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This whole minimalist and living with less lifestyle is totally my thing. About 85 percent of the time. The other 15 percent? I want more than one pair of jeans to choose from! And I want ALL the books. And I’m getting a thing for house plants… so don’t even go there.

And while I can think of worse things to collect than books and plants, these things still need my love and more importantly, my time.

The more stuff you own, the more stuff owns you.

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I’m inspired and intrigued by those who do ‘tiny living’, which for some, is the penultimate in minimalism. But I’ve often wondered. How do they do it? Particularly those that have children. Or perhaps, more specifically, how do they live with so little, in such small spaces, without going crazy. What things do they keep?

What are the things that really matter?

I spent some time pondering this over summer as we spent a month out of our home.

We rented our house out as holiday accommodation and did a couple of housesitting stints at friends places. Smaller homes than our own, without 95 percent of our belongings.

And it was fine. In fact, it was more than fine. It was refreshing.

And on a long bike ride during that month I realized that the only thing I truly missed was our cat. The rest? I would’ve been okay without it for longer, perhaps even forever.

What really matters

It sounds very cliche to say that I had all I needed because I was with my family, or some other version of ‘home is where the heart is’. But it turns out it’s actually true.

What really mattered to me was still having a place to rest my head at night. Not that the pillow was 100% goose feathers or the bedspread the perfect shade of blue.

What mattered was that our kids had a place to unwind from their long hot summer days in the water. They didn’t once ask for any toy or other item left at home.

And it mattered that we were all together.

If anything, the time away from our home made me want to get rid of more of our belongings. And it gave me faith that if we should one day feel inclined to take a family OE, we would be okay.

So, as list lovers do, I made a couple of lists.

Ten things I can’t live without

1. My laptop (I do most of my writing on it).
2. My lip balm. Lifelong addict and okay with it.
3. Soda water. We took our soda stream with us! I literally cannot handle life without bubbly water. And it’s especially important for me right now as I go alcohol-free.
4. Coffee. I’m a coffee snob and can’t even do plunger. But instead of a bulky machine we are enjoying our daily joe using this clever invention.
5. My family (I know, this should probably have been #1!). I continue to be amazed at how critically important these dudes are to me.
6. Comfy clothes. Shorts and singlets are my uniform through summer.
7. Havaianas. I live in these ones for 6 months of the year.
8. Running shoes and road bike. Exercise is vital to my emotional well being. My knees don’t let me run as much as I’d like to anymore so I’m getting back out on my bike this summer.
9. Books. I always have something on the go. I’m currently reading Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin, and I just finished Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Caleo. I’m about to start The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.
10. Friends. I feel very rich when I think of the friendships I have. Some are old, some a new, some are family and some are soul sisters. And I literally could not do life without them.

Ten things I can live without

1. Fancy clothes (actually most of my clothes).
2. Decor items – I have a few things I love that are simply decorative (mostly plants and pictures), but did I miss them – nope.
3. Baking! I have a sweet tooth and have been a baker since I got married. But being away from my kitchen mixer made me realize we can have a happy (and probably healthier) life without baked goods!
4. Toys. With the exception of a couple of Christmas presents and books, the kids took none of their toys.
5. All of my recipe books. I have a couple of boards on Pinterest that I pretty much solely cook from.
6. Furniture. Okay perhaps I want a kitchen table and a bed, but everything else? I reckon I could get by without. But I’m not sure how well that would go down with the rest of the family!
7. Unfinished projects. I have a few lying around and I’m officially over it. Time to finish them or hit delete.
8. The mismatched china I’ve collected over the years. Ugh. I need to deal with this at some point. I pull it out occasionally, but because of a small kitchen, not as much as I’d like.
9. Television. Ok we did actually have a television at our housesitting gigs but it was used far less by all of us than at home. In the month we were away I watched a total of 3 hours. The last episode of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (sob sob) and Bird Box.
10. Too many kitchen gadgets to list. I cannot believe I still have an ice shaver, even after playing the Mins game and participating and Uncluttered!

The #1 lesson from living with less

A month without 95% of our belongings taught me lots.

But perhaps most importantly it taught me that living with less is not only possible – it’s my preferred way to live. When I live with less, I’m less distracted. I’m more inclined to pay attention to the things that really matter. The cheeky looks on my kids faces, the clouds that cookie cut the blue sky, and opportunities that would’ve passed me by had I been distracted by stuff.

I want to encourage you to think about what really matters in you life. Are there things you could you live without? Would your life be a little easier with a little less?

I think these are important questions to ask ourselves regularly. And if you want a starting place I created a worksheet that might help you dig a bit deeper and uncover what really matters for you.

If you are feeling ready to live with less and want a roadmap to help you declutter I recommend you check this out;

Uncluttered is a 12-week long course created by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist, and over 30,000 people have participated in the course over the last 3 years.

The course is broken up into four modules;

Module 1: Know your why’s

Module 2: Change your home

Module 3: Develop new habits

Module 4: Experiment with less

Each module contains a video or interview with a leader in the minimalist movement and a guide to the week’s challenge. It also includes 3 live webinars, where you can ask Joshua some of your more tricky questions.

And possibly the best part – you get access to a private Facebook group of other Uncluttered participants. Here you can get pretty constant access to motivation, tips, and inspiration from current and past participants.

If you are considering taking the course this year, I’m very pleased to be able to offer you a friends and family discount of a huge 25%! (just enter FF25 at the checkout).

If you want to find out more about Uncluttered before signing up visit the webpage. You can also email me at simpleslowlovely@gmail.com, or PM me on Facebook or Instagram.

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