I have been wanting to update this blog for a few days now, but family life, work and school all take up quite a lot of my free time. I am beginning to make progress though, and plan to dedicate more time to telling my story this year.
I want to start off today's post by explaining firstly that I am a Minimalist, and my next few blog posts with focus on my personal connection with 'things and stuff.' Mostly in relation to material items that I have had in my home, or still use daily.
The definition of minimalism is quite extensive as it means very different things to people. I actually was unaware of the label that can be applied to this type of living until 2017. It just happens to be that over the years my husband and I have maintained this lifestyle, and now realise we are part of a growing movement with many other people who also actively choose live this way. One core element of minimalism is a process called decluttering where time is taken to step back and explore all the material possessions that are in the home, and in many cases - donate, sell or dispose of things that no longer add value or purpose to everyday life.
Some people have make it a game and challenged themselves to get rid of things. Others have been forced to address and deal with other peoples possessions after sudden death and loss of a loved one. Divorce, relocation for work, or being simply tired of constant cleaning can also be triggers for stepping back and saying enough is enough! I could list hundreds of reasons for why people begin this journey, for us as a growing family with small children moving home, it made sense to do this each time we relocated. Each time we reassessed all the things that we owned, and said goodbye to items we longer needed - making sure to recycle and donate where possible.
We moved house three times between 2008 and 2016, the last move being cross county, so by then - we had stripped our 'stuff' back to what we thought at the time were core essentials.
For me personally then (and these views are my own) these are my core values and something I try to strictly maintain as a minimalist.
- All things in our home have to have a purpose or use, otherwise I question why they are there.
- I take pride in simple living, reducing clutter making for an easier stress free life.
- I try not to consume or use more than our family needs - strictly living within our means.
- I do not judge people by the things they own, I find that to be very superficial, instead I examine people on how they act around me and towards my family.
- Time spent together as a family is the most valuable commodity of all, you can buy almost anything but you can't put a price on time. So with everything I do - from cleaning, decorating to shopping I ask myself first ' How will this impact my family - and will this add value to our lives?'
Now this next part is where you will begin to see the complexity of my lifestyle kick in.. in regards to the fact that I also try to maintain a frugal lifestyle as much as I can. Often this leads to bulk buying of goods to save us money long term on essentials that we as a family will use, but that means an influx of 'stuff' into a home which I am trying to constantly empty.
My frugal choices are quite often associated with old style money saving - things our parents and grandparents did to cut the costs of living expenses.
- I never waste food - cooking and purchasing only what we will eat. I am really hardcore when it comes to the weekly shop and have meal planned in the past.
- I try to mend, make do and repair everything - if we can do it ourselves, we will. We live in a world where so many people just throw away clothes because they have a small tear or rip, leading to over consumption and wastefulness.
- I donate to charity a lot and admit that I am a huge fan of thrift purchasing, In 2018 I began my own personal transition of only buying clothing from charity shops. For 2019 onward I have maintained this and will never again purchase clothes from current retailer due to the sheer amount of amazing quality clothing that is out there to be loved. Many of the items I buy second hand come with the original clothing labels and price tags still attached! I would love to maybe work out just how much money I actually save by doing this, but the savings I make isn't the only driving factor. I love the idea that I am getting joy out of something someone else didn't want anymore. I hope that my donations resonate that to others out there too!
- I am like a warhorse when it comes to personal finances, and this is not a joke.
I know where every single penny is spent - and so does my husband. We have regular sessions where we sit and look over our data - and I have around 8 spreadsheets I maintain simultaneously which I love to monitor and feedback information on monthly. In addition to that for fun, I used to keep paper journal spending diaries before reducing that paper clutter down and digitising that content too. I log every thing we spend - and often spend quite a long time considering purchases before we actually make them, to see how they will add value to our lives. - I coupon and comp.. which in short means I use money off coupons and enter a lot of competitions as a hobby. Over the years I have saved hundreds of pounds by using cashback sites, discount codes off large item purchases - and have won super prizes which we have used, enjoyed or gifted to friends and family. (I will discuss this in greater depth at a later date)
- I recycle as much as I can, being resourceful at turning waste into something useful.
- I do not like buying gifts for other people and hate having gifts bought for me. So I no longer give gifts to friends and actively ask for them to not gift things to me. I would rather spend time with them than buy stuff they wont need, want or use. This is a complex mix of minimalism and frugal living - and there are a few individuals in my life who have an issue with this. Some may think I am cheap for living this way and feel that out of obligation we should want to give gifts. I have come to completely reject this notion and really hate its social construction by marketing companies. In the past, I used to care what others thought of me in light of this, and it has caused considerable heartache when I began this transition. I had a family party cancelled one year because 'there was no point of having a party if there was to be no gift trading' which was simply awful. Not a single recognition for the fact that the children and adults may actually want to spend time together to celebrate and have fun. So.. as each month goes on, I feel more confident in my decision to stop gift giving - and I often remind myself why I am doing it. That is because - I want to spend our money on my family to add value to their lives. My friends being around me - add value with their presence.. not their presents!
Outlining some of the core values I hold has been refreshing, and a good reminder of who I am.
These are not the kinds of things you really tell people, and as much as they know you as an acquaintance or a friend, they never know the personal intricacies of your life. Now you know a little more about me.
My next few posts will really be exploring my personal connections to things, which I am going to label as 'stuff.' Our lives are shaped by the material goods around us, and I will be reflecting on the things that I love, use and need.
Love and luck.
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