Fiona’s Minimalism Manifesto

My idea of a minimalist has always been a free spirit who travels the world with only six items of clothing and a fancy Apple laptop in their backpack.  I don’t know why, it’s just the image that pops into my head.

This makes me feel like a fraud when I consider myself a minimalist, but then just who decided the definition of minimalism and does it involve a certain number of possessions?  Even though I know no-one decided, I do like this description from The Minimalists (and funny that they mention the same thing I did about the stereotypical minimalist).  They say:

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.

And who doesn’t want more freedom I ask you?

So I’ve decided to create my own definition of minimalism to help guide me to my own personal happiness.

Dave Ramsey has a great quote that goes ‘live like no-one else today so that you can live like no-one else tomorrow’.  I love this saying and it really makes me excited at the possibilities I have for my life.  It also keeps my encouragement up for living the way I do and having my own minimalist mindset.

I love that we are paying off our home loan much earlier than the standard 20+ years because it means we have more choices in the kind of work we do and how many hours we work.

I love that I don’t need much to make me happy.  I’m a real home-lover and relish time spent in my abode surrounded by the things I love such as books, music and creative projects.  But compared with our friends, we don’t have nearly as many expensive possessions.

My minimalism manifesto could equally be called a Simplicity Manifesto because I have such a beautiful craving for simplicity and it is actually one of my core values.

In putting together my Minimalism Simplicity Manifesto I will involve statements big and small such as:

I am intentional with what I allow into my life, whether it is an item, an obligation or a person.

I enjoy doing the laundry because I love everything I’ve worn and washed, and there is ample room to put it away when it is clean, dry and folded.

I will find magic in everything I do, because I want to live a magical life.

This is an ongoing project which I am enjoying working on!

And now for the…

100 Things Update

It’s been a bit of a slow week for decluttering.  I’ve only been doing the usual collecting and not any focused deep decluttering, but that’s ok, as long as there is something in the donation pile at the end of the week.  Here is my round-up:

7.  A cute cat collar which was a giveaway on a bag of cat biscuits.  On closer inspection it is not a breakaway collar and does not have any elastic, so I am throwing it away as I don’t think it’s safe for any cat to wear.  My girls don’t wear collars at all.

8.  A pair of quite new grey cotton ruched-leg leggings which do nothing for my skin-tone.  The grey is so light in tone that my skin looks pasty next to it, and pale legs need all the help they can get.

9.  A red sweatshirt I made which is so-so on me but will be nice on someone else.

10.  A pair of cotton palazzo style lounge-pants which are quite comfortable but the colour is on the wrong side of beige/blush.  Leg-coloured trousers anyone?

11.  Another magazine.

12. and 13.  Two tubes of good quality hair and body shampoo crème from gift sets that I don’t remember to use (plus I prefer soap) which I emptied into a ¼ full shampoo bottle and shook up to create the most luxurious shampoo which also smells divine.  A wonderful new product and getting rid of two items.  Score!