Our Simplicity and Minimalism Journey
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Our journey towards simplicity began several years ago. If I think back and really try to remember, it began sometime during the work from home movement in early COVID. Newly married and with a baby on the way, we weren’t only working from home in a two bedroom townhome, we were prepping a nursery and beginning to sort through all of the items we brought with us from living as a single young professionals. It was chaos at times and we couldn’t take it anymore.
Fast forward a couple of years and we moved. This time, we had to pack everything into a storage unit so we could sell our house and then start the process of homebuying with cash in hand. Packing everything we owned, minus our everyday essentials, into a storage unit made us realize how little we actually need.
Eventually, the idea of simplifying what we own became a way of life for us. What has given minimalism or simplicity more priority in our lives is the why. When you understand the why behind something, it can last. Our hope is to help you see why this matters to us.
The first is our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus talks a lot about money and wealth during his ministry (Matthew 6:19-20; Mark 10:24-25; Luke 12:13-15; Mark 12:41-44). He also talks about the trappings of wealth and material possessions. To us, more money feels like less contentment and less self-control. It also gives us a false sense of pride in what we can do for ourselves. All this is from experience.
We're not saying we are all called to a simple, ascetic life with few frills, but we do think that the less we ask ourselves what we need, the more those things will have a part of our hearts.
The second reason was clutter and the time it took to clean or manage our possessions. While we might be attracted to the minimalist aesthetic in some areas, our primary goal for simplifying our stuff was the time it took to manage it all. With the help of many of the folks below, we began taking a look at our closets, our kitchens, keepsakes, and some of the more difficult hidden areas of clutter, and realized our stuff was stressing us out. You can often find a box sitting in our house ready to leave with items we no longer enjoy, need, or find value in. We thrive in a simple, organized environment. (Boy, has this been hard with little ones running around!)
The third reason has mostly to do with the financial aspect of simplicity. If you are taking things out of your houses or apartments, you will be more intentional and thoughtful about what you bring in. This means you will take a hard look at the purchases you make and often say not yet to items that you might only kinda need.
We're learning to let more things go. It's a hard journey. We're constantly asking ourselves what we can get by with and what we truly need to be content. The answer most days (when we're honest) is less than we have.
Here are a few of the people and resources that have made a huge impact on our lives:
The Minimalists
YouTube Creators
Books
The More of Less by Joshua Becker (Joshua Becker also has a website Becoming Minimalist)
The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker