As my husband and I have been on this journey of trying to think more critically about our stuff, one of the voices I have appreciated is Tsh Oxenrider. If you haven’t checked out her blog “the Art of Simple” it’s worth a skim. Most lifestyle blogs have you getting to the end of a post and thinking, “I need this, oh gosh, and I need that. Aw, and why don’t I have this other thing, too?” Whereas with the Art of Simple, you finish and think, “How can I simplify and embrace contentment where I am?”
Like this recent post on limits. I love this. So convicting.
David and I are in the process of trying to radically simplify our lives, (starting with our stuff) so that we’ll have more time and energy to concentrate on the things we care about. For example, having less clothes, which means less time deciding what to wear, less time digging through closets, less waste, less environmental impact – and more time and energy.
The other thing we’re trying to do is embrace the essentialist mantra “Less, but better.” In other words, three high-quality, ethically made T-shirts that will stand up to being washed over and over, and were created by someone paid a living wage, are better than ten cheap shirts that won’t last and are probably made in some unethical factory.
We also have some life events that are helping us to simplify our possessions—we’re moving across the ocean again! The process of moving—first across the country, and then across the world—has been helpful in helping us pare down to what is essential, when it comes to our stuff. We’re also planning on living in an intentionally small space once we get to SA (probably more on that later!) and so knowing we will be limited once we arrive in our new home is also motivation to simplify.
Simplicity and minimalism are not just about possessions—they are so much more than that. But it’s a tangible place to start. I’m probably going to end up writing a lot more about on this blog in the future as we continue this adventure— in the mean time I’ve collected past posts on simplicity and possessions into a new category, so you can find them here.
PS- don’t forget to check out Tsh’s new book, coming out later this month about her world travels with her family! You can listen to a sneak peak of it on her podcast this week!
Stephanie Ebert 