I have been interested in minimalism for years. I have 'dabbled' in it, but as with most things, interest gets lost and I go back to comfort.
As time goes on, accumulation and consumption continues. Frustration arises when things cannot be located when needed. Sometimes the solution is buying another copy of that item. Then without a doubt, the original item has been found. Now we have 2 of them. Great.
This past week while vacationing in OBX, with my family, I decided to stay OFF the phone, iPad, laptop unless it pertained to something educational or inspirational. This contributed to the biggest take away from vacation. I have been wasting so much time and energy on things that are not essential. That means reading social media, news sites, etc... 100 percent waste of time. Nothing adds value to my life. The shame of it is, even though I have my own values to live by, I have been ignoring them more often than not.
I am a positive person overall. I like to look for the silver lining and keeping my head up. Life has thrown some pretty hardcore curveballs at me. If I don't keep things a little light hearted, things can quickly bring me down. After abstaining from Social and News for the week, I discovered how cynical I was becoming. Wowzer, wake up call.
My routine had become, waking up with the baby, making coffee and immediately filling my brain with negative things. News, Posts, etc... Throughout the day, I would visit these sites often. I had tried putting screen time limits on myself, but always request more time. Not a very good guardrail.
After vacation, I am inspired, feel creative and ready to change things up. SIMPLIFY.
Simplifying, I know is NOT EASY. The idea is, but the action is hard. Staying committed, consistent, etc. is the key.
Taking it one step at a time and knowing progress has been made, is where I currently am.
What am I doing now?
Making Bullet lists for everything and crossing them out as I go. This helps me know I am progressing. I have an issue with perfectionism. I want it done, now and right. This is a losing battle. When looking at the end game, it feels exhausting and makes me want to quit before I even get started.
So what is the goal?
The goal is to adhere some Minimalist guidelines, to improve my family's lives (and my own). We will do this by decluttering first (My wife, Kate, is on board and the kids will be too). Starting with the easy stuff, like JUNK, office supplies, duplicates, books that will never be read again, clothing donations. We are already making progress after being home for one day. Financially simplifying. Debt snowballing (via Dave Ramsey) our debt to become debt free except the mortgage. Once we are debt free, we will hammer the mortgage down. The good news is our other debts are not enormous and we can be done with them within a year. This will be such a relief.
I don't know about you, but the Bible verse "The borrower is slave to the lender", rings true! Having debt has always been stressful, but I have continued to end up in this place.
Today July 26, 2021 I am drawing a line in the sand. No More Debt.
As time goes on, accumulation and consumption continues. Frustration arises when things cannot be located when needed. Sometimes the solution is buying another copy of that item. Then without a doubt, the original item has been found. Now we have 2 of them. Great.
This past week while vacationing in OBX, with my family, I decided to stay OFF the phone, iPad, laptop unless it pertained to something educational or inspirational. This contributed to the biggest take away from vacation. I have been wasting so much time and energy on things that are not essential. That means reading social media, news sites, etc... 100 percent waste of time. Nothing adds value to my life. The shame of it is, even though I have my own values to live by, I have been ignoring them more often than not.
I am a positive person overall. I like to look for the silver lining and keeping my head up. Life has thrown some pretty hardcore curveballs at me. If I don't keep things a little light hearted, things can quickly bring me down. After abstaining from Social and News for the week, I discovered how cynical I was becoming. Wowzer, wake up call.
My routine had become, waking up with the baby, making coffee and immediately filling my brain with negative things. News, Posts, etc... Throughout the day, I would visit these sites often. I had tried putting screen time limits on myself, but always request more time. Not a very good guardrail.
After vacation, I am inspired, feel creative and ready to change things up. SIMPLIFY.
Simplifying, I know is NOT EASY. The idea is, but the action is hard. Staying committed, consistent, etc. is the key.
Taking it one step at a time and knowing progress has been made, is where I currently am.
What am I doing now?
Making Bullet lists for everything and crossing them out as I go. This helps me know I am progressing. I have an issue with perfectionism. I want it done, now and right. This is a losing battle. When looking at the end game, it feels exhausting and makes me want to quit before I even get started.
So what is the goal?
The goal is to adhere some Minimalist guidelines, to improve my family's lives (and my own). We will do this by decluttering first (My wife, Kate, is on board and the kids will be too). Starting with the easy stuff, like JUNK, office supplies, duplicates, books that will never be read again, clothing donations. We are already making progress after being home for one day. Financially simplifying. Debt snowballing (via Dave Ramsey) our debt to become debt free except the mortgage. Once we are debt free, we will hammer the mortgage down. The good news is our other debts are not enormous and we can be done with them within a year. This will be such a relief.
I don't know about you, but the Bible verse "The borrower is slave to the lender", rings true! Having debt has always been stressful, but I have continued to end up in this place.
Today July 26, 2021 I am drawing a line in the sand. No More Debt.