Minimalist Family Journey
Good Morning all,
This is Joy here.
I'm going to be writing a new series on Minimalism.
Where to start?
About two years ago I took a challenge upon myself to get rid of HALF of everything in my house: Clothes, toys, kitchen tools, decor, books, you name it. Half of everything went! I sat down by category and counted everything, if I had a 100 books, then went through and picked what I wanted to keep and got rid of 50%.
It took A LOT of time and work and the process was kind of overwhelming BUT once it was finished I saw immediate results. Results that years later I still am amazed at how much it changed everything.
I used to spend every Friday cleaning the house with the kids. I used to spend an hour or two at rest time to pick up one room because I had to transfer all the stray items back to their original homes. It took so long to really clean something completely.
As soon as I got rid of 50% of everything in our home I realized I was saving SO MUCH TIME on cleaning! I had HALF the stuff to clean and put away. Everything had a home and I knew where to put things. It was really amazing how peaceful and how EASY it was to take care of my home...
But THE STUFF COMES BACK!
Once I was done organizing and cleaning, then I'd loose a little motivation and shopping gives a little buzz and is "something to do" and I got more stuff. Our kids had birthdays, and more stuff, our kids grew and need new clothes, more stuff. We had another child, MORE STUFF! And even though I still worked to keep things simple and just enough we still had more stuff than needed. More stuff than I wanted to spend my time on! More stuff than was beneficial for a focused, purpose-driven life.
So, we start again. This time not to get rid of half of everything but to truly minimize, simply, and STAY that way (which is the hard part). Not just to make cleaning easier, or not to spend so much time on the house but for a PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. I want my money to go to helping those in need. I want our finances to be a part of making a difference for Jesus and eternity. I want our time, focus, energy, and resources to go towards our family goals and mission.
Here is where I will be sharing that journey with you.
-Joy
This is Joy here.
I'm going to be writing a new series on Minimalism.
Where to start?
About two years ago I took a challenge upon myself to get rid of HALF of everything in my house: Clothes, toys, kitchen tools, decor, books, you name it. Half of everything went! I sat down by category and counted everything, if I had a 100 books, then went through and picked what I wanted to keep and got rid of 50%.
It took A LOT of time and work and the process was kind of overwhelming BUT once it was finished I saw immediate results. Results that years later I still am amazed at how much it changed everything.
I used to spend every Friday cleaning the house with the kids. I used to spend an hour or two at rest time to pick up one room because I had to transfer all the stray items back to their original homes. It took so long to really clean something completely.
As soon as I got rid of 50% of everything in our home I realized I was saving SO MUCH TIME on cleaning! I had HALF the stuff to clean and put away. Everything had a home and I knew where to put things. It was really amazing how peaceful and how EASY it was to take care of my home...
But THE STUFF COMES BACK!
Once I was done organizing and cleaning, then I'd loose a little motivation and shopping gives a little buzz and is "something to do" and I got more stuff. Our kids had birthdays, and more stuff, our kids grew and need new clothes, more stuff. We had another child, MORE STUFF! And even though I still worked to keep things simple and just enough we still had more stuff than needed. More stuff than I wanted to spend my time on! More stuff than was beneficial for a focused, purpose-driven life.
So, we start again. This time not to get rid of half of everything but to truly minimize, simply, and STAY that way (which is the hard part). Not just to make cleaning easier, or not to spend so much time on the house but for a PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. I want my money to go to helping those in need. I want our finances to be a part of making a difference for Jesus and eternity. I want our time, focus, energy, and resources to go towards our family goals and mission.
Here is where I will be sharing that journey with you.
-Joy
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