What is Minimalish

My Minimalish Living Room

I read a post recently about a successful thirty year old that quit a six figure career to join the minimalist movement. He writes a compelling story of a guy that left a high stress career to pursue his dream of being a writer. At first I was impressed, then I realized I pretty much did the same thing. Granted, I didn't make a six figure salary, but hey, I live in Arkansas, not California. My five-figure salary was probably somewhat equivalent. I didn't pursue a dream job; I went for my dream lifestyle. I became a real-life Stay At Home Mom. 

With the exception of our mortgage, we paid off all our debt right before I made my grand exit from the rat race. After carefully punching the calculator to figure out if we could support a family on one salary, we knew we would have to consciencly watch our wallet to make it work. That's where minimalism started for me.... it grew from there.

I'm a pack-rat by nature, but I despise the look clutter creates in a space. The visual and emotional weight of "stuff" wasn't inspiring to me during the baby blues stage of new mommy-hood, so the ongoing quest a more minimalist decor ensued. Being at home all day everyday meant I needed to create a home I enjoyed. Two years later, we added another baby to the mix and decided to move to a more kid-friendly community. I read every online article about staging a house for quick sale and the result was a minimally decorated home where I longed to spend time. This was just the encouragement I needed to continue down the road to minimalism. 

Living as a family of four (two of which have almost enough toys to charter a slow boat from China) in a 900 square foot duplex with small closets showed us it doesn't take much to survive ~ not even in the American culture of extreme consumerism. I learned the value of open space every time I tripped over the dining room table en route to the kitchen sink. 

Since then, we've moved into our "long term" house. While I still love the look of open space, I also love the warmth (and convenience) of purposely placed throw pillows and a coordinating blanket "styled" over the arm of the sofa. During the last 18 or so months, purposely living with less has forced me to consider purchases more carefully. Now we have space to buy & store the mega pack of paper towels from our "Club store" but I choose not to. I've found that having a surplus means I use more. I'm sure it's some scientific marketing tactic. 

Our family isn't completely ready for the extreme Minimalist "movement" just yet. We still splurge occasionally, but we have a better grasp on our spending habits. We don't drive new cars, we don't swap out the decor of home for every holiday, and we don't have special shoes for every outfit and we don’t have every nook and cranny of our home stuffed with stuff. 

No, I'm not a minimalist, but I am Minimalish. ~ Plain & Simple As That


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