Minimalism inspiration

Hi everyone,

I thought I’d share a few of the resources that I’ve been loving on minimalism, that have inspired me to keep going on my decluttering journey.

I’m going to start with books, because I think books are always the best choice. 🙂

Books

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – This one has to be included, right? It’s the first one I read, and what everyone knows about. I can’t say that I agree with it all (I’m certainly not emptying out my purse every night), but I can say I’ve gone back to re-read passages when I needed a boost. And the folding stuff – actually life-changing. Don’t ignore that bit.

The Joy of Less – This one I just read last week. I think I’m a little late to the Miss Minimalist party, but I’m glad I’m there now! I’m not sure that at this point I actually needed the step-by-step room-by-room set-up of the book, but I tell you, there were some other a-ha moments thrown in there! Imagine writing down everything you own (almost hyperventilated when I read that)! Pretend your surfaces are slippery and nothing can stay on them (I can tell you my kitchen table, which is usually my junk/mail/school stuff pile, has been CLEAR since I had this mind shift)! Remove everything from the shelf/drawer/cabinet when you are decluttering it, even if you think you are keeping it. Choose what to keep, not what to get rid of. Lots of good stuff in there.

I’ve read several others, but I think these two were the most bang for my buck. (As an aside, the only one I bought was Marie Kondo’s, because I got it almost 5 years ago and didn’t know better. The more recent ones, I’ve checked out from the library – because MINIMALISM. If it turns out the book is kind of a dud, you haven’t wasted any money! You don’t have to think about how to get rid of it. If it’s great, you can check it out again if you need it. Libraries are great.)

Blogs

Rachael Herron – Now, this is not a minimalism blog. I started reading it when it was primarily a knitting blog. It’s kind of morphed more into a writing blog now, because she is a full-time author, and that also really interests me. BUT – if I didn’t read her blog, I’m not sure I would have started on this journey. Back in January 2015, I was sitting there reading her blog, and getting blown away at what she was saying about letting go of gifts. It was like a lightbulb went off. And even though it’s taken me nearly 5 years to feel like I’m finally “getting it,” I’m thankful it started me off on this path. As a bonus, I love her writing. I enjoy all her blog posts and have read a few of her books, and I also listen to her “How do you write?” podcast. Big shout out to her memoir, A Life in Stitches, which is the only knitting memoir I’ve ever read that I adored (consequently, it survived my great book purge of 2019 and still sits on my shelves). Basically, she’s delightful.

Mama Minimalist – Yes, she’s a mom, but not all the posts are about that.

Simple on Purpose – I like this one mostly for the motherhood content. A few of her older posts read like truth bombs to me (don’t be a mom martyr).

Podcasts

Cozy Minimalism – This has been my favorite podcast I’ve found so far. The episodes are short – usually less than 10 minutes – but I liked these bite-sized and practical episodes. My favorite one is about Sunk Cost.

Simple Families – I really like this one – and I found her through minimalism with kids searches – but I would actually say this is much more about parenting than getting rid of your stuff. She does have a Ph.D. in Child Development, so that makes sense! I have to say that I definitely favor the episodes where she just talks on a subject over the ones where she interviews people. Often, I feel like the interviews never get at what I was expecting (except The Value of Just Staying Home – and how I wish I’d heard this episode when my child was a newborn, and not when she was six! When she said you should have your children help you with the dishes instead of trying to hurry through all the household chores during nap time – man, I could have used that truth). But definitely worth a listen if you’re a parent and you’re trying to achieve minimalism in all aspects of your life. She also has a book, Simple Happy Parenting.

Friday Favorite: Teaching my daughter to knit

This week, my 6-year-old daughter asked very earnestly that I teach her to knit right now. We’re only a couple of rows in to a small garter stitch project, but I am absolutely over the moon that she is interested!

We started a “bookmark” (basically the world’s smallest scarf) a year or two ago when she asked to try. Back then, I was pretty much doing most of the work – I was always wrapping the yarn and helping her manipulate the needles. This time, we’ve started a different project, and she’s doing it almost entirely solo.

It makes this knitting mama’s heart sing! Look at those hands!

Three things: WIPs

I’m joining in with Carole on Three on Thursday, and today I’m sharing three knitting projects in various states of progress.

One – I’m knitting BK a new Wee Wildflower. I made her one a couple of years ago that still fits, and I think it’s the most-worn knit item of her life. It’s still working for her because those 3/4 sleeves are very forgiving (though now it’s about at elbow height), but she does need one in a bigger size very soon. I’ve got the body and sleeves finished, and they’re drying on the blocking board right now (picture above).

Two – I am knitting my third Sproutlette. I made one for BK, one for a very dear friend’s baby, and am now working on another one (though I promise it is not for my own baby). I absolutely adore this pattern, and think it is a must for all special girl babies in my life.

Three – I have the most of the yarn for, but have not yet cast on, a Postman Pat vest. I bought the pattern off Etsy for next to nothing and cannot wait to get stuck into this one! My LYS didn’t have all the colors I need, so I need to order a couple more for the intarsia bits. But this will hopefully be on the needles very soon!

In case you wondered how these three projects are fitting in with my new minimalism kick, two of them are destined for locations other than my house, and the other one will certainly be loved and used a lot. If you want to read more about my journey, check out yesterday’s post on decluttering anxiety!

I’d also love to hear what you’re making – so drop me a line in the comments. 🙂

Decluttering anxiety

I’ve spent a lot of time over these past few months minimizing my home. I’ve spent loads of time reading books about it, listening to podcasts, and reading blogs. And the one thing that I find no one addresses in any depth is the amount of anxiety that minimizing can cause.

I have found in my many (many many) trips to charity shops, book resale shops and missions that every time I release stuff, I have a completely physical reaction to the anxiety of it. My whole body shakes (particularly my arms). I suppose this might be an anxiety attack. And yet, I keep filling up my car and doing it to myself over and over again.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to decide if there is just one reason I feel like this, but I think it might be more than one thing. Here are my top thoughts on why it overwhelms me so much:

• Guilt – guilt that I am getting rid of stuff that other people gave me. I feel they had expectations and hopes for how I was going to use it and how much I was going to cherish it. The truth is I never lived up to that imaginary expectation because the reason I’m donating it is because it’s been lingering in a cabinet somewhere in my house.
  
• Guilt – guilt that I (or someone else if it was a gift) spent a lot of money on whatever the item is. I realize from trying to sell quite a lot of things from my house that this stuff actually has almost no resale value. Even designer handbags and barely worn clothes and like-new toys. Because just like a brand-new car, even if you just owned it and didn’t use it, it’s still gone down in value astonishingly. So basically the money invested in that stuff has been flushed down the toilet. 
  
• Guilt – that I am so privileged that I have a whole house full of items that I can get rid of carloads of it and not notice. Even though I give all that stuff to charities and shelters, they will probably get less use out of that than if I just never bought that stuff and gave them the money to spend on actual needs. 
  
• Guilt – that it has taken me so many years to realize that I don’t want to be trapped in a work-spend circle, and that items don’t make you happy (they actually drag you down with obligations and responsibilities). There have been a lot of rough emotional patches of my life that I definitely tried to buy myself out of, and knowing now that’s what I did makes me feel even worse.
  
• Guilt – as I watch the charity shop people throw what were previously my belongings haphazardly into bins. That was stuff I thought I wanted enough to spend time researching it, driving to the store or clicking on Amazon, and then spent my money on it. I feel strongly you should take good care of your stuff, and this doesn’t feel like doing that. But there’s are only so many items you can have in your life and actually take good care of them.
  

So – basically just 100 forms of guilt. Ha.

I am writing this post from a book resale shop again feeling guilty and trying to fight off the shakes. I just finished dropping off a trunk load at a charity shop. It was much better this time, and not quite so all encompassing, so I am getting better.

I know that in an hour or so the anxiety will pass, and I will be in my home and feel like I can breathe easier with fewer items there. I understand intellectually the end game I’m trying to reach. I want to feel more free, take less time to take care of my house, and have more bandwidth to give my family my full presence instead of worrying about the undone chores. And because I know where I’m heading, I will ride the wave of the anxiety until I get there.