The Importance of Hobbies in a Minimalistic Lifestyle

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.

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The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut

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 Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question

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”

How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?

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?”

Passive Minimalism

Passive Minimalism

It’s really easy to confuse minimalism with an inflated lifestyle or a struggling one. It’s also really easy to associate it with a complete disregard for sustainability

One of the things I really struggled with was getting rid of all the clothes I had accumulated throughout the years. They all held some sort of value to me – especially the t shirts I got from random events I attended like races or sponsorship events. The blank shirts were easy enough to get rid of, but anything that seemed to have a memory attached was nearly impossible for me to part with.

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