Final Thoughts on Being a Minimalist!

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge, Vlog by livinthecountrylife

Well that was hard!

So I have sat down now to reflect on the process of the minimalist challenge and came up with a few thoughts along the way.

For anyone who has checked out my latest VLOG over on my You Tube Channel you know that I have some new things coming out this week to help me accomplish the goals I originally but unknowingly set out to complete with the minimalist challenge.

I think that when I started the minimalist challenge I thought I was going to have a much less cluttered house. This did not happen! I think I would need to finish it over and over for a full year in order to remove all the junk from my house and I am just not up for a yearlong challenge like that!

If my math is correct (and for those who know me well know I don’t math) I rid my house of 600 things over the course of the 30 days. That’s a lot but it really didn’t seem to make a dent in the cluttered areas of my home. And it didn’t feel like any area specifically was cleaner than when I started.

The minimalist life style (although I admire those who can live it) is not exactly for us. We need stuff. I have three kids, we have activities, we have commitments, and we live a long way from “the store” like any store. I shop at Costco and buy in bulk whenever I can. We have two fridges and two big deep freezers because if I can, I attempt a once (maybe twice) a month grocery trip, outside of the food we grow and raise ourselves. I bring more things into my home than I could possibly remove at the same rate, and I just don’t see myself going to the extremes of living with less!

I think that was my flaw going into all this. I didn’t have respect for the lifestyle because it wasn’t the life style I was looking for as much as a purge. So purge I will do.

A Spring Clean of sorts. I feel if I set up the cleaning process within the purge I will accomplish more of what I thought I would get out of the original challenge.

So the goal will be to choose an area once a week (there are many to pick from) and clean it. Remove the crap, box up stuff to take to donation, throw out garbage, re organize, and clean an area all at once. I feel this process although it might take longer in the moment, will allow an entire area of my home to be cleaned up and feel less cluttered. Immediate gratification always feels better!

I will be filming, and talking about the process over on my VLOG so please click SUBSCRIBE over on my channel if you are interested in the updates. I wont be doing a continuous update here on this blog as I did with the minimalist challenge, I will be reserving this space for my writing rather than blogs with only click content!

So here is to a cleaner home and less clutter!

-A

21Nov2017

1/3 Minimalist Challenge – Day 10

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge by livinthecountrylife

Hey you can check out Day 10 HERE or my thoughts on how its all going HERE!

It has been a tough go. I realize that there are so many things I hold on to for sentimental reasons, and then I see those behaviours that border on hoarding. It is extremely stressful and exhausting at times to find things that I am willing or able to get rid of, and that makes this process feel all the more necessary. I think that if I can make it thru to the end my house will not only be de-cluttered but I will learn some new ways to let go of things I no longer need and might even spur on some more projects or challenges, but we shall see what the future brings! I am not holding my breath yet! 🙂 It has been interesting, I have learned a lot, and I am excited to be done! Not just for a decluttered house but for the sake of not worrying any more about what to get rid of!

Happy Minimizing!

20Nov2017

Minimalist Challenge – Day 9

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge by livinthecountrylife

Hey all, check out day nine HERE – It is getting more challenging to go thru this process every day… Stay tuned tomorrow for an extra special video and post about the process at 1/3 of the way thru! 🙂 Also don’t forget I have lots going on here on this page with activities and such too so don’t miss out on other great posts like Ugly Christmas Sweater Making and Parental Musings like Try!

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14Nov2017

Minimalist Challenge – Day 3

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge by livinthecountrylife

Check out Day 3 Here!

13Nov2017

Minimalist Challenge – Day 2

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge by livinthecountrylife

Hey everyone, check out day 2 HERE!

12Nov2017

Minimalist Challenge – Here We Go!

Posted in Life, Minimalist Challenge, Vlog by livinthecountrylife

This is the Minimalist Challenge by Livin’ the Country Life. I was invited a while back to be a part of a Facebook group doing the challenge, and to be frank it was terrifying then to think about the process of actually getting rid of things. So this got me to thinking that perhaps there was something there…

Maybe I should be looking at the idea of riding my life of things that I am no longer using, things I don’t need any more, and junk that not only do I not need but others likely don’t either. I often see something and think, “I’ll use this later, I should just put it downstairs and then when I need it ill have it.” Well this has lead to not much room left downstairs and other things that don’t make it to the basement get “organized” and then “reorganized” again and again in the space they exist in, never to actually be used! It has been a vicious cycle so I have hope that if I actually remove these things from my home in the form of garbage or donation that my living spaces will become less cluttered!

So here we go! Wish me luck and feel free to join me on my journey by posting comments here and over on my vlog letting me know how the process is going for you! OR if you have done this before and have tips let me know that too! I am expecting difficulty along the way but am optimistic.

*Disclaimer, the videos on my Vlog are a couple days delayed from filming day to post day because I wanted to allow for editing time (three little ones and all their activities leave me with some days where I just don’t have time to edit and post)

Welcome to Day one of the minimalist challenge by Livin’ the Country Life. The weather is getting cooler and so what better time to do some purging of things I don’t need anymore. You can follow along day-by-day over on my Vlog. I’ll post here too along the way to let you how the process is going. I am excited to get started and start to rid my house and life of clutter. I know I have more than enough stuff to get rid of. But I also know I have some pretty serious hoarding tendencies, as you will notice in my first video. So this challenge will get me going on the bigger issue of letting go of things and I hope it will allow me to live a less cluttered life!

Stay tuned for more!