(image via Upgrade Reality)
I’ve stumbled into some interesting territory this month. It’s a place called Rational Minimalism. If you were standing in our storage space amidst what seems like a thousand boxes of randomness, you probably would cock your head to one side like my Beagle. “This,” you might begin, “is quite the opposite of minimalism.”
And you’d be right.
Yet, I’ve been flirting with the idea of simplifying for awhile now through books & blogs. There was one blog in particular that spoke to me because the author sounded like a regular guy with the regular amount of stuff that a regular suburban family lives with. Joshua Becker wasn’t militant or preachy. Just realistic that it would be a slow process and that the process could really set you free. I read his book without stopping and made what could be a monumental decision in MPG Land.
I started small this week with the kidlets’ help, but the bags of clothes and paraphernalia began to grow and soon it looked like the back of the Grinch’s sleigh in my family room, literally blocking the window light. I could barely get the gear in the car for an intended Goodwill drop, yet somehow, like Mr. Green and Cranky, I “stuffed the tree up” and quickly closed the minivan trunk, sleeves of shirts hanging out and all.
Something significant happened as we reveled in the purging.
We felt lighter than we usually do when this routine begins.
Even Rach, my hold-on-to-every-piece-of-soccer-memorabilia tomboy, said it felt really, really satisfying. So, of course, you know what happened next. I became a whirling dervish of organizational progress and stopped when it got dark.
I’m a realist.
I know how hard it is to maintain and I’m aware that the slow-down rhythm of summer can prompt us to do strange and unfamiliar things, only to slide back down the slippery slope of unnecessary purchases and cabinet cramming. Yet something clicked in me this week. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I’ve been working on the Ameena Project party, our summer fundraiser for a Kenyan school of children who have less than nothing. The girls and I have been talking at length about what that must be like, admitting that we’ll probably never know. I’ve also been slowly putting pieces together to do a family mission trip with our church to Nicaragua to serve children who live in a dump. A dump. I can’t even wrap my brain around it. It scares me how much my kids (and me, for that matter) are wrapped in consumerism and that we always have something on our list we can’t live without. I’m starting to internalize something I’ve been kicking around for months, but wasn’t ready to put into action—living simply (rationally simple living, I’m not Super Woman!) could teach all of us who live in the Blair abode what is at the essence of this precious life we’ve been given together.
* * *
In the purging, how did this purchase end up in my hands?! I find this ironic and amusing in an annoying way that the arrow I paid for weeks ago was ready to be picked up today. Honestly, it’s so hard to pass up signs and big pieces for the abode. Gotta work on that.
Coming Friday: What an attempt at rational minimalism means for a design junkie, a hoarder of cowboy boots and glossies, and a user of far too many hair products (and it appears, large arrows).
OX.
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Thanks Lara. How true, how true. Our homes, lives, and our days (and hours) are filled with unimportant clutter. Sometimes it takes a huge slap-up-against-the-side-of-the-head to realize WHAT is really the important things.
oh- DEAR— and the correct use of “is” and “are” is important to me, as is proofing carefully before hitting “Post comment”— please know that I DO know the difference!
AMEN! Going through the same thing for the past year with our storage space and home. Let me tell you it is not easy, yet when you get on a roll it is amazing how much easier it is to decide what is really important and what is not. I changed my way of thinking after we got lost in Mexico a few years back….where we ended up, people lived in cinder block “houses” with sheets of corrugated plastic roof tops or old folding metal garage doors for the same purpose. Spending time on experiences and family time and traveling have become way more fulfilling than what I was looking for in that shopping bag….However, I do struggle with being an artistic minded person, you want to hold on to a lot of stuff for “projects”…we see use in things a lot of people go WHA? to. Just have to keep that little art supply hoarder in check
Thanks for the link to the book, I definitely have needed a read with purpose, maybe this is what I’m looking for!
I’m one year into purging my home of everything that is not “beautiful or useful.” My new husband helped save me from official hoarder status AND moving into a new home helped. I look forward to Friday’s post as I’m reluctant to purge my “really cool finds” I found through junkin’ and just might use one day. I did let most of my vintage cowboy boot and tooled leather handbag collection go – sold them or found them a good home – AND I didn’t die. ; )
Oh, love this. I’m always up for a good closet cleaning, but I need to be even more thoughtful and relentless of just letting go of all that stuff I tend to accumulate. I’m probably the most guilty one in the house.
I read about Joshua Becker via Ali Edwards a few years ago and also Leo Babauta, have you heard of him? He had an ebook The Simple Guide to Minimalist Life. At the time, and now, I am interested in the concept of being more a minimalist, it’s in my thoughts, but I have yet to take action or practice it in the everyday.
Your post here is a great reminder. Thanks my friend. xoxo
First of all, I lOVE the new look of the blog. Good job
Secondly, I was floored when I walked into my house after being gone for so long. HOW did this place get so full with stuff jammed into all corners and cabinets? I think I got so used to living amongst the clutter that I began to not notice it. It actually took a prompt from my hubby to take a hard look around. I definately have some work to do. Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll check it out. I clearly think I’ll need some help considering the last time I tried to purge I ended up in tears over giving away some things that really didn’t matter. Wish me luck!! xoxo always
Hi Lara,
Enjoyed your writing. And thanks for linking me in your post