Minimalistic Vs Realistic

Ok, so if you haven’t seen this word minimalism going around it’s out there…WATCH OUT! You want to hear something funny? I had never heard of documentary, “Minimalism”, until several weeks after God had given me the word LESS for 2017. Honestly I had no idea why this word “less” was pressing on my heart. My first thoughts were less busyness and more white space in my day/planner. But after watching the movie (which ya’ll should watch) I also knew that I need to declutter the physical things in my life as well. Less clothes. Less furniture. Less appliances. Less stuff all together. However, I didn’t want to go “cray-cray” and have a home that looked like this:

Don’t get me wrong I love the white clean look, but I love a home that feels lived in and cozy. I love how in the movie, Minimalism they said that it’s not about less stuff…”Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.” How biblical is this definition? Getting rid of the things of the world that so easily entangle you is very very biblical (Hebrew 12:1). When things start to steal your JOY you just have to throw them out (ok not everything, but you get the point). But that sounds way easier than it actually is.

Moving has been so great for us to see what we truly need and what we could live without. We got rid of so much when we moved, but not enough. I feel like there are still so many things to get rid of, but we do actually use them on occasion. I also really want our home to be warm and inviting… Oh the balance of it all. For sure I still need to toss out a ton more toys, clothes, and books that we really don’t need. However I get so overwhelmed sometimes, I even tell Matt to just start chucking things and not to tell me. I have actually been tempted to throw out unopened boxes, because obviously if I haven’t open them in over 6 months than I don’t need it.  I am always afraid there may be something sentimental in there that I would be sad to have lost it.

Speaking of sentimental, my wedding ring got stolen this summer… sad sad day! It was in my gym bag and my gym bag had gotten stolen out of my car. Serves me right for having a cute purse like gym bag. I cried for a bit, but was thankful that it was insured.  We haven’t replaced it and I am ok with that. I know when the timing is right I will get a new one. It was the one thing I never wanted to lose, but I am realizing now that things are just things. We can’t take them when we die. The most important things are relationships and people!

Alright, so how do we do this whole minimalism thing and still have a welcoming home with children’s things? I don’t know the answer to that. I wish I did! However, I do know this, I am looking at things in a whole new light. I am thinking more about QUALITY vs. QUANTITY and evaluating the joy that certain things bring me/us. I believe fasting from TARGET for a year truly helped me start this way of thinking. Yep, you read that right, I didn’t go to Target once in 2016 and honestly, I have only gone twice this year. But if it’s not Target, it’s something else.

I will wrap this post up with this wonderful quote from the movie, “By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we’ve finally been able to find lasting happiness—and that’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? We all want to be happy. Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it’s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life.”  

Question: Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts?