Searching for my inner minimalist in a life full of clutter

I read, a lot. Everything from century old books, the Bible, all the way up to brand new blogs. One of my favorite reads (and consequently a frequent feature in the Readables) is Relevant Magazine.

Today, Relevant published a piece "A Guide to Living With Less" by fellow writer/blogger Careese Rials. In the post, Rials, who maintains The Minimalist Believer , discusses how to successfully achieve the minimalist lifestyle without denouncing all of your possessions and moving into a commune.

While reading this post, I am reminded of my own journey to create a more minimalist in lifestyle. Quarterly, while I do the seasonal wardrobe change (one of the best AND the worst things about living in the northeastern United States), I always do a purge. Usually a BIG purge. Right now, there are 4 full trash bags behind my love seat in my living room waiting to be donated. I have friends over to help me clear my clutter by lovingly taking things I no longer adore as much as when I first found/ purchased them. I throw out anything that is overly worn, torn, ripped, or hopelessly stained.

Not only all of that, but I lead a pretty minimalist lifestyle. I wear the same 20 to 50 items per season, most of which, like my slouchy cotton tees or jeans, I can even change over into the next season. With a few exceptions, I carry the same bag (hence why I encourage you to go ahead and purchase a "good", high quality one in a classic color and shape that you can have for years to come. Saves you money in the long run.) I don't really use a lot of what I own.

Yet I am submersed in my own clutter. My drawers are stuffed to capacity. My multiple shoe racks are bursting. Bookshelves are swamped. My (albeit tiny) closets barely close and I have full containers of seasonal items that quite simply are full. Almost every available flat space is covered with...STUFF. 

And I think I have reached a personal breaking point with my own crap.

Back to the article, Rials reminds us that "Living with less is not about going without. It’s about having only what is essential and eliminating the excess." No one is asking you to move to Calcutta or Tibet with only your yoga mat and some celery. But you have to ask yourself "Do I really need 10 pairs of skinny dark wash jeans?" I own way more than I need. Even more disgusting, I own way more than I could want. I am constantly finding items that I've barely worn, that I've forgotten I've purchased , that even still have the tags on them.

And I think I have had enough.

For my faithful readers, if you've noticed a lack in "This Week in Thrift" posts, it is completely intentional. Not too long ago, I asked myself some pretty hard questions, the main one being "How much more stuff are you going to need to be content?" Since that day, I've been very intentional about my purchases, honoring the "buy one, lose one" principle, where if I buy a new (fill in the blank) I must then either get rid of one (fill in the blank) or donate a (fill in the blank). This principle, however, does not work in reverse. Let's say I decide that I'm going to purge 10 pairs of earrings. That doesn't give me license to go purchase 10 additional pairs of earrings. It means that I should enjoy the pairs I have remaining even more.

While my goal has always been to find quality things that can last the test of time (in affordable prices points of course!) my new goal is to achieve the minimalist life, to only have exactly what I need and no more. It is time to kill the clutter, revel in the simplistic beauty of an empty space, and truly enjoy what I have without feeling pressed to buy more.

Careese says "Life is far too precious to be spent chasing possessions and pursuing what others have defined as success. " and I am oh so inclined to agree.