Why Everyone should be a Minimalist

Yesterday morning, I was standing here, I like to make my coffee in the morning and then I stand and I look out our kitchen window, cause you can see the sunrise. And this thought comes to my mind of what if this is what it's all about? What if today, right? It's the beginning of a new day. What if just today is what it's all about? Not thinking about the future and planning for the future and tomorrow and all the things that might come down the road, but what if it's literally just today? And by what arrogance do we think that any of us are guaranteed any more than basically just today? Right? And so that came to me and then I'm like, but I don't know, do I actually want to talk about that? Because, well, that's kind of just a downer of a topic, right? But what else has been happening? Well, a few things have happened too. We just had a really great weekend. Like one of those weekends where we cleaned out the chicken coop in the barn because it really needed to be done. And we worked in the garden for a little bit and on some landscaping. And then we had sweet corn and cucumbers that had just come out of the garden. And so it was one of those days where you're just like, wow, I really enjoyed it today a lot. And then I've been reading the book Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki again, because I want to do another video on the silent to-do list. And he's the one that came up with that idea. I hadn't actually read the full book before. And he's talking about, in fact, he shows in the beginning of the book, his very minimalist apartment. And again, he's a single gentleman that lives in Japan. So for many of us, it's like, well, that's not really relatable. But as I was looking at the pictures of his apartment and the before and after in his apartment now, I was very much drawn to it. I'm like, there's just something about that that feels so good. And I realized it's just the lack of possessions, the lack of things that he has to manage, how much freedom that brings. And we live by and large that way. Not that far, right? But we live very simply, but there are still times where I'm like, maybe I should go a little bit further. And so I guess just what I want to maybe tell you today is I think I just want to give you permission to go even further. That maybe we need to stop saving all of these things for tomorrow and the next season and when things change a little bit. And maybe the real freedom and enjoyment will come if we just have the things that we need just for today. And I hope you can sense this from my videos is that I care very deeply for you. I know most likely we have never met, right? And so sometimes that can sound a little strange, but I actually care very deeply for you and about your circumstances, because I think often I feel like on a Saturday when we're just out in the garden and doing things around the house, I feel so much freedom. I can absolutely choose what I want to do today. I could read, I could work in the garden, I could do some landscaping. I could just sit on the deck and drink iced coffee. I feel like there is so much freedom, even though there's so much of life we can't control. But the things that I can control, there's so much freedom that has come by living a minimalist lifestyle and not being tied to all of these things. And so I really want that for you too. And I don't benefit at all if you donate all your things, right? Like there's nothing, I hope you can feel that my intentions behind this are very pure because I gain nothing if you get rid of all your stuff, right? Like there's actually no benefit. I sell very few things, right? We intentionally don't do a lot of sponsorships. We don't promote a lot of products. Even when I'm showing organizing products, I'm like, uh, should I show this, should I not? But I know you're going to ask for the link, so I'll just provide the link or whatever. But I sincerely do believe these things are making my life better, right? And so I try to be very careful with all that. But I just, I think I feel this urgency to say like, what if it's just about today? What if we're not meant to worry so much about the future and saving all of these things that we might need in the future? What if it really is just about today? And I feel like over the last eight years, I've decided that I'm just not going to carry stuff from season to season. Like if we are not using it now, if it's not providing value for our life right now, I am going to let it go and trust that when the season comes around, that the stuff will find its way back to us. And so that's kind of been my mindset of everything in our house we are using now. You've seen our basement storage area. There's a little bit that we keep for other seasons or other things, but it is very, very minimal. And it's easy to keep organized and to store and everything, right? And so I've just decided I don't want to carry hobby stuff and craft supply stuff and extra clothing and all of the extra things into another day where I don't know for sure if I'm going to need it. Because I have realized how much energy and mental bandwidth that stuff takes to manage. And so again, we'll talk more about the silent to-do list in the future. But today I think my encouragement is just what if we just focused on today? What if we just lived right here in this current season that we're in and didn't try to have all the things for all the seasons that could come that we don't know for sure? If you know for sure, you're going to use something coming up or in the future, for sure you're going to use it, then keep it. But what if all the other stuff, what if we actually were willing to let that go? I think he says, he shows his closet and he'll say he has four dress shirts and this is where he sleeps and his dishes. And he even selects stuff that just even looks minimal. I don't want to get rid of my Pioneer Woman stuff yet, but I've kind of gone towards white dishes now and all of that. And I actually really even appreciate the visual simplicity of it too. But what freedom? I think we could say that's too far. I've heard some of you say, I don't want to be a minimalist and that's too far and all of that. But what if it's not too far? What if this is actually an invitation to live the most fulfilling life possible? Because we know none of us were born, and he'll say this, none of us were born with anything in our hands and none of us can take any of it with us. So what if it really has just been all of the marketing and everything that says, nope, you have to have this, you have to have options. You need to keep things because you spent money on it. And I know this is a little more complex than just one video and me saying, let's just live for today. But what if we started to consider this and say, maybe minimalism isn't too extreme. Maybe this is how I'm meant to live. And maybe this is actually what my soul longs for and what I actually want. Like if you just stopped right now, like if you just imagined your house or your apartment or where you're living right now, and if you imagined it with just the clothes in your closet that you wear right now, and just enough stuff in your bedroom to sleep and get dressed and that's all, right? And your storage areas with just the things that you're using right now, how different would your house feel? How different would your life feel when the storms of life that inevitably come, would they feel just a little bit easier to weather and to manage because you're not bogged down by all of the things? And so I love what Fumio Sasaki says in the introduction to his book. He says, there's happiness in having less. That's why it's time to say goodbye to all our extra things. That's the minimal version of the message that I'd like to convey in this book. I want to show you how amazing it is to have less, even though that's the complete opposite of how we've been taught to be happy. We think that the more we have, the happier we will be. We never know what tomorrow might bring, so we collect and save as much as we can. This means we need a lot of money. So we gradually start judging people by how much money they have. We start to realize that money solves most of our problems. You can even change people's minds if the price is right. And if you can buy people's minds, then surely you can buy happiness. So you convince yourself that you need to make a lot of money so you don't miss out on success. And he goes on then to talk about how, you know, we end up acquiring a lot of things to look a certain way and to have our lifestyle appear that it fits into the hierarchy of all the other lifestyles and people around us. And so again, I think the freedom that I was feeling over the weekend and the urgency I feel now is that no amount of things has ever filled that void for any of us. We know that. And so what if we were willing to try the opposite approach? Instead of continuing to acquire more and more, what if we said, you know what, I'm going to let go of more and more and just see, maybe just see if underneath all of this stuff isn't the contentment and the happiness and the sense of self-confidence and self-worth and self-love, all those things we're supposed to have for ourselves, right? What if maybe I won't find that underneath all of this stuff? And what if I am completely freed up to be able to live for today, to live right here today? And so when you drink your coffee in the morning and you look out the window that you feel at peace and you get to decide what your day looks like today and what it is that you want to focus on instead of feeling burdened by all of the stuff in your home and all of the time and energy that it takes to manage it. So I guess my plea for you today is that minimalism really isn't that extreme. I think it is, I mean, I would never say in the past, like everyone should be a minimalist. Cause I'm like, you do you, boo, right? You're a free willed human being, you decide. And I think now I'm just feeling like, no, maybe I should be a little more bold and maybe I should tell you, no, I absolutely think there is so much freedom in being a minimalist because as the quote says, whatever we hold holds us too. So I'll link to that video on the silent to-do list if you haven't seen it yet, or if it's been a little while since you watched it. I know often many women have said it was actually helpful to share with their spouses or partners or other people in your household too, if they don't quite understand. If you're like, I get it, Dawn, I want that, but tell the people in my household. That video can be helpful to share with them as well. But my sincerest hope is that I can continue to give you permission that it's okay to let things go and give you practical how-tos as well. So I will definitely link to some helpful videos. All right. I love you. I hope you have a really good day and I'll see you again soon.