Satisfaction and simplicity
In the last year, Brenton and I have moved twice. We were in a 2 bedroom apartment (with a garaged), and we decided to downsize to a 1 bedroom, 300 sq ft. hobbit hole. The decision came after realizing that we were spending about $300 for the luxury of having a bedroom and a garage used for junk storage.
During the move, we donated about a third of the stuff we owned. From what was left, about 1/3 went into storage because it was loved, but not stuff we needed daily. Of the stuff that we moved into our new little home, amazingly, we continued to declutter. We had a box to donate about once a month.
That living situation lasted 8 months, and we found out that we are expecting our first baby. The time had come for us to move back up to that 2 bedroom apartment. After we emptied the small apartment, the house was full. We had tripled our space, and the house was full before we even emptied the storage unit!
We settled in to the house by unpacking the necessities: Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. Everything else stayed in boxes and got put into the spare bedroom. I closed the door behind me and didn’t look back in for a month. With just the necessities unpacked, my house has never stayed clean so…effortlessly! I found myself dreading unpacking the spare room for fear of creating an explosion of chaos once again.
During that month, I slowly came to an incredible realization. I feel just so unAmerican saying it. I am so much more satisfied with my life–content–when I have less stuff to maintain and care for. Could the advertisers be wrong? Have I been sold a lie all of my life?
In my minimalist house, I found that:
- The house stayed clean with little effort
- I felt relaxed and at home
- Home wasn’t a place to avoid, rather it embraced me and inspired me to create
- Peace ruled this place
- There was “no place like home.”
Less stuff equals more satisfaction. I don’t think it’s just about less maintenance though. I think that ultimately, stuff can never make us happy. More stuff leads to craving even more stuff still, and those cravings push out space for the things that are really important in life.
I took that time to plant a vegetable garden and go to the farmers market on the weekends, and slowly begin to redefine my life. I’ve opened the door on the spare bedroom because I have a self-imposed deadline of August 27 (3 months before baby is due). As I unpack, nothing comes out of there unless I can find a home for it. We have dropped another box off for donations and posted a few things on freecycle. We took two big boxes of books to the library as donations and even threw away some college textbooks. I’ve started releasing projects that I don’t think I will ever really finish, and started thinking about which hobbies I really want to keep in this new life.
I feel like a tree going through pruning, so that my life can be more fruitful in this next season. I feel like I am breathign fresh air again.
Tags: Housekeeping
July 1st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
What a good idea and post. Get rid of all the excess. It’s a really hard thing to do though, unless you make yourself. We’ve lived in the same house for almost 30 years and, as you may know, more stuff just appears and accumulates over time. I’ve had a rule about clothes, that if I get something new, then I have to give away something. I need to have that rule about everything. But, even beyond that, start gathering things for our church bazaar. Lots of things.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I agree! And make sure you keep living the same principles as baby comes along. Many people think they need a lot of STUFF to keep baby happy. Nonsense. I have three kids and not a one of them has enjoyed “toys,” (yet they play quite creatively and happily). A stroller is a necessity but a closet-full of clothes is not. And as for big things like the exersaucer and all its cousins…they are handy but you will end up using them for a relatively short time. My recommendation there is to borrow, borrow, and borrow. Look for a mom with kids and she’d be glad to let YOU store it in YOUR house while you need it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 am
Claudia, I know about stuff accumulating over time. There must be some theory about wherever there is an empty space humans will buy something to fill it. I have done some garage sale shopping, and I have to be so careful to only buy the things I really want (as in have wanted for a while) or that I really do need.
Another interesting thing I have found is that the first few things to give away were really hard, but the more I give away, the easier it is to let the stuff go. Decluttering is kind of like exercising I guess.
SMM–I’ve actually forced myself to not read a lot of the parenting magazines because they are basically one advertisement for baby stuff after another. We have basically decided that (at least at first) we will make sure we have the actual necessities for a baby (crib/co-sleeper, car seat, etc) and then for toys and extras use what we get as gifts or borrow from someone else. I figure we will have better idea of what will really be useful (for the baby and for our lifestyle) after we have lived with the baby for a while.
My theory is that baby will be much happier, better developed, and better adjusted with parents who can love him/her and have time to interact rather than always maintaining stuff (baby and otherwise). Thanks so much for the reminder and affirmation that we are doing the right thing.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Sunny- I can relate to this- we moved from a 7 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom 9 years ago. Our kids were growing up and leaving home and we just could not justify buying a bigger home. We were a bit crowded for a couple of years but now there’s just one left to home and we have plenty of room for the three of us. Moving to such a much smaller house meant getting rid of a lot of stuff, but you know, I’ve never missed it. They say that if you haven’t used it in a year to get rid of it. For the most part, it’s pretty good advice. Thanks for stopping by the other day. I’ll still blog now and then, but I’ve given up feeling “obligated” to post everyday. It’s a hobby, or should be anyway- not a ball and chain. I’m actually enjoying my new found “freedom”!