Trying Out Minimalism for Ourselves

As many of you read in my last post Dom and I are exploring the idea of minimizing the things in our lives that take up space.  We realized that it's not only stuff that takes up our time. It's also things like cable and the internet. Every evening things seemed to be panning out the same way. Dinner, work out, veg out on bad AFN television or mindless internet surfing.

So we decided to put this minimalism thing to the test.

Trying Out Minimalism Our Way

1. Get rid of the stuff we simply aren't using. We spent last weekend going through every room in the house (still haven't made it to the storage room). I also am trying the Oprah hanger trick  for the next thirty days to see what I am using on a regular basis. In 30 days we have to revisit the items we decided to keep---have we used them? Are they adding to our life?

2. We are limited the amount of time we spend on the internet and on television each day. No more than one hour of internet after 6:00 p.m. per day. No more than an hour of television each day.

3. For every new item we purchase, we have to get rid of two old things.

4. We started a list of all the things we want to do and are proactively moving forward.


I've learned a few things at the end of our first week. Minimizing actually feels good especially when you realize that many of the items you are keeping are for sentimental reasons. I kept asking myself if the person who gave me the item ever thought of it again? And yet here I was keeping it because of my love for the person who gave it to me not because I truly loved it or used it. I think I need to transfer that love into creating a more meaningful relationships with that person or people. Keeping their gifts around me doesn't do a thing for our relationship. If I am thinking about them then I should call them, visit them, send them a card. I should build on the relationship.

It also feels good to give things to people who need them and will use them. We are spoiled by the massive shipment of stuff we are allowed to bring abroad. But many of our friends are making do with what they were able to bring from home in a suitcase. I have a guest room set up for "shopping" and I'll donate the rest to one of the many places doing good in Rwanda.

It's lots of fun to do things instead of watching tv. This weekend we went to a jazz event, jewelry and craft show, had friends over for dessert and drinks, and ran off to Lake Muhazi with some friends for lunch and boating on Sunday. I didn't miss CSI at all!

I have a feeling this whole experience is headed somewhere but we're still figuring it out where it's going. All I know is that I feel good about it. This week we've gotten several shipments of things we ordered prior to the whole minimalist epiphany. We both laughed because none of them seemed important or worth the money we spent. Time to figure out if I can return it all and to decide what to do next weekend!