Minimalism , to me, is having what you need and no more or less. I think it’s defined  in clean spare lines.  No clutter and visually easy on the eyes.

It’s interesting that journey started really when we were first married. B and I were married in a Quaker meeting house. I wore my great grandmothers white dress.( not a wedding dress, but what was called a tea dress, very beautiful with handmade lace).

Quakers are known for there queries which are questions about life really. They speak to the heart of simplicity, generosity, living a conscious life, and non violence. We stayed Quakers for many years. Then after our move from Tucson to Northern California we were about an hours drive from the nearest meeting and lost contact. At the same time zen buddhism started to be very important, and we loved all things Japanese. The shojis, tatami mats, and the no clutter. We meditated, lived very simply.

Later, we built a house, and bought some stuff, not a lot but some. We still slept in a futon on the floor and kept things pretty minimal. Later, we sold that house and moved where we live now. A very small house. Somehow we keep adding too much stuff and I started collecting all things vintage, dishes( my passion), table cloths, toys, on and on. We also had 2 children so there was all that stuff. Then in 2005 I was diagnosed with a blood cancer, and I really couldn’t do much for that first year of treatment. Then after my stem cell transplant when I started to feel better, I discovered fly lady. Her program helped me to with just 15 minutes at a time start to declutter. Then somewhere I just started feeling I needed to get rid of all the things, button collections, extra furniture  on so on. I wanted a minimalist look. In our small house I wanted it to be clear of visual clutter.

I have made great progress. I would like to take it one step further and get rid of a few more things and try to redo our pantry setup, which is covered with a vintage barkcloth. Cute but I’d like a closed cabinet.

we aren’t mortgage free and doubt we’ll ever be , but I try and pay extra when I can. We have ,for the first time an emergency fund and that’s a nice feeling. We are heading toward retirement but its still a ways off. I would love to have the minimal bills as well. I think that speaks to taking minimalism straight into the financial realm. But for us, that’s not now.

But the journey towards this minimalism has been fulfilling and I am thrilled with the results.