It seems there is a booming trend when it comes to "learning to live with less" - which is hard for a girl whose motto is "more is more". I think I need the Secrets of Simplicity pictured above. But then I'd have one more book.
However, merging my lifestyle with Jeremy's has made me a much tidier person. And Liz is a good influence - she's constantly purging her home of things.
A tip my sister told me the other day was to take a photo of something I'm having a hard time getting rid of. That way I can look at the photo and appreciate and love my things without having them take up any space.
Do you have any tips, advice, practical applications or good resources for living simply?
It is totally basic, but these days I tell myself I can only buy myself a new Thing if I get rid of at least one Thing I already own that is equivalent. I quickly learned that this technique can cut down a shoe addiction in no time if you stick to your guns about it.
ReplyDeleteMegan - this is a great tip. I actually bought 100 wood hangers from IKEA and kept my favorite 100 items of clothing. I figured if I have more than 100 it's just excess. This forces me to get rid of something when I add to my collection of clothes with something new.
ReplyDeleteI know you're on a "quality, not quantity" trip right now (which is awesome), and I think that's what I do, it just manifests itself differently.
ReplyDeleteI purge often because ideally, I would only be surrounded with things I love. And owning things I don't love makes no sense, and detracts from the value of the things I DO love.
Also, a cluttered house (and desk... you know me) makes my brain cluttered.
People cite this quote all the time, but it's relevant:
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”.
-William Morris
You can't go wrong with that.
(I need this book. I will now research it. I find reading about living simply or people who do to be extremely calming and almost as good as doing it itself. Books are one thing I think you can't have too many of. They make you look so smart!)
Give me all your clothes :)
ReplyDeleteI am a compulsive purger. My boyfriend is constantly on the verge of losing since I make him throw so much stuff out, but otherwise there'd be no room for the both of us in my apartment! As for living simply, I think you just need to take a set amount of cash out of the ATM each week and pay for nothing with credit cards...then you are forced onto a budget. It works wonders!
ReplyDeleteTo simplify things, every few months I go through my apartment and get rid of things I hardly use (if ever)to donate them to charity. For a few hours I get completely selfless & think about those less fortunate than I and how they can use what I'm giving up and how they'll appreciate it way more than I do (since I hardy use whatever the item is. I never even bother to take the receipt for tax purposes because I get so gung-ho. I tend to regret this part come the 1st of the new year ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's so weird that you just posted this, because this was our year to live simply. Every weekend we sit and talk about changes we will make for the week and how we will simplify our lives. I'm going at it one room at a time -I started in the bedroom and got rid of probably a third of my wardrobe. I got rid of every repeat offender, like the 3rd and fourth pair of dark boot cut jeans I didn't really wear, and the 5th and 6th plain white tshirt when I only favor 2. My new rule is that if one things comes in, two go out. This way I won't buy new clothes because I hate getting rid of what I have! Our office was next, I got rid of EVERYTHING in here. What made it through got put into baskets, and all our pens, scissors, tape and such got put in one of those spinning holders that has a place for everything. We have drawers for certain paperwork, craft supplies, etc. Our linen closet is next -I'm donating every single towel we have to salvation army and buying two sets of all white towels so I can bleach them when they're dirty. I switched our sheets to only white (same reason) and I'm no longer allowing myself to be the girl with 50 sets of towels and dishes and sheets that never go together. When I move onto the kitchen, all the mismatched dishes will go. Basically I'm just doing things like that throughout the whole house. I even changed our diet...I don't buy things like soup anymore when I can buy simple ingredients and make my own. It has a lot less sodium, and I can see every ingredient that goes in, no secrets. My theory is that the less we have, the easier it is to keep clean, the cheaper it is to live, the healthier you are, and the better your quality of life will be in general because you don't focus so much on STUFF. Michael calls it all static...and until he said that the other night I hadn't fully realized what all the junk and clutter we keep in our lives really does -it's just static drowning out the things that do matter. Good luck along the way!! I'm gathering some pictures then I'm going to make a couple posts about the rooms I've done and my plans to simplify things.
ReplyDeleteAura - I love that he calls it "static" - what a great word for all of it. When Jeremy and I both made the transition from Norman to OKC we got rid of a LOT of stuff - but I think we can go further and get completely organized.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with what you're saying about food. Over the past year I've definitely cut out a TON of processed food and have been eating a lot more simple foods. Instead of counting calories I count ingredients. More than 3 or 4 and I don't buy it. I would eventually like to start our own veggie garden and eat the food we've planted ourselves.
I can't wait to see your posts about it. I think it's such a great way to live.
Liz - The books J & I buy you just make you look like a 13 year old girl. Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteI do love that quote. I'm going to learn it, love it and live it.
I love vampiiiire.
ReplyDelete