Simplicity.

Okay, so I've been wanting to write about this for awhile but didn't know how to not come across as preachy or self righteous. So please don't take it as such because well, we are all different, or my Okie roots tell me "different strokes for different folks" Here goes...

While hopping around in blog world, I stumbled upon some really awesome blogs about minimalism. Come to find out it's not just about not having a bunch of junk laying around. It's about living simply so you can enjoy what really is important to you. Hmmm...it sounded reasonable. But do I have to get rid of all my clothes and have empty walls? Some people do, in fact some do this 100 thing challenge, where they literally only own 100 items. There's also the no-buy pact, where people commit to not buying anything new for a certain period of time (usually a year or so). I can see us maybe doing that, although I would miss my Target for sure. Let's see, what else? Oh, the Small House movement, this one is pretty self explanatory. You buy a big honkin house and you get a big honkin mortgage, and inevitably you fill it up with stuff and there is more to maintain, etc. Big house definitely have their perks for sure, but maybe it's because I'm lazy, our 1400 square feet is more than enough for us when it comes to cleaning and maintenance. Anyways, the bottom line is that it's about not getting sucked into consuming and focusing more on living and enjoying.

I think I was most excited cause it was a lot of things we were already doing, but there was a name for it, and lots of other people live this way too! We don't buy junk food, plan on staying in our house till we retire, sock away money every month, buy everything with cash, just not buying a lot "stuff". Now, we of course have our money splurges, mine being travel and Andy's being his project car, but that's the cool thing about this whole "living simply stuff", it's not just about eating beans and rice and living in an empty tiny place for the sake of being a minimalist, but we can spend our money on what we want to spend it on and what makes our lives better. Great example of this being that I am off work today- and every Friday. Yes, I could make more if I worked 5 days a week, but because we don't have a bunch of bills I'm free as a bird every Friday.

I will definitely be posting about our attempts to simplify our lives and exactly what that means for us, here are a few things we have started the last six months or so:

-Home-made cleaners (bathroom cleaner, laundry soap, dish washing soap)
-Eating out once a week
-Cancelled netflix (admittedly I did this one very begrungingly since we don't have cable, but I was just spending way too much time watching tv)
-No store bought presents for anniversary/b-days
-Buying little to no processed foods (tough one for Andy so I've been making bread which seems to help)
-Having date nights include hanging out at the dog park, hiking, riding bikes
-Weekly drop-offs at Goodwill

I am super excited about this and admittedly I know people (cough cough dad) will think Austin has made an already earth loving wannabe hippy a little more crazy about being green, and they are probably right. But I do think this is bigger than that and am excited to simply enjoy life.