Our new goal to minimize started out strong with sorting through our Christmas closet. I was able to reduce our stuff by two full totes, which I considered pretty good. I wanted to do the Christmas first because much of if will make money at a resell shop if I can get it there quickly.
One challenge I did notice right away is the tendency to get distracted--such as while cooking, I found excess spoons. I had to remind myself not to stop and deal with them as we are taking it one room at a time.
I can also foresee a big temptation--post Christmas sales. That's when I buy extra cute ornaments and fun items. I'm nixing that practice this year.
Here's what we reduced from our Christmas stash:
50 ornaments
1 craft kit
8 decorative items
14 tea cups (I collected items for a tea time tree, which I never put up)
1 tea pot
6 saucers
11 Children's Thanksgiving books
9 misc. items
Total Stuff Reduction : 100
Total to date: 100
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Learning minimalism
Although it is late November, I have settled firmly on my New Year's resolution, and my husband is enthusiastically onboard. It was prompted, as these things sometimes are, by reading a story. This story in Christianity Today on the practical and spiritual value in decreasing clutter.
Quite on my own, in October, I voluntarily decluttered by stash of fall/Halloween decor items (with an October birthday, I receive a lot of fall-themed items). As much as I enjoyed these gifts, I was bursting out of storage totes and needed decluttering. My goal was to reduce the Halloween and Thanksgiving items to one (very) large tote each. This paid off to the tune of thirty-some-odd dollars from my neighbor's home resale shop. The items I couldn't sell were donated.
Then this morning I read that story. And it opened my eyes to the sheer mass of stuff that we have in our home. So. much. stuff. And the truth is every season we donate stuff; yet we never seem to run out of stuff (we do, however, run out of storage space).
After I read this story I was convicted to strive for a much more minimalist life--not extreme minimalism, but a lot less than we currently have.
I made a list of some starting points:
That was my starting list. I put it aside and went on to the major event of our day: My family's Thanksgiving celebration. The meal was planned, but the second aspect of our family gathering was for my siblings and I help our elderly parents decorate their small home for Christmas.
I had no idea that my morning contemplation on clutter would be emphasized so clearly in sorting through my parents' stuff. Tote after tote pulled out of a storage closet that was overflowing with so much stuff that much of it was forgotten. If anything illustrated the effect of a lifetime of clutter this was it.
I came home with a renewed determination to free our home, and lives, of excess stuff. I discussed the idea with my husband and he surprised me by saying he had read a story on minimalism a few years ago, but didn't think I'd ever agree with it.
So this is our starting point. We are not going for complete minimalism. We are in the midst of renovating our basement family room and plan to buy furniture, lighting and decor items. But we are going for less, a lot less. As in bookshelves where I can actually see the shelves. And a Saturday that doesn't require me organizing and finding more storage space in our home. The good news is that even though we have a lot of extra items, they are organized. It is true that I have several hundred markers, crayons and colored pencils, but at least they are neatly stored in their own containers. I have that going for me, but decluttering needs to happen all the same.
As far as our goal, my husband says if we count each book as one item, we'll be able to give away a whole lot more than 1000 items. So we've set a tentative goal of 1000 items to start with, and then 85 items a month for the following year. That would get us to 2,000 items.
Here we go....
Quite on my own, in October, I voluntarily decluttered by stash of fall/Halloween decor items (with an October birthday, I receive a lot of fall-themed items). As much as I enjoyed these gifts, I was bursting out of storage totes and needed decluttering. My goal was to reduce the Halloween and Thanksgiving items to one (very) large tote each. This paid off to the tune of thirty-some-odd dollars from my neighbor's home resale shop. The items I couldn't sell were donated.
Then this morning I read that story. And it opened my eyes to the sheer mass of stuff that we have in our home. So. much. stuff. And the truth is every season we donate stuff; yet we never seem to run out of stuff (we do, however, run out of storage space).
After I read this story I was convicted to strive for a much more minimalist life--not extreme minimalism, but a lot less than we currently have.
I made a list of some starting points:
- Give away or sell 1,000 items next year--that's about 83 a month.
- Stop buying books (this is the hardest one of all for me) For 2015 I will only borrow books from the library or friends.
- Stop buying craft supplies.
- Stop buying holiday decor items.
- Stop shopping as a leisure activity, to fill time, or relieve boredom.
That was my starting list. I put it aside and went on to the major event of our day: My family's Thanksgiving celebration. The meal was planned, but the second aspect of our family gathering was for my siblings and I help our elderly parents decorate their small home for Christmas.
I had no idea that my morning contemplation on clutter would be emphasized so clearly in sorting through my parents' stuff. Tote after tote pulled out of a storage closet that was overflowing with so much stuff that much of it was forgotten. If anything illustrated the effect of a lifetime of clutter this was it.
I came home with a renewed determination to free our home, and lives, of excess stuff. I discussed the idea with my husband and he surprised me by saying he had read a story on minimalism a few years ago, but didn't think I'd ever agree with it.
So this is our starting point. We are not going for complete minimalism. We are in the midst of renovating our basement family room and plan to buy furniture, lighting and decor items. But we are going for less, a lot less. As in bookshelves where I can actually see the shelves. And a Saturday that doesn't require me organizing and finding more storage space in our home. The good news is that even though we have a lot of extra items, they are organized. It is true that I have several hundred markers, crayons and colored pencils, but at least they are neatly stored in their own containers. I have that going for me, but decluttering needs to happen all the same.
As far as our goal, my husband says if we count each book as one item, we'll be able to give away a whole lot more than 1000 items. So we've set a tentative goal of 1000 items to start with, and then 85 items a month for the following year. That would get us to 2,000 items.
Here we go....
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Horse and His Boy
On the very last day of the Narnia reading challenge, I finished The Horse and His Boy. This is the third time I have read the novel. In the past I would not have considered it one of my favorite Narnian tales, although it is growing on me. What never ceases to amaze me is how I can still find new gems of truth--ones that I missed on prior readings. Lewis is a genius here-weaving spiritual truth within compelling stories.
A few areas that stood out this time through The Horse and His Boy:
Shasta is desperately lost in the forest and very afraid. He meets Aslan although he can't really see him and is not entirely sure who Aslan is. So he asks,
"Who are you?""Myself," said the voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook; and again, "Myself", loud and clear and gay: and then the third time "Myself", whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.
This is a clear picture of God in three persons. The first "Myself" is mighty God the Father, the creator of all things and so holy the earth shakes at his voice. The second "Myself" is Jesus, the son, clear and sure and joy-filled. The third "Myself" is the Holy Spirit--soft, small voice of comfort that is ever present.
And the very word "Myself" could be interchanged with "I AM".
Another powerful lesson (that I've missed on prior readings) was when Shasta finds the hedgehogs and the animals greet him with "Good morning, neighbor."
Shasta is quick to point out that he is no neighbor, indeed he is a stranger in the land. Here Lewis sneaks in a quick lesson on who is our neighbor. The hedgehog takes Shasta home and treats him exactly as a beloved neighbor, not a stranger.
And finally, in Chapter 14 Bree is trying to describe Aslan, but he's never actually seen him and even doubts his true existence. That's when Aslan suddenly appears and tells Bree to
"touch me. Smell me. Here are my paws, here is my tail, these are my whiskers. I am a true Beast."
sounds remarkably like John 20:24-29
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Friday, July 1, 2011
Narnia Challenge
I've decided to participate in the Narnia Reading Challenge at Reading to Know. This time around I'm reading "The Horse and His Boy" which I feel is a fitting summer adventure. I always like to refer to "Roar" when reading Narnia. It's one of my favorite companions. In addition I'm going to see what Richard Abanes has to say about the land inside the wardrobe in "Harry Potter, Narnia and the Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know about Fantasy Books and Movies."
Thursday, March 17, 2011
2011 Books Read
January
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
February
Snow Day by Billy Coffey
Bookends by Liz Curtis Higgs
Desperate Hours: The Epic Story of the Rescue of the Andrea Doria by Richard Goldstein
It's All About Him: Finding the Love of my Life by Denise Jackson
March
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Radical: Taking Back your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt
April
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
May
The Lord of the Rings, unabridged, by J.R.R. Tolkien
June
Brother Andrew by Gregg Lewis
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
July
Mockingjay (#3 Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Sunday, March 6, 2011
2010 Books Read
January
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad
February
The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory
The Penny by Joyce Meyer
March
The Other Queen by Phillipa Gregory
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster
Me, Myself and Bob: A True Story about God, Dreams and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer
What Difference Do It Make: Stories of Hope and Healing by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.
April
Literary Hoaxes: An Eye-opening History of Famous Frauds by Melissa Katsoulis
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortensen
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis
Savage Summit: True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain by Jennifer Jordan
A Red State of Mind: How a Catfish Queen Became a Liberty Belle by Nancy French
May
Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season by Nick Heil
The Great Christmas Bowl by Susan May Warren
A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media by Bernard Goldberg
June
Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times by Suzan Colon
The Compassionate Touch by Doug Wead
Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir by Bill O'Reilly
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
July
The Magicians Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Admission by Travis Thrasher
Thin Air by Bette Nordberg
August
The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2 by Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3 by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4 by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5 by Rick Riordan
I Saw Him in Your Eyes: Everyday People Making Extraordinary Impact by Ace Collins
September
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
October
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Christian Athiest by Craig Groeschel
November
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
December
The Christmas Scrapbook by Phillip Gulley
21 Fiction
19 Fiction
40 Total
The Bookseller of Kabul
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Non-fiction
Any book with "book" in the title catches my attention and when it's in the bargain bin at Big Lots, so much the better. (a little B alliteration going on there...). I was very curious about "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Asne Seierstad because I hoped it would give me a glimpse into the life of a shopkeeper and book-lover in Afghanistan. And like the author, I was surprised at what I found.
The story is poignant but each troubling scene is relevant to understanding the life of the Afghani's. Seierstad does help readers understand the hard-scrabble existence with unique details about the bookseller's household and business.
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