Editor's note: This was originally sent out in the newsletter on 10/14/18

Most people associate spring with cleaning time, but lately it has become on my mind more and more. Really it has been on my mind for a while, but it turns out three kids keep you pretty busy. I would guess we actually are doing pretty well with clutter in our house comparatively with the average household, but our garage is pretty packed still.

I think overall people take issue with the terms minimalism and minimalist; it sort of carries a hipster or almost snobby kind of connotation sometimes. I also think a lot of people just think it is about getting rid of all your stuff and leaving in a bare white room. This isn’t the case though. It has a lot more to do with making sure you are getting value out of what you have. If something brings you a large amount of joy, that is fine to keep, but you need to remain mindful of things, especially when they start piling up.

A big part of this comes from our shopping habits; it is so easy to click to buy something on Amazon, or just the feeling of finding a good deal in the clearance section of the store. It is so easy to have something just show up on your door that sometimes you forgot what you even bought.

Slimming down the things we own hasn’t always been an easy thing for me. Some may even go as far as telling me I was a bit of a pack rat at times, but as I have gotten older, I have gotten much better with this. I still have way more than I need to keep around, but I have gotten much better. I am hopeful in the very near future that I will be tackling the garage and making this even better. Just taking stock of what we really need and what we are keeping for that random day ten years from now when I run into that very particular problem will be helpful.

There are a lot of resources on these ideas; the easiest to access is the documentary on Netflix called The Minimalists. It is a pretty good watch, and it really makes you think about what you have. They, of course, have a few books and do a podcast that you can find too. Also, there is the highly rated book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (I received this book for my birthday and am going to start it next, expect some follow-up in the future). I think the best thing to do is just stop and think about what you actually need. That and giving yourself a 24-hour buffer on buying things.

Links

• I am not the only one who thinks The Good Place is a great show.
• Hurry Slowly is back for season two, a great podcast that thematically fits with this newsletter. (You can also just search for it in Overcast.)

It seems like taking that sort of cheat week for my birthday took a little more out of my momentum than I thought it would. That and taking stock of how much time I spend watching football. I need a screen time app for the TV maybe. Something to work on.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

P.S. Sunday is sometimes the last day of the week, as long as it is before midnight...