Wednesday, November 06, 2013

for less


Lately Mike has been riding his bike to work. We traded in our lawn guys for a push mower. We removed the data plans from our phones. (I sure am thankful for wifi!) We canceled Netflix. My car is loaded to the brim with donations for the DI. I've cleaned out closets and cleared out drawers. We want less. Less stuff. Less noise. Fewer distractions.

There is nothing that makes me more grateful for what I have than realizing that we have far too much. And getting rid of the excess is completely liberating. I am thankful for this change we have made, and for Mike for initiating it. I can already feel a difference.

11 comments:

  1. Inspiring. We moved to a smaller home late this Summer and have gotten rid of a lot of excess. Still need to go through more. It feels good and the right thing to do. Occasionally though that creeping thought comes in "what are you thinking?!" Especially when people question why we would move from a beautiful home in a great area (renting it out). Sometimes you need encouragement so I'm happy I was inspired again here today. thank you

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  2. Less is more a thousand times over. You know how I feel about it all! :) Still purging! (And decided not to go for that Jenny Lind bed yet...thanks for your advice.)

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  3. I have way to much stuff but have been getting rid of and paring down. Hard to do. Not as easy when you have been married 64 years. We have cut out all of the extras and use the car for multiple errands at the same time to conserve gas. Some things can't do anymore so have to have help and that costs but just have to decide by importance. Sounds like you are doing a good job. Keep it up!
    Hugs

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  4. Congratulation! I am getting rid of books, that is very hard. I thought I would whittle down to 200, but instead I'm getting rid of 200 and keeping quite a bit more. Ah well. I think a book purge will become a fall tradition for me.
    Its inspiring to see other people simplifying.
    Kathy

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  5. I completely and wholeheartedly love this post! Thank you for this lovely reminder.
    I have a question about the cell phone thing. My provider said I'd have to have a data plan if I connected a smartphone. But, it sounds like from what you said that you simply connected your smartphones to your cell provider as regular phones and then use wifi to connect to the internet when you want/can? Is that correct?

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    Replies
    1. hi wendi. i just got the skinny about our phone plan from my husband. ok, we do have data, but it is super limited. it is so limited, that we should really only use our smartphones if we are connected to wifi. so that's our goal. my husband also ordered a personal hotspot for $4 a month that he can use when he is out and about and not near wifi. the whole idea is to spend a lot less money on our phones each month, and a lot less time, too.

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    2. Awesome! Thank you for the tips!

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  6. You are inspiring. I keep trying to declutter my life. :)

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  7. This is great. I am sitting on my bed trying to get started on my renovation of clothes. (I'm a little low on the motivation, but not on the desire for the afterwards.) It is a blessing to have too much, but now is the time to clean out.

    The cleaning out is great for young children. More time to focus on what matters.

    Thanks

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  8. Love this. Several years ago we had a very strong mutual impression that the secret to our family happiness was learning to live with less. We work on it all the time, still.

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  9. I don't think I've ever commented before, but just had to say that this has been on my mind a lot lately! Would love to hear more of your thoughts on this sometime. I really love your blog, so much inspiration!
    Kim

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