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bemorewithless

Simplify your life. Declutter your mind. Connect with your heart.

Everett Bogue

Defining Minimalism

by Courtney Carver

If you have decided to live with less, you may have also wondered about minimalism. Reading about modern day minimalists and people living simpler lives may have you confused about what minimalism really is. How can all of these people be minimalists, when their lives are so different?

How can they all be living the same lifestyle?

Minimalist lifestyles range from people who live in small apartments in the city to suburban homes. Minimalists travel the world and live out of a backpack and they also live in neighborhoods and foster their communities. Always a little different, they usually decide that, “enough is enough” and come to realize that the American Dream of working more, to make more, to spend more and have more isn’t working. They choose to live life on purpose. While there are similarities, minimalism is defined differently by each person, and each person modifies the definition as time goes on.

Why does the definition change over time?

At the beginning, you may define minimalism as cleaning out your junk drawer. When you start to unclutter, you immediately see the benefits of living with less. This benefit may be something as simple as always being able to find that one thing you used to spend time looking for. As you start to enjoy the benefit, you look for ways to live more simply. What starts out as an external journey (giving things away, cutting the cable), becomes very personal, intentional and more meaningful. You start to think of “stuff” as not just things but obligation, debt and stress. Then you see how this “stuff” is getting in the way of your LIFE and decide to make a bigger change. It’s at this point that minimalism becomes more about who you are, instead of what you have.

What minimalists have in common:

  • The “enough is enough” moment
  • A desire to live with less
  • Making the decision to change

In my life, minimalism is:

  • Ultimate simplicity
  • Living with less
  • Making time and space to discover what is really important
  • Working towards real freedom
  • Redefining freedom
  • The answer to “enough is enough”
  • Expecting and welcoming change
  • Spending more time with people who lift me up and lifting them right back

The great thing about minimalism is that when you really dig in, you realize that when you live with less, your life becomes more than you ever imagined.

What’s in Your Purse?

by Courtney Carver

photo credit: click here


I recently read a blog post by Everett Bogue called How to Live with 50 Things. It is a great piece about extreme minimalism. I am not interested in only owning 50 things (yet), but it made me think, at the very least,  I should be carrying less in my purse. When I thought about the fact that some women carry more in their purse, than some minimalists own, I found one of my smallest purses and got to work downsizing.

The message from Everett’s post that really made me think about how great it would be to carry less was, “When you have 50 things there is no way to lose things. I’m convinced that once we pass 150 things our minds can no longer pinpoint the exact location of all our individual possessions.” If you’ve ever lost your cell phone, raise your hand. How about a pen? Business cards? Lipstick? Now, how many times were those items actually in your black hole of a purse the entire time you thought they were lost?

There is an actual Flickr Group dedicated to images of purse contents and it’s not pretty! Purses get bigger and bigger and we always fill them to the brim. The size of your purse seems to determine the amount of stuff you feel compelled to carry around.  For me, it’s not even something I do on purpose. I could carry a larger purse with just a few items, and before you know it, the kitchen sink is in my purse. When I am too busy to think straight, my purse is typically a hot mess. It’s a sign!

I know situations differ depending on your career or how many children you have, or if you are traveling, but there are great benefits to carrying less.

  1. A smaller purse with fewer contents will not physically weigh you down.
  2. Carrying less means less to lose by theft, or accidentally leaving your purse behind.
  3. You don’t have to search for your car keys in a small purse.
  4. If your cell phone is ringing, from your purse, you can turn it off or answer the call with less distraction.
  5. You will feel lighter when you not responsible for carrying around everything that you think you might need.

Last week, I challenged myself to only carry 10 items in my purse and I never missed a thing. Here are the 10 items that I carried this week and  I could easily drop items 4,5, 7 & 8. They are a luxury!

  1. Business card holder with business cards
  2. Business card holder with driver’s license, insurance card, debit card, cash
  3. Lipstick
  4. Lipstick Brush
  5. Lip Gloss
  6. Pen
  7. Eye Brightener
  8. Tea Bag
  9. Cell Phone
  10. Car Key

It all comes back to feeling like you have enough. When you start to believe you have enough and that you are enough, you can lighten up and let go of the stuff.

So ladies, what would you carry in your ten item purse? What is the silliest item that you carry now and never use, but keep “just in case”?

Men – you are not off the hook. If you carry a briefcase, backpack or wallet, could you carry less?