Why I LOVE Minimalisim

Have you heard of minimalism? It's this new movement all over the internet where people are throwing away all their crap. Some people are even narrowing it down to only 100 items total! They report to feeling free. More free time, more money in the bank, and emotionally liberated.

This lifestyle appeals to me imensly. I've already taken garbage bags of stuff (really just stuff) to Deseret Industries, and I've taken two garbage bags to the recycling center, and that felt really good. While I try to convince my husband that it's okay for me to keep throwing away all our crap, there are a lot of things about the minimalist lifestyle that I'm certainly not going to do.


There are a few blogs about people selling their houses and moving to small apartments. This is the opposite of what I want. People being proud of getting rid of their deep freezers! I have to admit, one of these is on my list of "Want very badly." It's up there on that list with the piano.


But I also want a huge yard. I think that a big part of this minimalism movement for me is reducing my consumerism on a drastic level, and a garden would help with that. I want a compost pile and a chicken coop. I want most of our food to come off of our land and I want most of our meat to come from my husband hunting. I hate spending all our good money on processed food that is killing us anyway.


But it's not all about making an impact on the environment. I think about all the money we could save on food, all the stuff we could do without and it makes me think of the trips we could go on. It makes me think that maybe, just maybe, we will get to a point that I can stay at home with our future children and teach them and read to them.


So here I go on another fast. I have done food fasts before and I love them. They make me feel free and the spiritual and mental clarity is unbelievable. But this time I am going on a money fast. Starting in June, I am going to save every possible penny that I can. I think we probably have enough food in our house to last us a whole month, so that is the goal (I just have to start cooking more). No restaurants, no malls, no extras. My bank statements tell me I spend an average of 2000 dollars a month. I'm looking to cut that number in half.


And then maybe go to Mexico this year or the next.