The start to "My Year Long Journey of Less"

Merriam Webster defines minimalism as "a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity" and a minimalist is defined as "an adherent of minimalism."  I'm a budding minimalist.  I may never be one of "extreme" spareness and simplicity.  I do practice simplicity to the best of my ability.  I am embarking on living life with less (sparing if you will). Overall, I want to live a full life with less and stop thinking that more is better.  That leads to why I have started this blog.

The whole story of where this all started goes way back in time and is very long.  Brevity is also not one of my finer suits.  My plan is to break the story down over many posts.  New thoughts and ideas will come into my posts as well. This blog is going to be my place to record it all. There will likely be little order or rhyme or reason but this is for me. One day I hope to gather it all up and write a book...better said one day I WILL gather it all together and write a book!

Back to why I'm starting this blog.  I will give my "short" answer for now.  I want to be a more conscious consumer and I don't want to posses things that don't bring me joy or have relevance in my life. I want to focus on relationships and experiences, not stuff. I want my life motto to be "People Over Things!" I've been inspired by Marie Kondo, Cait Flanders and Lynne Twist.  I'm sure others will make this list as I continue on my journey.

Today is the day...March 5th, 2019...when what I'm calling "My Year Long Journey of Less" begins.  It is inspired by Cait Flanders "shopping ban" she illustrates so beautifully in her book called "A Year of Less."  I think the word ban is yucky. Ban - "to prohibit the use, performance, or distribution of." Prohibit (and ban) are too strong of words for me.  They also feel negative.  I want this to be positive.  I want this to be light.  I want this to be what I want it to be.  Hence "My Year Long Journey of Less."

What does this year journey look like?  To start, it has three lists...(any many other details to come later)

• The essentials list
• The non-essentials list
• The approved shopping list

I have created these lists to give me direction on how to be a more conscious consumer over the next 365 days.  I'll expand on each one and include what is on my personal lists.

The first list is the essentials list which includes:

• Groceries
• Basic Kitchen Supplies (i.e. dish soap, trash bags, foil, etc.)
• Toiletries
• Basic Cosmetics (i.e. powder, concealer, mascara, etc.) 
• Cleaning Supplies

All items in the essentials category are ONLY to be purchased when they run out. Cait Flanders suggests you take an inventory of all your consumables prior to starting.  I did and boy was I shocked!  Four tubes of toothpaste, fourteen of my favorite pens (in a few different colors, but still), four almost full bottles of similar counter top spray cleaners, the list goes on.  I'm just me, one single girl fending for herself.  Do I really need THAT much stuff?  I only use up one tube of toothpaste every 3-4 months.  Heaven forbid I run out and have to drive three minutes to the store to buy more.  But alas, this is the mindset I have been living in most of my life.  More is better in an attempt to avoid not enough. I'm not enough, I don't have enough, I don't do enough. All ideas that have plagued my mind but more on that later.  I don't want to live in excess anymore.  I want to have what I need in the moment.  I want to be content with less, not more. 

The next list is the non essentials list.  This list includes the categories I will NOT be buying from over the next 365 days.  This list includes:

• Clothing/Shoes
• Accessories
• Home Decor
• Electronics
• DVD's/Bluray's
• Books/Magazines
• Fancy spices
• Specialty cosmetics (i.e. nail polish, eye shadow, lip anything)
• Art supplies of any kind
• Puzzles/Games
• Notebooks/Journals

These items are personal to me.  I chose to put them on the list because they are areas where I can go overboard.  Some were suggested in Cait's shopping ban guide and apply to me.  A few of these items are very specific.  For example, I love puzzles.  I could buy a puzzle every time I go to the store.  I have so many already and I'm even willing to do a puzzle more than once.  Yet the second I walk into the toy section at Target, my eye catches the puzzle shelf and looks longingly on.  Hopefully you see my point.  Puzzles are off the buying table for the next year.  Another example is clothing.  I can dress myself for weeks without a repeat.  All the clothes I currently own bring me joy and I want to wear them.  That's enough for now.  I can wait a year to get more. 

The last list is the approved shopping list.  This list includes those things I foresee purchasing and/or needing over the next year.  My list includes:

• One pair of casual shoes
• One pair of running shoes
• A Happy Planner for 2020
• Monthly massage (probably could go on the essentials list instead)
• 4 pedicures - only if with a friend, not alone
• Gifts for others - within reason and budget
• Products my friends create and sell as to support their business - within reason and budget
• Renewal of my annual Disneyland pass
• Travel 
• So Cal for Disneyland as often as within reason and budget
• 1-2 flights home to visit family
• Boston/Philly at the beginning of summer
• Florida in the fall
• Any other trips will be evaluated case by case

This list took the longest to create.  I wanted it to be thoughtful and meaningful.  I didn't want to justify anything here.  I got rid of a lot of shoes when I Marie Kondoed my life.  I know there is a pair I will need to fill in a gap.  My running shoes will need to be replaced cause they run a lot.  Planners only come around once a year.  Massage is an essential for my physical, mental and spiritual well being.  Be it a luxury, it's one I'm going to take.  Pedicures are fun with friends and since eating out is not a thing I really do, pedicures are my common alternative.  Gifts for others are important, within reason.  I want to support my friends in their business endeavors.  Disneyland is where my heart lies and I can travel there for minimal cost and still have the time of my life.  I also don't feel like travel is an off the table kind of thing as that is what I want to do more of to create memories and have experiences. That's my justifications in short.  They are mine and this is my journey!

What would you put on your lists?  What matters most to you?  What could you use a lot less of?

I'll end with this powerful quote that solidified my desire to start this journey... 

"Using what you keep will serve as a reminder that money has already bought you everything you need!"

-Cait Flanders