Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

Congratulations!  If you've been following along, you've made some amazing strides toward decluttering your home, calendar, phone, and email.  You've thought about your spending, your blessings, and your highest priorities.  You've started saving for emergencies and designed intentional rituals for the beginning and end of each day.  I applaud each step you've taken on your journey toward a simpler, more fulfilling life! If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that I'm in the middle of a Buy Nothing Year (check out the details and a previous update here ).  I've been learning that my impulses to shop are rarely inspired by actual need, since I plainly have enough already. Of course, we are alive, so we must consume.  We need shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and transportation.  We need opportunities to learn and to work.  And we need rest and recreation.  In fact, a huge part of human culture through the ages has grown out

  Clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by procrastination.  Christina Scalise  Do you play hide and seek? When I was a kid my brother, sister, and I usually spent a summer week or two at my grandparents' house.  Two of my uncles lived nearby, so we were able to visit with my eight cousins as well. One of our favorite games was hide and seek.  My grandparents' place had several outbuildings (one of which held two defunct autos we were allowed to play in), a large garden, a small orchard, and some huge old trees bordering the neighbor's cotton field. Imagine ten kids scurrying to hide while one of them – "It" – counts to 100.  There were tons of hiding places and a lot of old stuff to hide in and behind and underneath.  As "It" located each kid, they joined together in searching for the rest, so eventually ten children were looking for the last one.  It was exciting, dirty, sweaty, and so much fun. You know what's not fun? 

Earlier this year I was the victim of identity theft, and it was a sickening experience.  I felt so angry and so vulnerable .  But I'm also thankful for the kindness and competence of the people who helped me sort things out and begin to recover. Identity theft is only one possible source of stress in our world today.  Work, relationships, parenting, and general over-busyness can also be part of the mix.  But many studies, including the American Psychological Association's 2022 Stress in America survey, indicate that a large majority of Americans feel stressed about finances. Chronic stress is really bad for our health.  It lowers our immune response and can leave us vulnerable to digestive problems, headaches, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more. A minimalist mindset can reduce stress by helping us remove the things that bog us down and steal our money, time, and attention.  We may own and do less, but we gain the space and energy to focus on what we truly care about

I would love it if you would link to any of the posts in this series on your preferred social media platform.  Simply click on the dotted arrow symbol above and to the right of the photo.  Thanks! * * * As I was decluttering a few duplicates the other day, my husband noticed I had put some of his "teacher" mugs in the discard box.  He receives a few mugs of this sort every year at Christmas and at the end of the school year.  There are many clever variations on the "teacher" mug, but if we kept all that he was given we'd own well over 100 by now. Jon likes and enjoys his students and appreciates the thoughtfulness behind the gifts and cards they give him.  He can get a little nostalgic about his 35+ years as a teacher, but each successive group of children is unique, surprising, and fun.  Interacting with them today is what keeps him interested and energized. If we keep items long enough, they sometimes become a focus for memory and sentiment, even if they were