Simple on Purpose: Myths About Simple Living

One of the things that scared me about simple living and minimalism at first was that it would mean huge sacrifice and feeling like I was lacking.  In case you have those same fears let me dispel some of the myths surrounding this lifestyle change for you.

Myth #1 You won't have what You need when You need it. 

The Truth:

First you need to discover the difference between needs and wants.  I get it!  We are creatures of comfort.  Sometimes a want feels like a serious need.  Do I want to have the perfect wool coat to wear with my little black dress to the once a year Christmas party I attend?  Absolutely!  But reality is I have a perfectly fine ski jacket and really my outer wear will only be seen briefly when I arrive and when I leave so I can be perfectly content with it and I only need one warm coat.

Second surely you won't purge anything you use on a regular basis.  If you are a smoothie nut... keep your blender and that specific long handled spoon that reaches all the way to the bottom of your blender to scrape out the delicious drips that linger down there. 

Third anything you don't have that you absolutely genuinely can't make do without can probably be picked up in a thrift store fairly easily.  In fact Tsh Oxenreider has a mind blowing post about using a thrift store as a storage unit it's quite brilliant.

Myth #2 You'll feel like you're lacking

The Truth:

I used to have an enormous wardrobe.  I mean spilling out of drawers, covering the floor, couldn't find a thing I wanted to wear because I couldn't find a thing anyway.  And every single item I owned was cheap.  I bought it because it was on clearance, or a screaming thrift store deal, or because someone else was eyeing it up at a garage sale so I had to have it!  It didn't matter that the shirt was high visibility yellow... it only cost $2!

Since I've moved on to a capsule wardrobe of 33 items or less I get to be much more intentional about my purchases and choose quality items that are better made and have a better fit.  I still buy the things I want on sale sometimes, but it's because I have waited for it to be on sale, not because I walked in to the store and it just happened to spot it on the clearance rack.  I'll write more about capsule wardrobes in another post.

Now that I love everything I wear I do not miss any of my old cheap outfits.  

Myth #3 You won't fit in with your friends anymore.

Thrift store shopping and yard sales are 2 of my favorite ways to spend time with friends, but what's the fun in that if you don't need to buy anything and you won't want to bring home a bunch of stuff to re-clutter your house?  Here are 2 ways I tackled this fear:

1. I still shop.  I love to wander around looking at other people's junk.  The difference is I have a purpose in mind.  For instance, at the moment I am on the hunt for a teapot.  I have recently started to enjoy drinking tea with my family and it would be a whole lot easier if I could just make 1 pot rather than brewing each individual cup.  So when I go out treasure hunting I have a specific treasure in mind.
2. We find other things to do... There are pubs and coffee shops to chat in.  I've taken in more than a few concerts and plays since I've started this minimalism gig.  And if you're really stuck for something to do there's always (gasp) physical exercise.  Go for a hike, take up kayaking, or join a class together. 

If you're worried that you won't be keeping up with trends in your group of pals... don't worry about it... good friends just won't care what you wear.  Well unless you break out the booty shorts and crop tops.  I say purge those.

What am I missing?  What fears are you holding you back from taking the plunge?  What questions do you have? 

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Simple on Purpose: My Story

I  had a messy bedroom my entire youth.  Oh sure every once in a while I would be inspired to clean up all of my crap... cramming it into drawers and my closet, only to see it all toss itself on the floor and pile itself up on every flat surface it could find within a couple of days.

Then I became an adult and I soon had an entire house to fill up with "treasures"  and junk.  I would buy clothes that I loved... for a little while.  If it was cheap and on sale, the chances that it would end up belonging to me increased at least 75%... if it was free it was definitely coming home with me.  I loved yard sales and thrift stores and would spend weekends on "thrift" shopping sprees.  Adding to the heaps of stuff I already owned.

Side note: I still love yard sales and thrift stores, but I approach them with much more intention than I used to.

Unfortunately all of these prize possessions started to create more havoc than pleasure.  My cluttered house was a heavy burden.  My attitude was crumby.  I was stressed out.  My stuff was making me a basket case.

Thrift Store Treasures...

It took me stepping back and realizing that nothing I had ever purchased was helping me be a better mom, a more loving wife or a kinder person.  Not a single knickknack, piece of clothing or gadget made me a better human being.  In fact my serial consumerism was even making me a worse citizen to the earth.  My consumption of  cheap goods meant that I was exploiting people who worked in abhorrent situations. Think sweatshops and slavery.  And my habits were also causing more landfill waste.

I needed to change.  And that's what I did.  Do I still have to stuff?  Yes.  Do I still love clothes and unique decor? You bet! Do I still have toys for my kids to play with?  Of course!  We are just more selective about the things we actually love, use and bring home. 

I want you to know that simplicity and minimalist living isn't something that I'm naturally good at.  It takes intentional choice and a considerable amount of forethought. My ideas of living simple on purpose is going to look different than your ideas, my hope is that we will inspire each other.

Dear friend if you are surrounded by heaps of stuff, if your house seems to be closing in on you, I want you to know that you are not alone. If you are feeling shameful of your current house situation, take a deep breath, if you want to change that you can. If you are overwhelmed by all of the activities and events on your calendar, you can create more white space and freedom.

Stick around and we will journey into a less complicated lifestyle  that is much more in line with our individual purposes, together.

photo credit: New at Rikki's Refuge Re-Tail 1/10/15 via photopin (license)

Introducing Simple on Purpose

Over the past few months I have been searching. Searching for ways to sculpt my life into something meaningful.  I want to say yes to the opportunities that line up with my life's purpose. Say no, with out regret, to the things that don't, and create deep relationships and fantastic memories along the way.

A big part of being able to live with more intention is to simplify.

Which is why I am super excited to be teaming up with the totally funny and completely fabulous Shawna over at Dovetail Blog to share some (or maybe all) of the ways we are living Simple on Purpose.

Now don't think we're being bossy and telling you how to run your life... That's not what we're about. We're about sharing stories and experiences and some tidbits that have worked for us. (If you're lucky we'll include some failures just so you don't start to think we're doing this simple living thing perfectly).

I'll be posting over here about books that have inspired my journey, practices we've adopted for keeping clutter at bay, ways I keep white space in my schedule, sharing my life mission statement and more...

So join Shawna and I on our journey to clear away the chaos (well you know not all of the the chaos,  we'll hold on to the chaos we gave birth to and named), breath deep and invite freedom in to our day to day intentional lives.  Keeping things simple on purpose.