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Last week we finally had our bedroom floors done and I love them!
We had a grungy carpet that had been in the room since the house was built twelve years ago. Stains, dirt, dust, pet dander, and everything else that had collected in that carpet over time that the vacuum didn’t pick up.
Yuck.
The new flooring looks amazing in here and I have an absolute nostalgia with it because it looks so similar to the flooring I had growing up as a child.
My mind always makes connections that aren’t exactly obvious to the rest of the world, so I’ll explain how getting these floors takes my thoughts to minimalism.
Minimalism Connection
First of all, I’ve been doing a lot of decluttering lately. Minimalism has been on my mind to the point that I’ve actually told my husband we should get a tiny house. Not just a small house, but an actual tiny house.
I also watched the documentary about minimalism based on the book Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus to learn a bit more about the movement, and now I need to read the book.
Anyway, the floors took me back to my childhood. Pairing that with my recent interest in minimalism, decluttering, and living paycheck to paycheck I thought about my mom who was born during the Great Depression.
My mom grew up during a time where her mom would save and reuse just about everything. It was a time when people learned the value of things and didn’t take it for granted. When I was growing up I remember my mom saving butter containers and bread bags to be reused for later. As a kid who didn’t understand the challenge of economics in our world I didn’t fully appreciate why my mother was doing the things she did.
We live in a disposable world, and with all of my decluttering and memories of growing up I realize just how many things I’ve accumulated that I had a little bit of an interest in but didn’t really love or need. This is why I’m gradually moving toward minimalism.
It’s a work in progress, but a project I hope to eventually complete.
The Plan
As I continue to move toward minimalism there are some ideas I am keeping in my head to hopefully make my work a success.
- Continue to declutter. We’re in the process of some room rearranging through our house so I might as well make sure everything has a place and go through things with a minimalist eye.
- Make sure what I bring into the house is something we absolutely need or something I absolutely love.
- Utilize some the lessons from the Great Depression in terms of managing a house. Repurpose items, fix what I can, save and reuse, etc.
- Make what I can. I’m going to start off with those new floors and make rugs utilizing the yarn stash I have and my crocheting skills. The yarn takes up a lot of space and I don’t need that much yarn, so I might as well use it for something practical.
- Keep learning more about minimalism. As I keep reading and exploring what other people are doing it’s going to inspire me on how I can make it work for me.
This is a project that’s already bringing me comfort and a weight off my shoulders. Less things means less to clean, organize and worry about. Honestly, I haven’t missed anything I’ve gotten rid of so far (mostly donations). I can tell this is the right move for me at this time.
Have you thought about taking on a minimalistic lifestyle? How would you take it on? Share your ideas in the comments below.
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