Minimalism for families Archives - Girl From Cedar Hollow

What was at first an attempt at regaining sanity, living with less became a way of life for my family of 5.

My Backstory: Overwhelmed

My husband and I have never lived in a house that had more than one bathroom in our entire marriage. The first home we lived in as newlyweds was a cute little rental with two bedrooms and one bathroom. We had plenty of space! Living with less never crossed my mind. Then 10 months into marriage, we found out that we would be expanding from a duo to a trio. Our lives rapidly changed from that point on. We were blessed to find a small house for sale that fit our tiny budget. It was about the same square footage as the house we were renting, 800 sq. feet.

If you had asked me if I had a lot of excess at that time, I would have said no. Before moving, I made many trips to the thrift store to donate items we didn’t need. It quickly became apparent however, that we still had too much stuff. Even the furniture that had fit in our rental wasn’t fitting in our new home that was the same size. The word overwhelmed best describes 2017 for me. Life was crazy back then and something had to give. A traumatic birth and postpartum recovery, renovating and moving, drama at work, and a death in the family all within four months almost broke me. Simplifying our home was definitely not on the priority list.

My Backstory Continued: Learning To Let Go

Slowly things improved. My body healed, moving was complete, I quit working full time, and I learned to process the grief. It wasn’t until the end of 2018 that I started to feel the push to simplify our belongings. Our second baby was coming and our home wasn’t getting any larger. I had almost always had a continuous giveaway box, but we needed to get down to business. Learning to live with less didn’t happen overnight. I can say with confidence that it was a steep learning curve for me. An experiment that forced me to question every single item in our home. It also forced me to come to terms with some unhealthy mindsets and habits.

5 Things I Learned By Living With Less:

1: I Struggled With A Poverty Mentality

Money had always been tight but then we went from two incomes to one and added debt. I learned that part of my problem was fear that I would throw something away and not be able to replace it. This led me to keep things even if I didn’t like or use them. Anytime I had spare cash, I went thrifting to find “deals” even if we didn’t need anything. It was my version of retail therapy. I thought I was being responsible by thrifting all of our clothes and home decor. Looking back, I see how much money I wasted. Forcing myself to live with less made me come to terms with where our provision actually comes from: Almighty God.

coins spilling out of a jar demonstrating the author's struggle with a poverty mentality before living with less

2: I’m An Organized Person

I never thought I would describe myself as someone who had their stuff together. Although I am still a hot mess at times, I do have the capacity to plan and remember more than I realized. Living with less to manage gave me more brain space. I no longer feel the need to put off home improvement projects because there is less to manage. I also actually really enjoy to-do lists!

3. I Enjoy Having People In My Home

I always wanted to host family events and dinners with friends, but felt that our house was just too small. Even though living with less hasn’t expanded our square footage, it has given me the confidence to invite people over more often. I don’t stress about how our house looks. It has been such a blessing to allow people into my home without worry or fear. More than once I have had people remark how peaceful they feel when they are at my house. I believe that God uses our simplified surroundings to minister to our guests. We live in such an over stimulated world, my prayer is that our home would be a tool to instill peace.

4. My Husband & Children Help Out More Around The House

Before we lived with less, I was easily overwhelmed with basic household tasks. That’s not to even mention the “above and beyond” stuff. Once we minimized what we owned, I noticed that my husband and children were helping around the house. My husband was even putting his dirty clothes in the hamper! I realized that when the house is clean, everyone is motivated to keep it that way. My children spend less time picking up toys and more time playing. When it comes time for our “clean sweep” we have the house picked up in just a few minutes. (You can read more about our home cleaning routine here.)

image of laundry hamper in a clean room.

5. I Enjoy Taking Care Of Our Home

Even though I was a full time stay at home mom, I resented the housework. Why was it my job to pick up after everyone? I felt like I was drowning. Laundry and dishes consumed so much of my time. I thought we just needed more storage and organization space. I started minimizing what we had in the kitchen first. Why did a (then) family of three need ten mixing bowls and six cutting boards? Why did we have twenty coffee cups? We don’t even drink coffee! Slowly, keeping the kitchen clean became easier. Washing the dishes wasn’t a problem anymore. I began to notice that as we acclimated to living with less, I enjoyed cleaning. It no longer consumes my day and brings me joy. My family is happier and I’m a better mom and wife.

It’s Only The Beginning

Here we are, three years into our journey of living with less, and I continue to reap the benefits. This list is by no means exhaustive and I plan on writing more about family minimalism. Living with less has truly changed my life. I’m not perfect and we still donate loads of stuff, but we have so much more peace! I will list some sources below that inspired and motivated me to start this way of life.