Simplicity in 2017

On a recommendation from one of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie, whose perfectly organized, immaculate life leaves mine in shambles in comparison, I read “The Joy of Less.” 

I’ve read other books about decluttering and simplifying, and they always leave me feeling inspired and ready to make real changes in my life and living quarters. This one motivated me to get rid of a few bags worth of stuff and finally take the give-away piles I’ve had cluttering up the garage to the donation center, so there was definitely that instant gratification.

This book was that it was all about minimalism, which I’m only familiar w/ from reading Steph’s blog (and which I should have picked up on that from the byline, A Minimalist Living Guide, which literally spells it out for me). Overall, I enjoyed it. Sure, she repeated herself a lot, and there was plenty of redundancy, but that was probably more the author trying to fulfill her contract rather than beat a dead horse. 

I found the first part of the book really motivating, and I was excited to apply her philosophy to my home. She asked the right questions and made me reflect on my life in a way I’ve never really considered. It was when she went into the room-by-room analysis of how to live minimally in each area of the house that I started getting a little skeptical. When she suggested using actual dried leaves and pinecones in lieu of buying seasonal décor, I might have started skimming the chapters.

All in all, an interesting read that made me want to overhaul most of our consumer habits. A true minimalist would probably take offense to our home, but for the most part, we live a pretty clutter free existence. I’ve always been fairly neat and organized and agree w/ Jay that counters and tables (and any surface space really) look best when empty. It’s buying crap we don’t need, stocking up on backups just because we have the room, other habits like this that we need to curb.

It’s late in the game for a new year’s resolution, and since I don’t buy into that gimmicky crap anyway, I don’t feel ashamed to say that I want to focus on simplifying in 2017…and all the years after. It’s not a one-and-done action, it’s a continual lifestyle. One that I can hopefully get Brent on board w/ before any spring shopping sprees rear their chaotic, costly head.