Becoming minimalist
12
Mar
Almost every day I drive past this garage in our neighborhood.
Clearly this owner has a car that …well… simply, Â does not fit into the space provided for it !
I always noted it and it always made me smile…..but now – it has personal meaning to me.
I am having to move from an enormous house to a ….. well, nobody knows yet to which house specifically … but one thing  is for sure – it will be SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than our current home and it will most certainly not be sufficient to house all our ….by lack of a better word… STUFF.
Hong Kong is an island. There is only so much land to provide for all the eager inhabitants. Unlike Seoul where space is not an issue and we have the luxury of sufficient dwelling space…in fact, more than sufficient  – despite the contradiction in this photo.
It is totally consuming my mind at this point of our move…and I am thinking in every possible direction to deal with our belongings in an appropriate manner. Putting everything into our next home is simply not an option – unless we want to end up like the photo above.
I could off course go the Gary Chang route, but I just think I am not quite ready yet.
Have you seen this guy??? Crazy Amazing !!!!!!
Nope – just watched it again and decided….me definitely not ready yet. I do admire him though ! Instead..
I have decided to dust off the dream of becoming minimalist – an old dream that me and my husband shared – Â waaaaay before kids …sigh…..
But although that will mean a serene, clean next home… it still does not take care of the logistics and nightmare of getting to that point in a very short period of time.
……Storing???……shipping elsewhere?????….selling?????…..
Yes. I am officially overwhelmed but still all excited about going minimalistic, especially after I found this  gem  here which I believe you will find of great value too.
This is a blog by Joshua Becker  and struck a cord with me when I read on the first page the quote: “‘Cause the best things in life aren’t things”. How true.
After leaving him a comment, I was impressed with his prompt response and follow-up as he generously sent me his e-book for free. If you are interested – mail me and I am sure he would be more than happy to share with you too. Or go on his site, Becoming Minimalist and browse around for yourself. There is definitely a lot of valuable advice to go around for all!
I recently also listened to Graham Hill on his TEDtalk about Life Editing – Less stuff, more happiness. It was a little painful to watch at the time… but, it gave me some food for thought and yes, we need to hear all sides of the story ! The video would not embed but the link should take you !
Later this week, I plan to write to you about another particular post on Joshua’s blog that inspired me greatly.
But for now, I have to go read my e-book… learn a few things… look at my heart..and let go !
Have you done this before? A major scaling down….
Have you ever given something away which you regretted afterwards…or have you experienced the joy and freedom of weight lifted from your shoulders once your stuff has been set off somewhere else to find a new home !
Do Tell !! I need all the encouragement I can get in this journey.
Have a happy Monday. Lots of things ahead to do this week.
Hope you have a nice week ahead.
Ilze
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We are facing the same situation so i can definitely relate. We went from a huge house in Chile (450 square meters plus huge covered outdoor 2nd living room and dining room) to a smaller house in Germany, and even smaller house here (about 300 square meters) and now looking at downsizing again to maybe 150 square meters or less! So i have been giving things away and feeling better! I do not have time to organize a garage sale, so i give things to people who can use them. I may sell a few large/expensive items but that’s it!
I think we all have too much STUFF (i have another word for it but it’s not polite)and we can only feel better if we get rid of it!
throw away any magazines that you have that are dated 1990’s 🙂 you know what I’m referring to.
YOu crack me up Elli !! The funny thing is that I just yesterday said – I am SO glad I kept this (since I kept it for a specific reason – is it the ELLE?) !! Because it was perfect for the craft I wanted to make…
SO, I used it just yesterday ;-))))
Been pondering myself the balance between keeping stuff that is for all purposes still useful, and just letting go, simplifying…. I guess its about what resounds mostly with your innermost being…setting up some guidelines about when to keep, when to greet…. what is the attachment to our ‘things’ its by far mostly emotional (security issues? sentimental reasons)…and then the thought of what we paid for it? things add to our ‘wealth’? in monetary terms? a long time ago you posted on FB something to the effect of you are not going to do anything that isn’t making you healthy, wealthy or happy…. made me think…. maybe to much stuff doesn’t really make us wealthy or happy? and detracts of our mental health (the organisation and management thereof!)?? For me the bottomline is you have to know yourself to determine if it can work – you cannot fight your nature…..decisions that go against your grain, will just cause inner conflict… Lots of philosophie, no answers!!! good luck!! xxx ps: please send me the ebook? sounds worth the read…
You hit the nail on the head Karlien – I like the “when to keep, when to greet”…there is certainly times to KEEP too, right?!! ANd we should not always feel bad for that…. so, the guidelines are crucial…to avoid mindless hoarding. I am definitely struggling now with what is ME…. having things near and dear….. or stepping out and stripping myself from those things that fulfill me….
ooooh….I can go on and on ….. so much to say !!!! Will send book.
Ilze, since I know you fairly well,basically you have a tough job ahead – if you manage at all – I think youl just have to “organise” more space
We’ve been there and I am still not cured!!! I have been following Joshua and also read the book. You might also want to check out Leo Babauta!
And when I see you tomorrow I will bring a great book about decluttering ;-))) Yvonne