Spring Cleaning

I spent some time decluttering this week and am happy with the results. My latest efforts were inspired by this book (borrowed from the library).

One of "Konmari's" central ideas is to only keep the items that spark joy. I said this in a tongue-and-cheek way to John when I started reading the book. It sparked his curiosity, so he also read the book. She recommends that you start by decluttering your closet, and John donated many extra clothing items.

While Alex was a day camp during his spring break, I found the time to tackle my clothes. I have been decluttering my closet as we've moved, but this was my easiest session. The ideas in the book really helped me let go of items that no longer fit, items that are worn out, and items that just did not spark joy. My side of the closet is pictured below (for now my swimsuit is hanging.) I also have 3 drawers in our dresser. I currently like all of the clothes in my closet, which was not the case in the past. My shoes are on a hanging divider and my bags are nested in the bottom of the closet.

A lesson from The Minimalists also helped me purge my closet. They write about how many items that we own can be replaced for under $20 and in less that 20 minutes. I confirmed this with a pair of jeans. I donated a pair of jeans last fall before we moved because they were too small. After changing my eating habits this winter, I bet they would finally fit again. I was able to find a similar pair of Levi's jeans in a lighter color at Goodwill for $8. Now I don't regret giving away my smaller jeans, and I donated my jeans that are too big. There are also online sources for used, name-brand clothes such as thredUp and Twice. My first order is on it's way from thredUp with a shirt for me and shorts for Alex.

I am going slightly out of order from Marie's recommendation in the book, but I wanted to declutter my craft supplies this week. I was able to sell some stamp sets online, recycle some scraps, and start my donation pile. Here are items ready to ship out to new homes. My pattern paper and card stock stash are finally contained.

It has been both a productive and relaxing week. How is your spring going?

Simplicity Links

I have not blogged about simplicity or minimalism lately, so I thought that it was time to share some links. Blogs, podcasts, and even a Facebook group helps me stay focused on simplifying our lives.

I am working through a career transition and Tammy Strobel's answer to my recent question gave me some helpful perspective. You can read her post about rethinking work on Rowdy Kittens.

I enjoyed reading Courtney Carver's discussion on the difference between simplicity and minimalism at Be More with Less.

I am happy to hear that one of my favorite podcasts about simple living will continue to have new episodes. I can relate to so many episodes of Simple Life Together.

I am working to cut back on some memorabilia and get our printed photos into a Project Life album. I've had all of the supplies for a while now, so it is time to use them! I love that I can move around the pages in my scrapbooks. I started with some photos of a trip to visit family in 2010.

First Week of School

My Facebook and Instagram feeds are showing lots of fun back-to-school photos, and the first week of school has come and gone for us.

Alex started kindergarten on Monday, August 18th. We live a short walk from the elementary school, which is a great perk of our current location. Our drop off time is late morning since our district has not moved to a full-day kindergarten. I was not too nervous until it was time to walk to school. I quickly snapped some pictures as Alex lined up and did not get too emotional when it was time for him to go. I was doing well until I walked away from the school and choked up. Now what? It was a LONG four hours as I waited to pick him up.

Of course, Alex did great and is enjoying school. He told me about lunch, recess, and the special toys reserved for Fridays if you do all of your homework. He enjoyed making puppets at school and performed his own puppet shows at home. We are slowly getting into a routine, and his school day goes by faster for me now.

After my big change in employment, I wondered how fast we would see changes in our lives. We are slowly working on decluttering around the house. I do not have an exercise routine yet, but I do ride my bike more. It is easier to keep up with housework, and Alex has started making his bed. I know that change and new habits take time, but there is one big change around here that is already helping our family. Our mornings are less rushed and more enjoyable. I no longer push the snooze button (multiple times) on an alarm clock. We are not all watching the time and rushing our the door. John actually gets to leave earlier for work while Alex and I have extra time to get ready for the day. This is a really nice change for us!

I hope that everyone is having a good start to the new school year!

Occupation: Mom

Alex starts kindergarten tomorrow. We met his teacher on Friday, and then I started to fill out some forms. Normally this would have been a mundane task, but there has been a big change around here. A simple line on a form got me thinking.

Occupation___________

I was easy to fill in my husband's occupation on the form for Alex's teacher, but I left mine blank. My last day at work was July 31. I quit my job.

It was a decision that was brewing over the summer. I was dragging my feet to sign up Alex for the before and after school program even though we had a good visit. I wanted to pick him up from school. Not at 5:00 PM or later but when the school bell rang. I wanted to walk him to and from school. I wanted to pack his lunches instead of automatically signing up for the easier option to buy them. I wanted to be able to volunteer at school or go on a class field trip. I wanted him to do after school activities. I wanted us all to be less hurried and less stressed.

Our kindergarten is only a half day, but Alex has been putting in full days since he was 3 months old. My work schedule did not mesh easily with the school schedule. My husband's spread sheets gave us an accurate view of our finances, and our interests in minimalism and mustachianism certainly have helped. The door seemed to be opening, and I just needed the courage to walk through it.

The events unfolded in a surreal manner. I needed to meet with my boss for my annual review, so I went in with a letter of resignation. I gave three weeks notice and finished up my ninth summer of freshman orientation as an academic advisor. I wrapped up my last day, and then we got on a plane the next morning to visit family in Indiana and Ohio.

We returned a week before Alex's first day of kindergarten, and I savored this little bit of summer.

We spent a lot of time at parks: playing in the water, running around, Alex climbing, and even grilling out for dinner.

Now the blank of that form seems less intimidating after some thought. I will fill in my occupation as "Mom" and see what else comes along in the future. I've been a mom for the past five years, so I think that I can handle the job.

Packing Light

I have been neglecting my blog a bit, so it is time to catch up. I will start with a quick post about our recent trip to visit family in Indiana and Ohio. We only used carry-on luggage for this 10 day trip. We were staying with family, so we had access to washers and dryers. The grandparents also had books and toys to entertain the 5-year-old. In addition, we borrowed some clothes to wear to a wedding. (Thank you Mom and Dad!)

Still, it was not easy to pack in just backpacks and my tote bag. I read some helpful posts online to get started:

The Art of Simple Travel

The Minimalists

Be More with Less

I did manage to squeeze in a few craft supplies to make a card for my cousin on the trip. (I may have strategically sent my mom a paper trimmer to help with this...) I packed precut card stock, 2 ink pads, a few stamps with an acrylic block, twine and a glue stick.

The real challenge will be only using carry-on luggage for winter travel. Challenge accepted! Do you have any packing tips to share?

Thanks for Sharing

Last week I went to hear The Minimalist speak at a local Barnes & Noble. We sat front and center since the other seats were "Reserved." I had heard of The Minimalists before 2014, probably because they were two guys from my hometown with a growing blog. I had also heard of some other minimalists bloggers (Courtney Carver, Joshua Becker, and Leo Babauta), but I did not begin to regularly follow them until the beginning of this year.

I think that a turning point for me literally was January 1. We had a very long travel day from Dayton, Ohio to San Francisco. We were rerouted due to snow in Chicago (shocking!), so I wanted a book to read. I chose You Can Buy Happiness (And It's Cheap) by Tammy Strobel. I think that the title spoke to me.

My journey towards simplicity and minimalism kicked off as we returned from our holiday travels. I started regularly reading some minimalism blogs and read two books by The Minimalists. I enjoyed them both, and Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life really resonated with me.

At the beginning of February I got our free tickets for The Minimalists Tour. At that time, the event seemed far in the future, but now it has come and gone. At the end, they sign books and give hugs. My friend had her new book signed, and we got a group picture. In briefly meeting Joshua and Ryan, I said, "Thanks for sharing." At first it sounded silly, but I realized that it expressed my gratitude for those who share their imperfect journeys with the world.

A few months into 2014, I can see the focus on simplicity and minimalism starting to have a positive influence on my life. I am more willing to part with extra stuff and clutter. I am focusing on my priorities, goals, and living a meaningful life. I know that I still have a ways to go on this journey.

A Small Cottage & One Car?

When I think about minimalism, I think of Tammy Strobel's tiny house, which share shares with her husband and cats.

I think of The Minimalists and pictures of this apartment.

Also many words come to mind: simplify, freedom, security, clutter-free, less stress, more time

I've found a podcast about simple living that I really enjoy called Simple Life Together. They even read one of my comments towards the end of episode 57. I wonder if we could eventually live in a small cottage like the ones designed by the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Could we live in 557-884 square feet? John and I shared a car for the first three years of our marriage, and I wonder if we could do it again in the future.

For now, I take little steps. This photo is from some recent kitchen cleaning and decluttering. Somehow I usually make a big mess to get things cleaned and organized. Why did we have so many spatulas?! (I recently donated four bags of clothes and household items, and we now only own a couple of spatulas.)

Another Blog Post About Minimalism

Based on our reading referenced in my last blog post, John and I started taking steps towards saving more money and simplifying our lives. One step was to limit our eating out. We packed more lunches and cooked at home more often. For John, his packed lunches involved keeping bread, peanut butter and jelly at his office. He can get free apples at work to add to his lunch. He does still go out to lunch about once a week with his teammates.

For me, I realized that I enjoy cooking at home when I make time for it. My packed lunches include leftovers, salads and sandwiches. Overall, I go for variety. We had a few family meals out in January, and we enjoyed them more. Now they are a treat. We enjoyed one dinner at our favorite local pizza place, Cicero's and eating at Burma Superstar in Oakland for the first time while visiting John's brother.

We also stopped all spending on our credit cards, especially the reoccurring payments. Even though we do not carry a balance on them, it is too easy for charges to creep up on credit cards. You forget about all of those little charges until you go to pay the bill. When February 1st rolled around, we did not have balances on our credit cards. We had two less bills to pay and that simplified our lives.

We took some positive steps in January and will continue to work on our spending this month. We live in an expensive part of the country and that will be part of our journey towards minimalism. Since this is my second post about minimalism, this is starting to become a blog series. I will label all of these posts under Minimalism. Thanks for reading, and please share your money saving tips in the comments.

Defining Minimalism

I have been reading some frugal blogs on and off for years. I've had random thoughts about saving money, living with less, and happiness floating around my head for years. Last week I read a blog post that really resonated with me: http://www.theminimalists.com/pitch/

Here is my favorite part: "Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By clearing the clutter from life’s path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

There are many flavors of minimalism: a 20-year-old single guy’s minimalist lifestyle looks different from a 45-year-old mother’s minimalist life. Even though everyone embraces minimalism differently, each path leads to the same place: a life with more time, more money, and more freedom to live a more meaningful life." -The Minimalists (who also happen to be from Dayton, Ohio)

We downsized two years ago to move to the Bay Area of California. It was for practical reasons since we expected to have a smaller apartment or house here. We live with about 600 less square feet and are debt free. We sold our house in Texas and do not plan to buy in the crazy Bay Area market.

Now I am digging deeper and reading more about simply living and minimalism. I really dove in to some reading on January 1st. We had a really long travel day after being rerouted to miss the snow in Chicago, and I needed a new book to read. I started with Tammy Strobel's book, You You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too. I read most of the book in one day and loved it.

Around this same time, my husband started reading a blog called Mr. Money Mustache. To put it in terms that my son would relate to, he is a money and retirement superhero.

There are so many resources and ideas out there, especially in the age of blogs and e-books. Any favorite frugal, simple living and minimalism books or websites to share? I think that I am just scratching the surface...