Minimalism is something I have loved pretty much my entire life. I grew up living in a cluttered house and it wasn’t enjoyable for me. It may not bother most people and I completely understand, I also understand that most people think minimalism is boring. It means less stress and a cleaner environment to me. I wanted to share a bit about what we have done recently and throughout our marriage.
When we got married we had a lot of stuff! He had more stuff than me but it was a “we” team so that’s why I say “we” had a lot of stuff. Make sense? Ok, so…..we got pregnant two months after we got married. Fast, I know! Basically a year after we met, it was pretty stressful. We were still getting to know each other, you know? So anyway, we decided to buy a house. When we moved we rented a 29′ truck and had a few more trips with “stuff” and people put “stuff” in their cars and helped us. It was a lot! So we moved on in and it was a bit overwhelming trying to put things in places when you feel like it’s all just clutter. Well, we decided that getting out of debt was best for us. So we started following Dave Ramsey and we start our journey. First thing we did was put our budget and debt together and it was a shock to us! We were well over our heads with debt! And stuff!
First thing we did to get out of debt was getting rid of our car payment, we do not and still do not ever need a brand vehicle. Nice looking but not worth it! Second, we went through our stuff and literally sold 90% of it. We were able to pay off half our debt with just cutting our car payment out and getting money for all of our stuff. When we were done selling our stuff our house looked bare and it was amazing!! We decided to move to Virginia and we were able move in a 12′ truck and that was with a toddler too! Our truck was literally half full when we moved and we picked up stuff from his mom in Texas. Well, that stuff was stuff we didn’t need. So, when we got to Virginia we sold that stuff too. We bought a huge and bulky couch when we got to Virginia and just yesterday sold it. Thankfully we are not people that hold onto our stuff and like to be minimalists. It feels great, it’s stress free and it looks nice! I want to encourae anyone that would like to be a minimalist to step back and look at their stuff. Is it stuff you really need? Do you use it? If you haven’t used it in 6 months max, get rid of it. I completely understand that it is overwhelming (for the most part) at the beginning but I swear….it gets easier. I am posting a few pictures of what it looks like for us. The kids have a huge area to play and it’s completely easy to clean. I love to decorate and I’m working on it. But since we are in a rental and I’m staying on a minimalist budget, it might take me a while. Plus, I am extremely picky when it comes to decorating so that’s typically the hardest part. If you have any questions on where to start, how to start or anything just ask. I’m very open and honest.
Oh and by the way. I’ve actually been attacked on my way of living recently. I was told that I feel my way of living is the best. Well, for me it is but it’s not for everyone. If you feel it isn’t for you then that’s fine. We all have our ways of thinking and I can’t convince anyone to do what they don’t want to do. I’ve seen people come and complain to me because they don’t have money and scraping by, needing to get a job but yet they go out and buy a brand new vehicle. To each their own, right? Like our pastor just said yesterday; Quit lookin’ for an easy life, look for a better life-New Life Church Chantilly. Also, don’t complain about something without wanting to fix it. If you don’t want to fix it, don’t complain about it. I’m just sharing what we have gone through and hope it helps someone out there. I literally do not a lot of stress in my life and typically have a clean house all the time. So if it helps you, awesome! If not, now worries! We are just changing our family tree 😍
Live Minimal
Live Happy
Live Simple
Flourishing Home with Hannah 