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So without further ado, here's Greg with the post and his commentary as we optimize for life. Practical minimalism, being a minimalist with a family by Rachel Jones of NourishingMinimalism.com. If you close your eyes and visualize minimalism, what do you see? An empty home with stark white walls, a platform bed on the floor, or perhaps just a mattress, maybe one white blanket and one pillow, a teeny tiny home with little or no decor, someone traveling across the country with a handful of possessions in the backpack, maybe minimalism looks like this for some people, but certainly not for all minimalists.
Minimalism with a family. Sure, if I was single, I could live in a tiny home with an extremely minimal amount of stuff, but that's completely impractical with a family. We need to get away from the idea that minimalism is only having a very tiny amount of stuff. If you get that idea stuck in your head, you'll likely end up in one of these situations.
You won't start on the path towards minimalism to begin with, you'll live in frustration because you'll get rid of very useful things and end up living an uncomfortable life that's harder than it needs to be, and you'll throw your hands up and quit because you can't quite get to the desired minimal number of items that you feel qualifies you to be a minimalist. Find the sweet spot. Minimalism for most of us means finding that sweet spot, the right number of items for our needs. It's not getting rid of everything for the sake of having nothing.
Minimalism needs to be practical to work for families. It's not having so little that your life is harder unpleasant. For example, I want enough clothing that I don't have to do laundry every single evening to have the right clothes clean for the next day, but I do limit it to a reasonable minimal amount for our needs. I'm not going to have so little food in the house that I have to run to the store daily in order to keep everyone fed, but I keep food simple.
I'm not going to get rid of all of the games in our home because my family enjoys playing them together. You're also not going to find much white in my home, aside from some walls and the painted hardwood floor. I have kids. I'm not going to spend all day fretting about keeping it white.
Plus, I enjoy color. Key things to remember. Here are some things to consider to stay on track toward a practical minimalist journey. Minimalism is a mindset, not a number.
Minimalism is a mindset that you embody, not a set number of items remaining and suddenly you've arrived. You're now officially a minimalist. Minimalism works for even the largest of families because it's a mindset where you keep only the things that you need and use regularly. Minimalism is identifying the things that add value to your life and removing the things that take away from it.
Minimalism is personal. It's common to get an idea in our minds of what minimalism should or shouldn't look like, but it's important to realize that every person and every family is going to embrace minimalism differently. So many factors go into determining what minimalism will look like for each one of us. We have different dreams, jobs, education choices, goals, hobbies, lifestyles, locations, and preferences for the number of items in our homes.
The things you value and choose to keep are going to be different than the things I value and choose to keep. A mom who homeschools her children, naturally needs books and supplies to educate her children from home. If you enjoy a particular craft, that means crafting supplies are going to be important to you, although you will pare down substantially and learn how to keep only what you really use in love. For a single person that enjoys the outdoor and travel, minimalism may really mean a backpack full of possessions biking cross-country, but if you're traveling cross-country with a baby, your needs are going to be a lot different.
If you're traveling cross-country as a family of eight, well, that's going to look a lot different too. Minimalism is about improving quality of life. Minimalism is about making your life better. If you're getting rid of things by the truckload and your life is getting more unpleasant and more difficult, instead of easier and more peaceful, your minimalism mindset may need a dose of practicality.
I'm not keeping things just in case here or advocating that you keep things. I'm referring to the idea of minimalism where you feel you have to get rid of every single thing or you're not really a minimalist. Ask yourself these questions when you're not so sure about something. Does the item meet a basic need?
Do you use it on a regular basis? Does the item simplify your life? What would your life look like without it? Are you able to maintain it?
And does it have a home that makes sense? Maybe you will have to keep more things than you would like to at this point in your life because they are a true need. You're still a minimalist, just a practical one. You understand and appreciate having less and are able to let it go when it's no longer a need.
You just listened to the post titled Practical Minimalism, Being a Minimalist with a Family by Rachel Jones of nourishingminimalism.com. Local news is in decline across Canada and this is bad news for all of us. With less local news, noise, rumors and misinformation fill the void and it gets harder to separate truth from fiction. That's why CBC News is putting more journalists in more places across Canada, reporting on the ground from where you live, telling the stories that matter to all of us because local news is big news.
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Plus it used to cost $499 right now. It's just $199 and head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. And a post that I really enjoyed from Rachel today, certainly one that's helpful for all of us. For those of us who really get into it, minimalism can be a really prideful and enriching part of our identities, right?
And it's so visible both inside and out too, and therefore very hard to just let go of. But the thing is for parents who are struggling to integrate minimalism into their family lives, I would just like to offer a reminder that this is nothing new for you. Rachel has offered some amazing tips here today and they're also very doable. Because when you enter parenthood, you are constantly towing the line, right?
Your social life gets adjusted, your work life might get adjusted, your alone time certainly gets adjusted, your time with your partner gets adjusted. These are all hugely important parts of who we are, yet we still find ways to make them flexible with children. Minimalism doesn't have to be any different, and a lot of thanks to Rachel for showing us the way today. That is going to do it for me though everybody.
As always, I thank you so much for joining and I'm wishing you a fun, safe Friday, if you're listening in real time. Be sure to come on back tomorrow for another post because you know we don't take weekends off. And I look forward to seeing you then where your optimal life awaits.