Aha Parenting. Having been a teacher I know the detrimental effects of constantly yelling and talking down at children so Aha Parenting comes up with appropriate ways to handle difficult situations that come along whilst parenting. Another book I know I'll love once Cyril gets old enough to understand is called, How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk.

Hands Free Mama is about putting away technology and focusing on what really matters, the human beings in your life sitting 3 feet away from you. It's not telling you to get rid of your iPad, cell phone, TV, computer, etc. It merely suggests ways to decrease your use of technology and you can adapt to meet your lifestyle. For me that means no computer or cell phone from when Josh walks through the door until Cyril's bedtime. It also means that first thing in the morning I leave my phone on airplane mode, plugged in upstairs until Cyril has his morning nap. I no longer take my phone with me on walks, and if it's downstairs and I hear a text message or email come through I only check it once an hour. This clearly would not work for everyone as I'm a stay at home mom and my job does not depend on communicating with anyone apart from Cyril and Josh. Which is why I started to view my technology use as excessive. I don't really receive any emails that are so important they can't wait 24 hours or even 72 for that matter! My decision to use less technology was justified when I was crawling after Cyril on the floor laughing and he walked over and put his arms around my neck and gave me a big hug, that mattered more to me then any email or Facebook post could have.

Another blog I follow is called the Minimalist Baker. I'm obsessed with their recipes because they use 5-10 ingredients and are very quick and easy to make which is a win win when you have a hungry toddler. The other day I had some spare time and was curious about the people who write this blog and then a lightbulb went off, they're minimalists. Which led me to do research on minimalism and what it means to be a minimalist. The title pretty much says it all but I love to read articles and do research, probably a result of endless studying until I was 21. I am now obsessed with this whole concept of minimalism and have realised that my brother Matthew and his wife Ami are minimalists, well at least I think they are.

Anyway, I have decided to strive towards a life of minimalism, I think I freaked Josh out a bit when I asked him if we could sell the TV. As most of you know I get a little obsessive about new hobbies and passions and ideas, I'm pretty sure he thought when he got home from work the house would be empty. However, minimalism has to work within your family and it will look different in every home. I'm not about to get rid of my family photos that are littering the walls because they make me happy every time I look at them. However, that closet full of clothes I hardly ever wear is now piled high in the back of my car and will be dropped off at a charity shop this morning. Books that have never been opened, donated. Magazines that have been read or will never be read, in the recycling bin. I could go on about the benefits of minimalism but if you're interested there's already an amazing website about it which is where I started called, The Minimalists.

For the month of May I've started a game and you're welcome to join me on this journey. On May 1st, I must sell, donate or trash one item, on the 2nd I get rid of 2 and so on until at the end of the month I have to get rid of 31 items. This would have been easy for me but yesterday I think I got rid of 200+ things so now I'm going to really see the benefit of owning less as the month progresses and letting go of things that really are unnecessary. I'm ready to boycott consumerism, tackle debt, and experience the freedom that comes from owning less.

What really mattes in life is sitting right in front of me, dirty knees muddy paws and all, plus Josh of course :)