It Begins!

Tomorrow, it truly begins! My wife has been pitching things since the first day we posted, but I haven't been home long enough to start. Tomorrow I have the day off work, a truck for hauling to the dump(things that can't be donated elsewhere), and a lot of motivation! My wife is out of town, and I hope to shock her with the difference in our home when she comes back. The closer I get to finally taking that step, the more excited I become. I'm hoping that this will not only be a material or aesthetic change around our home, but a change to my emotional state as well. I hope this will be the first step in being free of the burden of wanting the next best thing, and struggling to keep up with what society deems important. Anyway, this is going to be a short post but tomorrow I hope to share my emotions with you as I go through my house and get rid of items. I know it won't be easy, but I'm excited for the process and can only hope that it will be as cathartic as I believe it will be! Check back tomorrow for more details!

Happy Easter!

Ryan

A Minimalist Mom

     My biggest dream and goal in life, even as a  young girl dressing up dolls, was to be a mom. Not just a mom, I wanted to be the best mom I could possibly be! Lucky me, my chance at motherhood arrived 9 months ago as I held my sweet baby boy in my arms for the first time.
     Even before having Ashton, my husband Ryan and I always daydreamed about what it will be like having a children and discussed the kind of life we want to provide for them. After finding out we were having a boy, we both knew we wanted him to be adventurous and creative! We want him to run around outside riding his bike or collecting bugs! Ryan and I had great childhood experiences and in many ways, we want share some of the same experiences with Ashton. It seems too many kids these days stay inside too much playing video games or watching tv with nothing to stimulate or encourage creativity! Hek, it's not uncommon for second graders to have cell phone these days! What?! That's crazy to me! But that's for another day...
     Back to our son, most importantly, I want Ashton to know his mom and dad love him and are always here for him. Spending quality time with Ashton is more important to me than watching "Dancing with the Stars" or pinning recipes on Pinterest. I'm guilty of being a distracted mother at times and I don't want it to become a habit. I want to be the best wife and mom I can be, and to do so, I need to get rid of anything that may distract me. It's time to simplify my life and get rid of things that clutter my time and my home. In this journey to minimalism, I pray and know it will make my husband and I a stronger couple, stronger parents, better Christians, and a closer family.
                                                              
                                                                                                            ~Whitney

The Accumulation of Happiness

Let me begin by saying that this website is a place for my wife and I to share our experiences on our journey to a minimalistic lifestyle. As I started thinking about what I wanted to write about in this first entry, several things came to mind. I could talk about what we are doing, how we are doing it, or why we are doing it, but none of those things really resonated in me as a great first post for our blog. While we do want to talk about the other topics I mentioned eventually, today I want to write about the perceived accumulation of happiness that has led us to this point.

Several months ago, as I was sitting at my computer desk playing a game on our desktop computer with a Kindle Fire propped up next to me steaming a movie, I had a thought. I sat there wondering if this is what it took for me to be happy. Did I need multiple devices with the ability to do similar tasks, was I accumulating happiness or was I just accumulating "stuff". This thought led me further into my mind and I began contemplating all of the useful hobbies and tasks I could accomplish with the time I was currently wasting. Right then I was hooked on this idea of a minimalistic lifestyle. Being content with what I have, and finding happiness in the meaningful relationships that surround me. I thought about how much better of a husband, father, and person I could be if I really bought into it. Unfortunately, after very minimal effort, I gave up quickly on this idea and went back to the status quo. The same status quo that a majority of Americans live in every day.

Fast forward to this week, and picture me sitting at my computer desk playing a game, Kindle Fire propped up next to me streaming a movie once again. This week I realized that I was again trying to find happiness by the accumulation of "stuff". I spoke to my wife about minimalism for a second time this week and she was exceptionally supportive and enthusiastic about the idea. While we do have differing ideas and opinions we look forward to sharing with you, we both agree that our lives and the life of our son can be improved with a drastic change. We will be continuing to update this blog during our journey to try and help others to determine if this may be the right choice for them. Hopefully, over the next several months we can begin to accumulate happiness and remove the need for our accumulation of stuff!

- Ryan