I've been doing a lot of mulling regarding over our ever connected world. A few months ago, when I reset my phone, I purposely did not install Facebook because I felt I was constantly checking it. Not in a productive way, but in a way that was there to pass the time. I installed Instagram though and found myself using that more often anyways. The constant pull of the latest updates, the stories, the need to post was getting to me.
I recently picked up Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World and can definitely relate to the author and I agree with many of his points. Partly for me, I've been struggling to find this balance of Minimalism and Mindfulness.
Read moreHere are the final list books that I've read this year. Have you read any of these?
Read moreWhat was I thinking keeping this all of these years?
That's usually what you say to yourself a few years from now as you help your parents declutter and remove items from their house.
It's been some time since I've graduated from anything, high school, college or grad school, but my sister came back from college a few weeks ago, schlepping all of her stuff back into my parents house. This was my cue to try to influence her to reduce and minimize her belongings.
Read moreWe will never be able to get back all of the money we spent buying stuff, the key is to learn new habits moving hard.
That was the biggest lesson I learned when I started my minimizing and decluttering phase. One of the first things I tackled was clothing. I initially donated some and sent some to ThredUp. This was in 2015. I just re-ordered a new clean out bag and just recently received it. I'm happy to be sending a few more items to ThredUp. A few people say that it's not worth it or they don't pay enough for the clothes you send it, but I have a few counter arguments against that. If you are thinking of sending clothing to ThredUp, here are a few reasons to do so.
Read moreZero waste and minimalist gifts for the men in your life. Whether it be for Father's Day, birthday or any other celebration.
Read moreToo many choices can actually paralyze us and lead to doubt, regret, lots of social comparison and unhappiness. How do we then overcome too many choices? Paradox of Choice offers some insight.
Read moreWhen was the last time you truly felt hungry?
In the same way that waste is due to our chronic consumption, many of life threatening diseases in today's society is also due to our chronic consumption. The problem for many of us is that we never feel hunger. When was the last time you truly felt hungry? Probably never. For many of us living in the western world, food is accessible, regardless of whether it's determined as good or bad, food products are everywhere. This abundance means that our bodies adapt to being constantly fed and full. Think about your daily commute. How many restaurants do you see? How many opportunities to you see to purchase and get food? It's endless!
Read moreMy first time doing project333 which is wearing 33 items for 3 months. Here's what I started with. I'm on month 1 in my attempt for a more minimalist capsule wardrobe.
Read moreHow many decisions do you make in a day? Do those choices contribute to your happiness?
I've been doing #project333 for over 3 weeks now and I keep going back to this concept of the paradox of choice. When I had to choose the 33 clothing items to keep for the 3 month experiment, it was a bit overwhelming. There was a lot of what-ifs. What if I needed this skirt to go to some unnamed event, what if these jeans I've chosen will not fit me later on. Today, when I get dressed, I don't look at a closet full of stuff, instead I look at a few key pieces selected by me from my existing set of clothes. Each one fits well. Each one can be mixed and matched with the other.
Read moreI think we are learning that comedians sometimes tell the truth better. I thought I would compile a post about famous and favorite comedians talking about stuff. It's always a good day for laughs, but there's a lot of truth to what they say.
All videos are suitable for work, just lower the sound. Some cursing, but just generally good laughs behind hard truths
Read morei thought I would do a round up of the top Minimalism articles that helped me on my journey. When I first started my journey, The Minimalists were my biggest inspiration. I wish I could trace back how I came to know them and their site because it would be nice to have a little retrospective. Since reading their essays, I've come across so many other great articles about minimalism, about what it means and what it has allowed people to do. Here are the articles that have inspired me to go on this journey and continually inspire me to keep going.
Read moreWhy do we have to wait until we are 65 to live the life that we want? Who told us that we have to work for 40 years? This seems inherently backwards to me.
Read more31 days of sunrises facing the New York city skyline.
Read moreWhat does 10 years of continuous and constant and consistent consumption look like?
Look around your apartment or your house. That's what it looks like. Our spaces are bursting at the seams. Our garages can't even fit our cars. Our closets are too full. Our attics and basement are full of unused things. This is hoarding.
Read moreMy husband and I have not had cable in over 5 years and don't miss it at all. We share a Netflix account that is barely used. We also have Amazon, but have not gotten into the swing of the shows there. I thought I would do a quick infographic of how much TV costs in terms of money and time.
Despite all of the news you hear about people cutting the cord and streaming from Netflix. Research still shows that 83% of American households pay for TV as a service. Many are just so used to the monthly cost. They don't think they can live without E! or HGTV, but I can attest that there is life after this. For me, not having cable for 5 years meant a significant amount of money and time saved. Some of this money I've invested and I've seen it grow significantly. Some of this money has been used to travel instead. I'm definitely not a cheapskate, but there's certain things that are worth paying money for, cable is NOT one of them.
Read moreWe don’t make time, we have time. We own our time. We don’t construct time.
Read moreWhat is minimalism? What is about? What is not about? Is it at trend? Is it about aesthetic? Is it about the number of things?
Read more"Not giving a fuck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different."
Read moreJust-in-case! How many times have we said that to ourselves and how many times has something actually happened? It's time to let go of just-in-case.
Read moreWhat does it mean to be mindful?
Simply, it's awareness of the present moment. Meditation is a popular way to practice being mindful, though there are some key differences with mediation and mindfulness. The point is to recognize what you are doing, where you are and who you are with. The best way to do that is to simply slow down, but of course that is always easier said than done in our always on-the-go society. I've found that being mindful is really about forgoing the default. It's turning off the auto-pilot and steering the car itself. Here are other ways you can help the mind be more mindful.
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