Spring Minimalism
Hello wonderful readers,
Happy Monday!
I hope you all had fun while picking up trash this week in honor of Earth day being every day!
Last week we spent some time cleaning up our beautiful planet and this week we are going to continue the betterment of our space by moving indoors.
Minimalism is something I discuss in great length on this platform and is a large part of my life since my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in January 2017. If you are new to this blog, or are unsure what minimalism is, my definition of minimalism is: living a happy, healthy, and holistic life in mind, body, and spirit with items that only add to my happiness, healthiness, and holistic-ness (yup, I created a word).
We have all heard of the common phrase "spring cleaning", but instead of just cleaning our physical space, which is very necessary, we should also focus our attention to minimizing.
I have heard a few people say that organizing is a form of minimizing. I think this statement is very interesting and if you feel happier, healthier, and more holistic after organizing, that is great! My thought with organizing instead of minimizing is that you are taking the time to organize your items right now and you will come back to these items again in the future and organize them once again if we do not get to the root of our lifestyle. Organizing is wonderful, I adore organizing, but minimizing is allowing ourselves to get rid of the need to come back to the same physical items that is stealing time away from our most vibrantly lived life.
So, instead of just cleaning and organizing, let's minimize.
This time of year in Wisconsin is stunning. Our winter has officially come and gone and we are able to experience the great outdoors once again. Seasons changing is a great time for us to step back and change ourselves and create more time, energy, and space for our true authentic life.
My husband and I have been spring cleaning lately, and I began noticing many items that I had to move or reposition in order to thoroughly clean our home. These items seemed small, but they quickly became a nuisance to move since I wanted to get through cleaning and spend time walking our dog, or cooking a meal, or practicing yoga, or reading a book, or (honestly) anything else other than cleaning!
As we continued cleaning our home, instead of just moving the small physical item to the side, I began picking it up and physically placing it in our basement to donate. I removed the item that were no longer bringing me happiness, healthiness, or holistic-ness to my life.
I was minimizing.
One item turned into two, then two became five, and so on. Before I knew it, I was taking several trips to the basement and as I made the trip from upstairs to our basement level (besides getting all of my steps in) I started to physically feel lighter and happier.
These small items I was parting with no longer owned me. I was taking control of my life and it felt and still feels really good to do. I never again need to go through the hassle of moving these pieces to clean my home. My home also began to take shape into a space I felt proud of. It only holds items I love and ones that add to my overall wellbeing.
While you are spring cleaning, begin to notice if you are moving the same items that clutter your physical space and your feelings toward these items.
Always ask yourself this question:
Is this item adding to my life or is this item taking time away from the life I truly want to live?
If the item(s) is not helping you achieve your greatest life, take it out of your physical space and donate it.
All of the items I part with make their way into our basement or even right to the trunk of our car to be donated.
Please don't forget to write the items you donate down to help when filing your taxes and provide an estimated price.
A tip for estimating the cost of the item: think of how much you originally purchased it for and divide it by two. This allows for a depreciated value and it will greatly come in handy when April next year rolls around to file those lovely taxes.
Thank you all so much for reading this week's post.
Don't forget to subscribe to the Ms. Minimalist Yogini blog by entering your email and clicking the blue "subscribe" button at the top of this page. I promise you will never receive spam mail, just these amazing weekly posts on Monday mornings!
It would be an honor to have you in the Ms. Minimalist Yogini community.
Have a great week, beautiful people!
Subscribe, comment, and share.
Together, we rise. One breath at a time.
Make a difference, light the way, share your story today.
Namasté
Happy Monday!
I hope you all had fun while picking up trash this week in honor of Earth day being every day!
Last week we spent some time cleaning up our beautiful planet and this week we are going to continue the betterment of our space by moving indoors.
We have all heard of the common phrase "spring cleaning", but instead of just cleaning our physical space, which is very necessary, we should also focus our attention to minimizing.
I have heard a few people say that organizing is a form of minimizing. I think this statement is very interesting and if you feel happier, healthier, and more holistic after organizing, that is great! My thought with organizing instead of minimizing is that you are taking the time to organize your items right now and you will come back to these items again in the future and organize them once again if we do not get to the root of our lifestyle. Organizing is wonderful, I adore organizing, but minimizing is allowing ourselves to get rid of the need to come back to the same physical items that is stealing time away from our most vibrantly lived life.
So, instead of just cleaning and organizing, let's minimize.
My husband and I have been spring cleaning lately, and I began noticing many items that I had to move or reposition in order to thoroughly clean our home. These items seemed small, but they quickly became a nuisance to move since I wanted to get through cleaning and spend time walking our dog, or cooking a meal, or practicing yoga, or reading a book, or (honestly) anything else other than cleaning!
As we continued cleaning our home, instead of just moving the small physical item to the side, I began picking it up and physically placing it in our basement to donate. I removed the item that were no longer bringing me happiness, healthiness, or holistic-ness to my life.
I was minimizing.
One item turned into two, then two became five, and so on. Before I knew it, I was taking several trips to the basement and as I made the trip from upstairs to our basement level (besides getting all of my steps in) I started to physically feel lighter and happier.
These small items I was parting with no longer owned me. I was taking control of my life and it felt and still feels really good to do. I never again need to go through the hassle of moving these pieces to clean my home. My home also began to take shape into a space I felt proud of. It only holds items I love and ones that add to my overall wellbeing.
While you are spring cleaning, begin to notice if you are moving the same items that clutter your physical space and your feelings toward these items.
Always ask yourself this question:
Is this item adding to my life or is this item taking time away from the life I truly want to live?
If the item(s) is not helping you achieve your greatest life, take it out of your physical space and donate it.
All of the items I part with make their way into our basement or even right to the trunk of our car to be donated.
Please don't forget to write the items you donate down to help when filing your taxes and provide an estimated price.
A tip for estimating the cost of the item: think of how much you originally purchased it for and divide it by two. This allows for a depreciated value and it will greatly come in handy when April next year rolls around to file those lovely taxes.
Thank you all so much for reading this week's post.
Don't forget to subscribe to the Ms. Minimalist Yogini blog by entering your email and clicking the blue "subscribe" button at the top of this page. I promise you will never receive spam mail, just these amazing weekly posts on Monday mornings!
It would be an honor to have you in the Ms. Minimalist Yogini community.
Have a great week, beautiful people!
Subscribe, comment, and share.
Together, we rise. One breath at a time.
Make a difference, light the way, share your story today.
Namasté
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