Welcome to the site. I do a combination of frugal living, simple living, efficient living, minimalism, and personal finance. Some of it conflicts, and most of it is awesome.
Technological Overconsumption: The Modern Day Shopping Addiction and How to Get Past It
A few days ago, I started having this restless feeling, like I needed to go somewhere or do something worthwhile, right now.
I wanted to read the news, but I had already skimmed my news stories for that day, or I wanted to read, but I had already read for about an hour and a half that day, thanks to my bus rides to and from work. The only things left to do were my silly phone games, or watching TV and knitting.
Now, if you know me well, you also know that these are things I really enjoy. But something about it wasn’t tickling my giblets. I felt like I had exhausted all of my sources of entertainment. Nothing felt new, and nothing really excited me. I realized that maybe rather than consuming more, I needed to create more. Or simply get used to the feeling of not being constantly entertained (a battle in and of itself).
Stop Stressing About Spending Less – Simplify Your Life
For a few years now, I’ve been very concerned with “simplifying.” At the same time, as a recent grad, I’ve been a little obsessive about not spending money. Sometimes the two ideologies go great together. Other times it’s a riot in my brain.
In my most recent post I talked about how you shouldn’t start on a minimalist or simple living journey by throwing away a ton of shit, and this goes doubly if part of your minimalistic goals is to limit spending. Throwing stuff out is just about the worst thing you can do in that case.
Continue reading “Stop Stressing About Spending Less – Simplify Your Life”
New to Minimalism? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Start Throwing Stuff Out Yet
A lot of people who think a minimalist lifestyle might be right for them start with the huge job of throwing out the majority of their crap. And I totally understand, I want to throw out your crap too.
But before we go hog wild, take a second to remember your reasons for wanting to journey down the path of minimalism.
Continue reading “New to Minimalism? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Start Throwing Stuff Out Yet”
The Minimalist Dragon: Why Smaller Spaces Help Keep Your Clutter Confined
If anyone is as much a fan of GoT as me, you probably know that before the cute little dragons died out, they had a hard life, sanctioned away within the Red Keep. Without room to grow, each dragon grew smaller and smaller, and eventually they all perished.
Continue reading “The Minimalist Dragon: Why Smaller Spaces Help Keep Your Clutter Confined”
The Importance of Hobbies in a Minimalistic Lifestyle
When I first started on my winding minimalist path, there were many things I didn’t really plan for. For example, in getting rid of half my wardrobe, I didn’t plan to start a rule of 1-in-1-out, but it happened that way. That was my brain’s way of keeping my newfound minimalistic happiness.
Along the same lines, a bin that I was planning to donate contained stuff I would never wear anymore, but the bin itself was sturdy and small. I thought to myself, this would be a great way to continue my 1-in-1-out trend. So now, the little pink box next to my closet functions as the donation pile, a tidy way to keep my wardrobe small and my living space clean. Also a reminder not to buy more shit when it starts overflowing. Oops.
Continue reading “The Importance of Hobbies in a Minimalistic Lifestyle”
The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut
I write a lot about how technology is so often used as a crutch, especially in my own life. TV is such an easy way to pass time, and Twitter and Instagram or whatever your social media of choice is, is another mostly mindless way of spending time that could otherwise be put to good use. There are plenty of good things to be said about social media, but if we’re using them only as a way to make our lives go by faster, what purpose are they really serving? Continue reading “The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut”
Why You Should Definitely Still Have a Night Light as an Adult
People make fun of me for wanting/having night lights.
“Only children are afraid of the dark,” they say.
UNTRUE.
See, there’s something about the dark that has always bothered me, and will always bother me, more than the monsters under my bed or the strange man hiding in my closet (we’re friends now, it’s all good), and that is the fact that in the dark, you cannot see.
Let me elaborate. Continue reading “Why You Should Definitely Still Have a Night Light as an Adult”
Why Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question
Writing this post, I was torn between categorizing it as Simple Living and Efficient Living, because there are just so many reasons why shih tzus improve your life. I could categorize it as both, because I’m the damn writer, right? Well no, because I’m going to keep my life simpler and allow myself only one category.
How’s that for some minimalism, you digital minimalist freaks? (I say that with much love in my heart.) Continue reading “Why Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question”
Money Hoarding & How a Minimalist Mindset Changed my Conception of Volunteerism
Hoarding can be a natural, almost evolutionary response to the possibility that one day, there might be a lack of something essential to your life. Some people do it with food, newspapers, books, or clothes. They all have a reason and however realistic that reason may be, the collection grows, takes up space, and potentially becomes more of a nuisance than a help.
But there’s another type of hoarding that gets looked over a lot, and that’s the hoarding of money. What’s interesting is that food and clothing are almost an evolutionary response to the basic things you would need just to stay alive. However, in our capitalist society, money is what allows you to get the things that keep you alive. With 401k’s and savings accounts, we have essentially adapted to a modern society by nixing our tendencies to hoard life-keeping things, and instead hoard this digital currency (in most cases, but I don’t discount paper money hoarders) that we can’t even see, that allows us to get anything our little hearts desire.
I’m a self-diagnosed money hoarder, and there are a few more symptoms you might see if you think you may be a money hoarder too.
Continue reading “Money Hoarding & How a Minimalist Mindset Changed my Conception of Volunteerism”
How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?
My focus lends itself to the emotional spaciousness that comes with letting things go. I like open space, the ability to move around, and knowing that if I do want to buy or replace something, that old thing will still have a use, whether it be by me or someone else who can use it better. The mindset of having what you need and letting the rest go can also sometimes create an anti-consumerist mentality, which really can be good or bad. In the long run, once you commit to the minimalist/simplistic lifestyle, I find that several factors come into play that lead to a little more feng shui, a little less spending, and a little more mental room to breathe. All generally good things.
But there’s another perspective that is sometimes overlooked, and on occasion represented in a way that is grossly out of proportion, and that is the idea that a minimalist lifestyle requires you to be absolutely loaded. Continue reading “How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?”