My best friend and I have always been obsessed with blogs. We were always starting a new one for some project we wanted to do or to keep up with a log on our lives. Since we always started a blog without ever keeping it up or finishing the project, I was a little hesitant on rather I actually wanted to document my minimalism journey or if I just simply wanted to get rid of clutter and be done with it; to simply live without telling the internet
I had just finished reading Joshua Becker’s blog from start to finish. I read it during my internship when I was bored. It was April 2014. I watched as Joshua grew not only as a minimalist but as a writer. He went from poor capitalization and punctuation to quitting his full-time job just to write. I was inspired. Not only to get rid of my things but to document my journey. So, in between looking over my shoulder to see if someone was looking, I quietly set up my blog. Another blog that I would not keep up for two months. I didn’t put any expectations into it. I, after all, have come to realize that what I loved about these blogs/websites that I have set up over the years and abandoned was the process of setting it up. I loved making new websites. That’s my profession. I’ve been making websites since 2007. I just loved setting it up, making it look nice and letting it go. Okay, the last part always filled me with regret.
I hated letting go. And, that’s why I needed minimalism in my life so badly. ( tweet this )
Now, it’s been two years. And, my life is in such a different place. I can’t believe almost all my stuff is gone. Besides my grandmother, I used to have the most stuff in the house. Whenever we moved, my boxes would be hogging up space in the U-Haul. Now? When I move again, I won’t even need a box. All my items fit into my chest, two book-bags and four baskets. It’s amazing to think about all the unused stuff I was hoarding.
My mind is now clearer and my shoulders feel lighter. Having a lot of things does put a toll on you. I was forever worried about other people touching my things even though I haven’t touched it in years. I was worried about losing, breaking and misplacing things I shouldn’t have cared about.
It was horrible. I thank Joshua Becker. Thank you, Joshua.
Starting this blog was fun. It gave me an entertaining activity to do while I was doing a boring task. Going through things is not fun. It’s hard. Why should I get rid of gently used items? They’re in good shape! I could totally use that one day!
No. I would never use those items.
I started this blog documenting my journey. I did a few posts here and there in the beginning. Then I really got into it. I started a challenge for myself last year and documented that. I have a new challenge this year that I will be documenting. But, I also started incorporating something else. I’ve struggled for years to maintain several different blogs on several different topics. I had a blog on being healthy, one on being green and environmentally friendly and one on getting out of debt.
I realized that they all came together. They all interacted with each other. By being a minimalist, I am saving money, being healthy and being green at the same time. I could do all these things because of minimalism. So, my blog has transformed. Not only is it about getting rid of stuff, it’s about how it is affecting other areas of my life.
Welcome to my blog, my journey. I’m glad I’m here.