Minimalism and Black Friday

Minimalism and Black Friday don’t mix very well.  I started this book, Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism  Thanksgiving morning, meaning 2:30 am when I couldn’t sleep.

It was inspirational.  It isn’t my favorite minimalism book, but let’s just say I finished the entire thing before Cyber Monday and certainly I have never been less tempted by all the things for sale.  It’s not bad.  It was actually great.  I just have other favorites.

One part that I really liked was his talking about how things we own demand space in our house.  My house is feeling cramped and it should feel cavernous for one adult and one toddler.

My attraction to minimalism is different from most people.  I don’t want to have to take care of things and keep them clean and put away.  I’d rather not have things.  I also really want to make some changes to my house and create a more open floor plan, but right now, the walls and door are hiding all the stuff that doesn’t have a place in my office.

So in December, in addition to observing advent, I am planning to do a great purge and you can follow me here and on social media to see my progress.  I need you guys to keep me accountable and blogging about it will keep it fun.  If anyone wants to join me, let me know.

My goal is at the very least to post a picture each day of all the things leaving my house.  #projectfewerthings

You see, this is my reasoning.  I’m a widowed mom of a toddler with a full-time job that I often do from my house.  I was never great at keeping the house clean at the best of times, but honestly, even the cleanest of people would have trouble on their own working full-time with a toddler.

I have a sister staying with me for the month and helping me til Christmas. I realized we could either work on staying on top of the mess, or we could drastically minimize the stuff, so that I’m not back in the same place when she leaves and I’m back on my own.

I don’t think getting rid of things will be nearly as easy as I imagine while laying in bed at night.  Some of the things, I’ll be faced with are my husband’s things.  I know some widows clean out things immediately.  I did not.  I gave away things I knew others could use, but the things that hold random memories for me, or even just point to the kind of person he was, are still right where he left them.  I’m not going to push myself.

So stay tuned…

December will be devoted to Project Fewer Things and, of course, one of the most relatable church seasons, Advent, the season of waiting for a Savior.