Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread - Proverbs 30:8

Monday, June 16, 2014

Own The Title


There are many titles I would easily use to describe myself.

Mom. Wife. Violinist. Home-educator. Christian. Child Advocate.

And I might tell you I want to be a minimalist, but I would hesitate to own that title.

Lately I've realized that I need to start thinking of myself as a minimalist, despite my current location on the journey. By simply aspiring to be a minimalist, I'm giving myself excuses to not eliminate the clutter from my life.

All those other titles I mentioned above....I actively pursue each one on a regular basis and do something to nurture that area of my life.

So today I am owning the title minimalist.

Now...I'm off to do some decluttering.

10 comments:

  1. Hey Jill! I actually am a minimalist. Nothing calms me down like getting rid of stuff.
    Once, my brother looked in my closet and asked, "Where are your clothes."
    I said, "In the closet."
    He said, "No. I mean where are the REST of your clothes."
    I don't own many clothes. Minimalism is FUN!

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    1. Love it! About a year ago I moved my clothes out of the master bedroom walk in closet and decided to use the little one. My husband has way more stuff than me and I was feeling icky every time I went into the closet to get clothes. Now i have my own little space and it's great.

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  2. I am a minimalist! I will claim it alongside you! I didn't even realize this about myself until I started reading your blog. I've always hated clutter, longed for bare walls, clear table/counter tops, and empty closets. I LOVE to declutter and organize my stuff. The more I can get rid of the better!

    I just went to the Compassion Experience today and after seeing how others live in other countries I'm reminded how little we really need to be content.

    Here is to a summer of clearing out more space and giving to help others!

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    1. Isn't the Compassion Experience amazing? I saw it last year in Montana. I really want it to come to our area so my family can see it, but it keeps going around us.

      I love decluttering, but sometimes I just want to be done with it and stop thinking about it. I feel like I'm always needing to declutter.

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    2. The Compassion Experience was really amazing. I took my 3 and 6 year old and thought they'd only make it through one story but we did all three. I think it made an impact on them, I know it did on me.

      Its funny I often want to be done with it but then I get a secret thrill knowing there is another spot to tackle. :)

      My biggest trouble spot right now is my boy's toys. It feels like we have so many and I'm not sure what to keep and what to get rid of. Somehow we get rid of some and then more show up. It's hard when the items I want to declutter aren't "mine."

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    3. I used to put a bunch of toys in a rubber maid container and then put them in the garage. Sometimes we'd switch toys after a few months, and other times we'd just get rid of the bin.

      Your comment about wanting to declutter items that aren't yours is kinda the topic of an upcoming post : )

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  3. Interesting that this is your post today, just listened to a podcast from The Art of Simple on Freedom from Stuff (http://homefries.com/show/the-simple-mom-podcast/freedom-from-stuff/), it was a good one! This is one area where I need to intentionally do more to remove stuff from my life. Thank you for sharing this today.

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    1. Yes...I listened to that one last week - so good. Joshua Becker is a favorite blogger of mine. I think he was my first introduction to the idea of minimalism and I love that he gives a realistic example of how this can look for a family.

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  4. Love this. There are days I'd like to claim this title, too. But I think I am still so much in the "gotta get rid of stuff!" mindset, that I don't really feel the freedom of it yet. Slow and steady. :)

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  5. I agree completely. I was hesitant at first to call myself a minimalist also, because I always feel like I still have too much stuff. I have settled on the idea that minimalism is a sliding scale, with one end living out of a backpack and the other end simply trying to not have too much stuff. With that in mind I found it easier to call myself a minimalist.

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