Our story begins like many others who have discovered a life of simplicity... frazzled, overwhelmed, distracted, disconnected, and recognizing that things have to change soon. I can't say that the feeling happened in an instant. We never had "that moment" or an epiphany of sorts. For us, it is the final realization that our life (and home) have become an unmanageable mess over the last 11 years. I constantly de-clutter and organize our home, but it still often feels out of control.
We have 4 kids and there will likely, by default, be more "stuff" in our house than in homes of smaller families, but sometimes it is more than I feel I can possibly manage. I am a pretty organized person, and have daily cleaning schedules, but we still have dishes strewn all over the counter. I have a laundry schedule, and do at least one load per day, and still manage to run out of clean clothes for the kids at times. We have unopened (and opened) mail cluttering the counters, and children's artwork in piles all around the house. The paper clutter is taking over my counters and my time. We are often running late because we go to bed too late and can't seem to wake up at a decent hour in order to get ready to walk out the door at the right time. In an effort to avoid being late I find myself pushing my kids to get ready faster and I can see it on their faces and hear it in their voices that they feel rushed and anxious because of my scheduling. I currently need to lose weight in order to be healthy, and I know that my problems are exaggerated by the fact that we have made our schedules so busy that we have virtually no choice but to grab fast food on our way to the next thing on the "to do" list. We sometimes lose or forget to do important things in the overall mess of the way we are currently doing things. Things HAVE to change!
It is January 2nd. This is the time of year when we all make a conscious decision to make changes; to do more (or better) things to improve our lives; to be intentional about what we want to accomplish in the next 365 days. So here we are at the beginning of this year resolving to become minimalists; To OWN LESS so that we can LIVE MORE; to limiting possessions, clutter, busyness, and distractions, and eliminating debt.
Our culture teaches us to live in a constant state of discontentment, but we are committing this year to live counter-culturally; with just enough!
Philippians 4:12-13 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether we'll fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength."
*Follow us on our journey. I will be doing posts on simplifying and organizing specific areas of our home (hopefully with before and after pictures), as well as tips and tricks that I learn along the way.
