Monday, May 12, 2014

Minimalist Living

As we were driving home from Tim's Ford State Park yesterday, we were looking at houses on the road as we passed. Bugz would point out houses and say how much money he thought he could build them for. I was pointing out the colors of brick and mortar that I did and didn't like.

He pointed to a small house and said he could build it for little of nothing, and the first words out of my mouth were "It would be alright, but we'd have to get rid of some things."

So then I got to thinking. Could we really downsize to fit in a small house? Could we really let go of things so that we could afford a small house?

I am not ashamed to admit that it would be very hard for me, but if it were just me, I could do it. I could live in one of those tiny houses that you build on wheels and drive wherever you want it to be. But now that I have Layna and Bugz (and Sadie the large indoor dog) it would be MUCH harder.

So let's delve into this a little deeper here.

What is more important in your life, people or things? If your house was on fire, you would obviously worry about your family first (including dogs), but could you leave everything else behind? Or would there be something else you would run back for. Is it something you could live without, something that you WANT instead of NEED?

I will admit, it would probably hurt, but I could let go of everything but one. I would be lost without my family pictures. Photos, photography, means everything to me, especially now that my mom is gone and I have Layna. I had a friend who's mom died from a house fire incident, and they lost their house completely, so not only did he lose his mom, but most all of the pictures of her. So yes, it would be extremely hard to lose my pictures. Everything else can be replaced.

But why is it so easy to say that, yet its another thing to actually do it when you aren't in a situation like that?

I have a chest of drawers, a dresser, and a walk in closet, and I STILL have clothes all over the top of the dresser, in a clothes basket on the floor, and I have three Rubbermaid totes full of clothes that I had outgrown and was hanging on too in case I lose the weight again. I had already gone through all those clothes once and gotten 5-6 huge black garbage bags full of clothes that I didn't want anymore out of all of it. There is still that much more left. Could I make myself cut my wardrobe down to just the minimal essentials? Could I live with 2-3 pairs of jeans, a few shorts, 3-4 nice dress outfits (work clothes), a couple of dresses (for special occasions) and a few t-shirts? Could I do without the 50 pairs of socks and mismatches in the drawer? Or the 6 pair of pajama mix and matches that I never wear?

I have a bookshelf full of books that I want to read, but don't have the time to and probably never will. Should I keep them for that one day, eons later, when I might be able to read them? Who am I kidding? I love to read, but I haven't picked up a book in 4 months. When am I ever going to have time to read them all?

In the kitchen there are tons of pots and pans, cups and bowls, cooking utensils that I never use. Yet there they sit, taking up space. And let's not forget about the junk drawer! In my case, the drawer got filled when I first moved in and I haven't touched it since. Would it be safe to say that if that stuff has been in that drawer untouched for two years that I don't need it and I could toss it all? I'd venture to say if I went through it there would be at least one if not two things that I would just "have to have" before I tossed the rest out.

The bathroom. Well now, we all know that is a hot spot for women. Shampoos, conditioners, hairsprays, makeup (not for me!), lotions, on and on and on. How many of you have three or four bottles of shampoo and conditioner in your shower? I know I have two shampoos, three body washes (one almost empty), one conditioner, one face wash, one feminine wash....and that's just mine! The man has his two bottles on the other side of the tub. Do I really need that many bottles in the tub? Kinda....I mean, each one does something different (except the body wash). But what about those 5-6-7-8 bottles hiding under the sink? The ones that get half used or not at all and you toss them under there. Or that unused curling iron, straight iron, extra blow dryer, 50 bottles of nail polish you haven't used in 10 years?

The more you look around, the more you see in your house. I have a jewelry box full of rings I've never worn, necklaces I never will again, and earrings that I can't wear because they hurt my ears. Why do I hang on to them? Why can't I let them go?

The Bible has many versus about material things, but the two that stand out most to me are Matthew 6:19-21 and Philippians 4:19, and no, I am not going to tell you what they say.....if you have a Bible, look them up. If you don't have a Bible, let me know and we'll get you one.

We can't take anything with us when we leave, and all it does is cause grief for the family members left behind. I guess I'm glad I'm an only child, and my dad is single (right now), so I don't have to worry about a fight with what's left of his stuff. But even when I inherit his stuff, am I really gonna need it? The land and house maybe, but probably not most of the other things. He won't take them when he goes, just like my mom didn't take hers when she went, and I won't be taking mine. So what's the point in it all, other than to enjoy life while we are here? Do you really need ALL that stuff to "enjoy" life?

Look at the first settlers, or even jump forward to the 1800's. Most people lived poorly, they didn't have lots of material items. They didn't have separate bedrooms (Remember Little House on the Prairie?), they made most their own clothes and handed them down as they grew out, so there weren't closets full of clothes.....did they even have closets back then? Probably not. There was no need for them. If you look at any older style house, they had tiny bedrooms, some no closets. My parent's house was this way, the bedrooms were small and one bedroom did not have a closet. Back then bedrooms were for sleeping. You got up, you worked, you ate, you went to bed. You sat around a fire in the living room and listened to the radio (if you could afford one - if not, you walked down the gravel road to the person that did have one). Kids didn't sit in their rooms doing their homework listening to music and watching tv cuddled in their beds. Life was simpler back then.

Could we go back that far again? I believe I could, except I would have to have electricity. I would have to have lights, running hot water, and a flushable toilet (one that doesn't have rats crawling down in the hole). As for everything else, I would be just fine!

I've been thinking about it a lot. How hard would it be to go off the grid? Raise cattle, chickens, goats, pigs for the meats, eggs, and milk. Grow a garden with every vegetable you can imagine. Solar panels could even run your power in your house as a back up, or even primary energy source, and other than the panels, its free! No electric or gas bill! Minimalist Living, no bills (utilities that is), almost self-sustainable. Pay off your car, home school your kids, and sell your extra garden goods for extra money, and you'd be set. The more minimal you live, the less money you need!

Just for curiosity, I looked up tiny houses. It is intimidating, scary, and interesting. I found this one, and it just might work: Tumbleweed Houses
The B-53

While this one does indeed have closets, you would still have to live very minimally. There would not be very much room in the bedrooms for anything more than a bed. And as in our case, there would not be any room for Layna's things. In our living room now we have her swing, bouncer seat, two jumparoos, a saucer rocker seat, and we did have her pack and play but we put it up for now. There's just not room. Does she need all those toys? Not really, but if anyone has had an inconsolable 4 month old, you know that anything and everything that works to get them calmed down at any time, you do NOT get rid of it unless it is broken. So yes, that would be a little harder, but other than that, it might not be too bad!

The funny thing about these houses is the estimates on how much it costs to build it. Now granted, I don't know anything about building houses, so I am only going by what the man has said. We have passed houses a lot bigger than this that he said he could build for the same amount they have listed for these. If that's the case, can you imagine how cheap it would be to build one of these on your own, without having to pay them? I mean, if you have little to no money (like we do) its nice to know that there is an option. You just have to be able to let things go.

So I am challenging myself and anyone else that might want to take this challenge with me. CLEAN HOUSE! Pick a room and work on it that whole day/week/month (whichever is convenient for you...for me, it would be a week or month, till I am unemployed again that is). Clean out every drawer, every nook, every cranny. Start tossing! Throw things away, start a yard sale pile, a give away pile. Take that yard sale money and save it for a much needed vacation (or in my case, diapers for Layna). Write off your donations on your taxes. You will feel SO much better knowing that you were able to let things go, that there is no more clutter. 

And if you are even in doubt about "Can I really do that?" Take a look at these houses.....If they can, we can too!


This one proves you can live in almost anything. Click the links under the pictures for more images of the "house".  http://tinyhouseswoon.com/   (It won't let me copy and post pics from the site)



And remember, the smaller the walls, the closer the family!  :)

No comments:

Post a Comment