S e l a h

God has created me to be a reflective person.  I enjoy being up on stage in front of masses, yes.  But on my down time, I like to be on my own.  Or in the company of one or two good people.  I thrive when I am able to reflect, write, and rest.

This is the one-month mark of my challenge.  It feels like it's been a long time and somehow like I just began.  Living minimally has already changed me and I have 11 months left in my process.  So what have I learned in the first month?

1.  I never want to define myself in confining terms regarding this.  If (in a year) I find myself living minimalistically, I hope I don't preach it, or pressure people to do it as well.  For as much as I'm learning, I don't think I'd have gotten half of what I have already if this had been pushed on me.  Everyone is on their own journey, and I think we (me included) so often get in the mode of judging others for where they are at.  It is unbelievably unhealthy for us to do this.  I want to stay level-headed in this, and not extreme.

2.  I pause.  My entire life I have been able to spot a deal and grab it.  I'm thrifty.  I collect.  Hold on to.  And recycle.  If someone has something they want to get rid of, I take it.  I don't buy fancy things and you know what?  I don't need them!  A friend gave me her old jacket the other day.  I washed it, tried it on, and it's way too big for me.  My first thought, "Get rid of it".  Donate.  Pass it on.  But it's not staying here!  Perhaps this will be the greatest thing I learn from this - what is actual need.  Just because something is new does not mean I need it.  I find now, when people offer me things, that instead of immediately taking them, I pause.  I pause, think, then respond.  This is key to stopping the overflow of clutter in a home.

3.  Use or toss.  My bathroom is my next task.  If hair products aren't being used then why are they taking up real-estate in my home?  Time for another purge!  An easy start, for any person, is to look at one cabinet, drawer, or closet.  Ask yourself "What do I have multiples of in here?" and from there, start to assess what it is that you actually use.  I laugh as I type this because it's been almost 3 weeks since I moved all of the bathroom products from the floor in my bathroom into my living room to be sorted.  And only one of the items made it back to the bathroom.  That means, potentially, I don't really need ANY of that stuff that's waiting to be sorted!  How crazy is that?

Part of me wonders if I should take vacation days and just empty the house out in one swoop.  The other part of me knows it's a process.  I'm not an extreme person and I never want to be.  I'm not the chick who will do a fad diet or all of the sudden change my entire life to be a marathon runner.  I'm more slow and steady.  My life didn't get to where it is now by something sudden and drastic, so making changes (like these) can take some time.  And I'm fine with that. 

But man, I still wish I could rent a dumpster and just go to town.