Sunday, August 7, 2016

A Conversation on Living Simply


Today's post is going to be short because I want you to do most of the talking. I would love to hear your thoughts on simple living/ minimalism. So, grab a cup of coffee, or tea if you prefer, and pull up a chair, just two old friends chatting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.


Minimalism and living a simplified life look like different things to each of us. It can depend on where you live, what stage of life you are in, and your expectations. Do you embrace, or are you working towards, living a simple life? What does that look like to you? Urban homesteader, isolated cabin in the woods, mobile tiny house living?

In our fast paced, consumer driven culture minimalism can be very challenging. Especially when you have well meaning family and friends who do not embrace your lifestyle. Special occasions and holidays can be very tricky. How do you face those challenges? How do you avoid buying more stuff you don't need?

Leave your comments below, and I promise to respond to every one of you. If you have any questions regarding minimalism and simple living, I'd love to hear those as well.


8 comments:

  1. Another great post! To me living a simplified life is living close to nature with not too much stress. After spending most of my life sharing spaces and small studio apartments in crowed cities, I don't ever want to be confined into any small space! My hubby and I worked really hard to simplify our lives. To both of us it means having space - a large house with plenty of sunshine and minimum furniture. I have 2 pairs of hiking boots, a few pairs of pants and one pair of sandals...I don't give much weight to what other people think of my life-style. I am pretty darn happy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! It sounds like you have found your happy place. While I am overall happy where life has taken me, I still have a way to go. Eventually, I hope to live in a small house in the country and earn a living from this blog and my art/photography.

      Delete
  2. I love trying to redirect gifts in to gifting experiences. I run and like traveling so I try to have them give me giftcards that I can put towards experiences that make my life richer and does just clutter up my home. Excited to see what others have to say!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katherine, that's a great idea. I've tried to encourage people to give my son experiences over things, but that request is usually ignored and he ends up with toys he doesn't need. I haven't found a way around that yet. But he usually does not have a problem with getting rid of things he doesn't play with, unlike his older brother who tends to be a pack rat, lol.

      Delete
  3. I have been intrigued with the Tiny Houses series currently on HGTV. I would hope someday to be able to simplify to a tiny house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how tiny I want to go. As long as I have my son at home, I'm looking at probably 800 square feet. I don't think I can go smaller than that. I also want an outdoor living space and a bit of land in the country.

      Delete
  4. I've been heading towards a more simple life, but it's slow going. Having a houseful of sentimental family items plus just plain clutter is not that easy to plow through. While I'm doing that, however, I'm really trying not to continue in the same mode that got me here! I don't go shopping just for the sake of shopping, I keep meals fairly simple and encourage my children in their free play. We hope to move soon, and when we do, I'm leaving a lot behind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Resa, moving is an excellent time to down size and get rid of clutter. Regardless, it's not an overnight thing. I started purging the house four years ago when I became a single parent and I still feel like we have too much stuff. We are getting there. Like you said, it's slow going. Have you read the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up?

      Delete