#livingwithless

I want to point everyone’s attention to the first half of this blog’s name: aspiring. I feel that I should de-bunk the notion that “I have arrived” in any way. I am in process. I am trying, and sometimes achieving. But the “road to less” is paved in, well, in a bunch of stuff you want to buy but probably shouldn’t. I don’t want to diminish the struggle that exists when trying to disband from a consumeristic society. There are temptations every day. So how do we stay the course?

1. Remember Your Values

I have long thought that “what we believe is all we have that is truly our own.” Turn off the TV, close the computer, and think about what is important to you... and what isn’t. For me it’s important that my life is beautiful, easy, filled with people I love/believe in, and kind to the environment.

environmental kindness: when it comes to disposable products (cleaning, beauty, TP) I try to choose ones without harmful ingredients, so that our water supply stays a-ok. I recycle, reuse, upcycle, regift, swap, and borrow as much as I can, to keep waste out of landfills. I would also love to compost, but I live in an apartment, and our landlord won’t allow it; plus, until I’m in a different living situation, it conflicts with my other value:

ease: my desire for less clothes, is because I hate doing laundry and want to do less of it. My desire for less kitchenware is because I despise dishwashing (and using our dishwasher conflicts with the value above). I don’t have a car because the idea of spending weeks or months learning to drive, spending hours in the DMV for licensure, and all the pollutants I’d be putting out with a motor vehicle, can’t hold a candle to the 5 seconds it takes to unlock my bike and ride away.

good community: in order to keep friends in your life, you have to be not-crazy. Having too many things to deal with, or not enough money to go around, makes me stressed, and kind of crazy. So choosing a simpler route means a better state of mind for me, and thus stronger relationships around me. I also shop local because I love having a fabric store, a natural food store, a dope vintage/consignment store, and a reasonably-priced cobbler within 1.5 mi. of my home. When it comes to building the community you want, you have to put your money where your mouth is.

beauty: this is where I struggle most; my desire for aesthetics often comes in conflict with a desire to buybuybuy. I have instead been both practicing patience (and consequently finding lots of stuff streetside to inspire me aesthetically!), and planting/picking flowers, to brighten and color my home-space. Plants are absolutely medicine.

2. Set Your Goals

For me, this journey is about small triumphs, not one big sweeping purse and one-day life overhaul. I didn’t want to throw anything away that could still be used, so I’ve been slowing using up all the things I don’t believe in (example: Windex) and replacing them with things I do (in this case: plain ole’ white vinegar). I also acquired an inordinate amount of junk from former tenants in our basement, but because one of my values is ease, I didn’t spend days on end listing items on eBay and 10 other platforms; I sold what I could when I had time+energy to do so, and vowed that when May hit, anything not sold would go to the curb. It’s May 2 today but I’ve been busy, so I’ll bring it to the curb when I can... but I’m not gonna stop my life to pursue minimalism—and you shouldn’t either.

3. Find Your Community

For most of my life, I wished I lived in another decade. The 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s... anything but today. Now I feel so thankful to be living in 2017, because we have evolved to make products, and company promises, that are better for people, for Mother Earth, and for society. We’ve invented fabrics from abundant resources instead of scarce ones, we’ve placed new (rightful) value on human labor, and bloggers are making money by encouraging people to be better global citizens. Holy crap our world is amazing right now, amiright? I feel especially thankful to have discovered the following resources early, and rabbit-holed into discovering an even wider world of “conscious figureheads” to inspire me. In no particular order:

Jane at FairDare - take her Fair Dare challenge!

Ariana at Paris To Go

Leo Babauta at ZenHabits

Courtney Carver at Be More With Less

Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Francine Jay at Miss Minimalist, author of The Joy Of Less

Jess Hunt at Rose & Fig

Caroline Rector at Un-Fancy

Verena Erin of My Green Closet

Anuschka Rees at Into-Mind

Banyan Botanicals - Ayurvedic living changed my life

Renee Mudd at Living Better With Less

The Buy Nothing For a Year project

Simplify Your Life on Tumblr

Substance Over Stuff on Tumblr

Jenn at Simply+Fiercely

Coco at Light by Coco

The Burning House - the best perspective on simplicity you can get in 5 minutes

Way too much to talk about each item. Over the last couple of weeks I went through some more of my things including the bookshelf and my shirts. So in here are mostly clothes and books, all to be donated. 

I also have several books left which I will list online and hopefully sell soon. 

Dagelijkse schrijfopdracht What are the biggest benefits of minimalist living? Bekijk alle reacties 🌼 Wat betekent een minimalistische levensstijl? A serene living room corner with natural decor and soft lighting. Een minimalistische levensstijl betekent leven met minder ballast, zodat er meer ruimte ontstaat voor wat je leven verrijkt. Het gaat niet om zo weinig mogelijk bezitten, maar om…

There comes a point where getting dressed feels less like a statement and more like a habit. Not in a careless way — in a settled way. You’re no longer trying to show progress, success, or taste. You’re just choosing what feels right for the day ahead.

I remember when my style felt like an argument. Every outfit was trying to justify something: effort, awareness, relevance. Over time, that tension faded. Not because I stopped caring, but because I stopped needing confirmation.

When your style stops trying to prove anything, it becomes quieter. You don’t reach for clothes to impress or signal belonging. You reach for what supports your routine, your pace, your comfort. The focus shifts from how it looks to how it lives with you.

That’s why I value pieces that don’t compete for attention. Something like godspeed essentials fits into that mindset naturally. It doesn’t ask to be noticed. It doesn’t need context. It’s just there, doing its job, day after day.

There’s a kind of freedom in that simplicity. You’re no longer negotiating your identity every morning. Your clothes aren’t a performance — they’re a background. And that background gives you space to focus on things that matter more.

In the city where I used to live, there was a wonderful program called Living Better on Less. The program was offered through a non-profit in a church basement and funded through grants. It was designed to help people live on a lower income, consuming less, and getting more joy from life. It was a wonderful program where participants met weekly to talk about different topics around living with less.

At first I assumed that it was a program that was targeted at lower income folks, showing them how to live comfortably with less money. I realize now how a) presumptuous that was and b) how incredibly wrong it was. Mostly because people on low income already know how to live with less. It’s people who are over consuming – people with disposable income – that tend to equate quality of life with volume of material possessions.

I never took part and I regret not taking the time out of life. I remember thinking that I had young children and life was too busy, but I think I would have really benefited from the program looking back. But I was fortunate to work with a few non-profit organizations whose ideals focused on the same message to learn some of the similar concepts and skills.

Living better with less encompasses the idea that getting rid of excess material consumption can actually give you a richer, more fulfilling life. By streamlining the way we spend our time and money and finding what we truly enjoy, we don’t have to focus as much on earning more money to buy things that we don’t really need. Other than personal well being, there’s a whole host of additional benefits to both consuming less stuff and needing to work less to support financial habits. The planet benefits from less resource extraction, less material production, less junk in the landfills. Your family benefits from more time together and less stress from overwork. By working less and buying less, we also contribute less to oppressive capitalist systems. We break ourselves out of that jail, but also contribute less to continuing to jail others.