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minimalism

How to Live in the Land of Enough – Space

Author Courtney Carver

One word that often comes to mind when talking about minimalism is space. With space, we can direct our energy and focus on what means the most. Space is not just an empty room, but it is what surrounds us, everywhere we are. Let’s be honest. It is tough to appreciate your space in an airport or an amusement park. Why? Because you don’t have any! That being said, creating space is an art, and you can create that art anywhere if you are mindful.

This is the fourth post in a series that started with this guest post I wrote for Joshua Becker’s Blog, Becoming Minimalist: Living in the Land of Enough.

Make Space

Clear out some space in your house. You don’t need to take on big purging projects during this time to make space. Simplify one room (or even just the corner of one room) and keep it as clean and clutter free as possible.

Even if the rest of your house is cluttered, this area can be a great reminder of how you might feel living with less.

That was the recommendation for a short hiatus in the Land of Enough. For a longer stay, like a lifetime, you will need to think about all the spaces that you spend your time.

Ask questions like:

  • How do I feel when I am in an empty room?
  • Is my work space conducive to doing good work?
  • Is my bedroom set up for a peaceful night of sleep?
  • Do my living areas promote stress or calmness?
  • When I travel, do I protect my space?

One of the biggest benefits of living with less, is that you can quickly create space. More space will help you calm down and focus on what is important. The spaces that you spend most of your time really reflect who you are. They don’t always demonstrate who you want to be or how you want to live your life, but if you want a good indication of how things are today, look around.

How to Make Space

Closet– Start here and build momentum for uncluttering the rest of your home. Consider your closet to be anywhere you store clothes. Here is the process I recommend:

Start making piles of clothes and be ruthless.

  • Pile One: I love these items. They fit me well and I wear them frequently: Keep
  • Pile Two: I want to keep this but I don’t know why
  • Pile Three: These items don’t fit me or my style: donate.
  • Pile Four: These items aren’t in good condition: trash.

Next:

  • Take Pile Four to the trash.
  • Box up Pile Three and put in your car before you have time to re-think.
  • Put the items from Pile One back in your closet.
  • Box up all items from Pile Two and put the box in the back of your closet for 30 days.
  • If you didn’t miss the box after 30 days, DO NOT OPEN IT, donate it.

After you make some progress, if you love that feeling of empty space in your closet, join hundreds of us in minimalist fashion Project 333.

Bedroom – While I don’t recommend TV in any room of the house, it should absolutely be off limits in your bedroom. Your bedroom should be for only two things: sleeping and sex. You might do other things like read, or get dressed in the morning, but create the space for the first two things I mentioned. Your bedroom is your sanctuary.

If you have piles of bills, a computer, or TV in there, the energy changes, the space changes and you change with it.

Kitchen– The kitchen is for eating and cooking, but it is often the place where your family gathers during other times of the day. I notice whenever we have guests, we always end up in the kitchen.

Store like Ikea and Target can make it almost irresistible not to fill your kitchen with matching gadgets and tools. Resist! Seriously, how many sets of measuring cups, wine glasses, mixing bowls or wooden spoons can you use at one time.

Imagine baking bread without having to move fifty things off the counter or inviting friends over to share a bottle of wine without having to spend an hour “picking up”.

Office – Regardless of where you do your work, set your space up free of distraction so you can focus on the task of hand. I know a stack of papers or a post-it note can’t literally speak to you, but we both know, they will call you away from your work. Keep your desk clear and your desktop clearer.

If your only workspace is your computer, be sensitive to all the things that can fill your space. Turn off email and other distractions and do great things.

Car – Take care of this space so all focus can be on getting safely from point a to point b. For starters, turn your phone off every time you buckle up. Put the stuff you need to travel with in the backseat or trunk. Keep a small bag in the car for trash so apple cores or water bottles aren’t rolling around while you drive.

Instead of using the time and space you have in your car to get things done, focus on driving or enjoying the ride. I know you want to make those phone calls, or take notes as you think of important things you have to do. I used to do it all the time. I stopped. Please stop too.

Travel–I wrote this post from a hotel in Denver, and know that it can be challenging to create space on a trip. Airports, airplanes, shuttle buses, hotel rooms and restaurants are all a struggle. There are ways to create space, but if you can’t, just focus on protecting your own space.

Instead of mashing up in line at the airport, sit in a less crowded section and board the plane last. Carry less, so you don’t have to worry about finding space for your stuff. Take food back to your hotel room instead of eating out and stretch out. Visit a museum or yoga studio when you travel to appreciate the open space.

Mind – You can free up space in your brain and mind by doing less. When you work and live with an overloaded mind, you don’t sleep well, you don’t think clearly and decisions are made out of frustration and fear instead of facts and inspiration. Slow down, let the unimportant go, and literally open your mind.

As you make space, remember that less is not none. Some minimalists live in empty rooms with white walls and furniture. While I appreciate that aesthetic, my walls are colorful and display simple photography and vibrant paintings. It’s a great reminder that minimalism doesn’t come in a can. It’s a lifestyle and that looks different for every life.

With a dog, two cats and a teenager, I don’t pretend to live in a museum. There aren’t a lot of “things” around,  but when you walk into my home, it feels like me.

Where do you want to create more space?

How to Live in the Land of Enough – Disconnect

Author Courtney Carver

Last Sunday, I had my first official digital sabbatical. No email, no twitter, no Facebook, no iphone. I wasn’t feeling well so all I did was rest and write with no interruptions. I really understood what Gwen Bell meant when she said, “I call them hits. I want a quick hit, I just jump on Facebook.” Without a hit, the day went by more slowly and thoughtfully.

This is the third post in a series from my guest post Living in the Land of Enough on one of my favorite blogs: becomingminimalist.com by Joshua Becker.

Disconnect

Set a specific time to disconnect each day. In the land of enough, there is less need to be plugged in. If you can, commit to not using a computer after dinner or before lunch time. Be mindful of how much time you spend online and are virtually available. Protect your time and your mind. That was the recommendation for a short hiatus in the Land of Enough. For a longer stay, like a lifetime, you will need to consider how you really want to spend your time and what you are missing when you are sucked up in e-mail and other electronic distractions.

Ask questions like:

  • Why am I turning my computer on?
  • How effective can I be running three programs at once?
  • Why do I read an email while I am talking on the phone?
  • When was the last time I went outside?

If you really want to live with less, then you need to think of “things” in terms of more than just stuff. The Internet is a thing. Twitter is a thing, email is a thing. This might sound silly but any “thing” that takes up your time and attention needs to count when you are considering being more with less.

How to Disconnect

Everyday– If you currently work with a computer, chances are you try and do more than one thing at a time. Maybe you always have your email open, or Tweetdeck chirping away in the background. It doesn’t matter what your work is, you are less effective when you segment your attention. To better access where your time goes in a day, log your time for three days. Track what you do, on paper, including when you check your email, post a tweet, like something on Facebook, break for lunch, check voicemail, channel surf or whatever. Be honest so you can see where your time goes. Next, structure your day so you are only doing things that reflect your goals. If that includes social media or email set aside time to do it, but once your time is up, shut it down.

Digital sabbaticals – After my first 24 hour digital sabbatical, I can see that I need to build them in every week. If you haven’t done it yet, give it a try. You will be amazed at how your day changes. Tammy Strobel breaks each weekend and Gwen Bell took a month long sabattical. Don’t worry about what you will miss online. Instead, embrace what you’ve been missing while you were plugged in.

Kill a social media outlet– So you tweet, Facebook, text, instant message, link in, Skype and google chat. When is it going to stop? What if you put all of your energy into one or two methods of connecting instead of four or more? I canceled my Linkedin account and made the decision not to have a Be More with Less Facebook page or dedicated e-newsletter and email list. What would I be saying about living with less, if I was spreading the word through more channels. Not only would it  be a total contradiction, but it would be a watered down effort. Figure out what you enjoy socially, and what makes the most impact for your business and stick with that. Also, don’t be afraid to limit how many people you follow or friend. There’s no magic number, but I find less than 100 to be more manageable and meaningful.

Cancel Your Cable – TV watching should be included in the things you cut for your digital sabbatical. Start with a TV free day and consider cancelling your cable all together. You will save money and time, and discover amazing new ways to unwind and relax.

Lights out night – When I used to live in New Hampshire, we had at least three or four storms each year that would knock out the power for a few hours, or days. While inconvenient, it was also pretty fun to dig out candles and plan an evening without the modern conveniences that come with electricity. It’s been a long time since I’ve been without power, but I am considering a lights out night. Could you go 24 hours without electricity? It might be challenging, but it could be fun or even romantic!

Turn it off, shut it down, disconnect or whatever you want to call it, but give your body and mind a break from the buzz. Not only will the tiny distractions take over your day, but that constant source of stimulation will make you forget the rush you get riding your bike down a hill or building a snowman with your kids. (yep…the snow’s coming!) Build in a fun, outdoor adventure during your first digital sabbatical so you aren’t tempted to tune in for a quick hit.

What do you enjoy most when you are disconnected?

Series Links

Living in the Land of Enough

How to Live in the Land of Enough: Money

How to Live in the Land of Enough: Time

Reading Recommendations:

Inside-Out Simplicity by Joshua Becker

Focus: A simplicity manifesto in the Age of Distraction by Leo Babauta

Smalltopia by Tammy Strobel

Minimalist Business by Everett Bogue

 

Confessions of an Aspiring Minimalist

Author Courtney Carver

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of aspire is to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal. The great thing about aspiring to do or be something, is that every day, your actions can move you closer to your goal. There are some things with very defined parameters so you know when you not aspiring anymore, but actually being the thing you aspired to be. For instance, after you stop eating meat, you aren’t an aspiring vegetarian anymore, you are an actual vegetarian. When you see your first patient, you are not aspiring to be a doctor, you are a doctor.

Minimalism is different. It is not clearly defined when applied to lifestyle. Art and music perhaps, but lifestyle, no.  My choices reflect the person I want to be, but my mindset needs some work. I have been accumulating stuff and thinking a certain way for 40 years, so I don’t expect to be transformed immediately.  While I have done a pretty good job getting rid of stuff, not buying stuff, paying off debt and lots of other things in the less is more arena, I may need to work on the following areas:

Confessions of an Aspiring Minimalist

  • I haven’t canceled my subscription to Sephora’s weekly newsletters. I haven’t stepped foot in our brand new local Sephora or made any purchases from Sephora.com. I typically don’t even open the newsletter, but if the subject line sparks my curiosity, I will have a look. I have talked about my cosmetic obsession before and it’s almost laughable, because I don’t wear much make-up. Even though it’s been almost four months since I made my commitment not to buy new make-up for three months, the only thing I’ve purchased is mascara.
  • When the holiday Nordstrom Catalog arrived in the mail, my heart jumped. Almost one month into minimalist fashion Project 333, I know I won’t be buying anything new in fashion, but I still like to see what’s out there.
  • I look forward to movie night. I don’t watch mindless TV anymore, channel surf or waste hours a day in front of the tube, but my husband and I do order movies from Netflix and I really love movie night.
  • I like the smell of a new car. My car is in for repair and I have a loaner vehicle that is much newer than my vehicle. Every time I get in the driver’s seat, I think, “I could get used to this”. I know I will never buy a new car and actually look forward to living a car-free life someday, but while I have to drive, I enjoy being really comfortable. That being said, I am really comfortable in my own car. I guess if you never ride in first class, you don’t know what you’re missing in coach, but once you get a taste…
  • I would love to get my hair colored (by a professional) I stopped having my hair colored almost a year ago and do it myself. I save about $400 a year. I also wouldn’t mind a 90 minute facial followed by a nice massage, but those are things that I have put on my luxury list, instead of my “I deserve it” list.
  • The new iphone? Yes please. I have an iphone and love it. The newer model is sleek and shiny. It has a few more tricks, like the video phone feature, but mine works just fine. My iphone has some bumps and bruises, (because I hate using a cover to protect it) but it is enough for me.
  • Room service is my idea of decadent indulgence. In staying at a cheaper b&b on a recent trip to San Francisco, I had a slight yearning for the Ritz Carlton and room service. Note: I have never stayed in a Ritz Carlton, but I have stayed at nice hotels with great service. In exchange for upscale luxury, I got to enjoy homemade croissants with people from all over the world, and learned I would make that trade again.

With all of my shortcomings, there has been some dramatic improvement. For instance, it just occurred to me that my daughter and I didn’t spend an afternoon pouring over the September Issue of Vogue this year. When I went to Target for something the other day, I realized that I used to stop in every weekend, and now it is only when I really need something. Our family usually takes a vacation out of the country each year, and this year, we’ve hardly left the state. We don’t spend afternoons on the couch watching TV ever since I canceled the cable and we don’t dread going to the mailbox, now that we have cleared our debt.

So why do I share the fact that I am tempted by luxury and consumerism? Because maybe you are too in one way or another. Every day we are all faced with choices. Every choice we make either leads us towards the life we want or away from it. By recognizing that, we can start to make real strides. It might be small choices like choosing an apple over a bag of chips if you want to lose weight, or a bigger choice, like not buying a new iphone, because you want to build a comfortable emergency fund. Either way, when you clearly see that each choice makes a difference, the right choice becomes easier to make.

Because minimalism doesn’t look the same for everyone, despite the misconceptions out there, perhaps I am not an aspiring minimalist, but an evolving minimalist. Maybe I don’t need a name for it. Maybe I am content just living with less. I really like the idea that I may never reach my goal, but I get to live my goal every day, choice by choice.

What choices have you made that help you to live with less?

The next A-List Blogger Bootcamp is right around the corner and the first week is free. Check it out! How to Write Like an A-List Blogger

How to Live in the Land of Enough: Time

Author Courtney Carver

Time is one of the most valuable things we have and we never know how much we have left. While we can’t stop time, or control how fast it passes, we can create more.

This is the second post in a series from my guest post Living in the Land of Enough on one of my favorite blogs:becomingminimalist.com by Joshua Becker.

Time

Take Your Time – In the land of enough, you have time to breathe. Stop trying to squeeze so much in. If you are always running late, falling behind, or trying to catch up, try slowing down. Cancel a few unnecessary appointments and don’t schedule any new ones if you can help it. Then, make a little time everyday for solitude.

That was the recommendation for a short hiatus in the Land of Enough. For a longer stay, like a lifetime, you will need to consider how you really want to spend your time. Ask questions like:

  • Is this the best use of my time?
  • Are distractions taking larger chunks of my day than I thought?
  • Am I doing things efficiently, or am I so stretched that it takes me more time than it should to get anything done?
  • At the end of the day, am I grateful for the day, or just grateful that it’s over?

If you are open to living with less, then you will be able to create real time for yourself. It may take a job change, lifestyle adjustment, or maybe just small shifts, but if what you really want is more time, it’s yours for the asking.

How to Create Time

Be Efficient – Let’s face it, working 8+ hours a day in a job that you aren’t crazy about doesn’t pump you full of energy. The hours after work are often spent recovering with food, alcohol, TV, facebook and anything else that doesn’t require anything of you. It might not be possible, or even necessary to quit your job, but you do have to redesign your day. If your lunch break is spent in front of a computer, in your car or on the phone, that is the first place to start.

Taking an hour in the middle of the work day to go for a walk, take a yoga class or eat a simple meal will help you re-charge.

Kill your TV – After being TV free for three months now, I can tell you with conviction…It has to go! Don’t be afraid of saying goodbye to 500+ channels. Once it’s gone, you will wonder how you ever had time for it in the first place.

Limit distraction – Don’t bother getting rid of the TV if you are going to fill the hours with facebook and googling anything to keep your mind off your day. Set a certain amount of time to check in, but do not check out!

Schedule e-mail – If you are checking your email more than three times a day, you are losing time. I know you want to be responsive and I know you are curious to see who sent what, but it can wait. If you aren’t ready to reduce your email time to two or three times a day, at the very least, don’t check your email first thing in the morning. This is a tough habit to break, but unless you want to spend your day doing everyone else’s most important tasks, do yours first.

Stop unwinding – Did you ever think that if you weren’t overworked, stressed out, and over it, that you wouldn’t have to spend so much time and money unwinding? Here are 7 ways to stop unwinding.

Say no – It’s ok to say no to things that you aren’t interested in and don’t believe in. When you don’t have the time to commit to something new, it is ok to say no. Do not feel compelled to come up with an excuse or apology. A simple, “no thank you” will do.

Say yes – Agree to commitments that make your heart swell.

Sit still – I know you want to do it all, see it all, make a difference and change the world, but sometimes, your time is best spent sitting still.

I have to constantly remind myself what is most important. It’s not that I forget, but it’s easy to get lost in e-email or doing things out of obligation, instead of true interest. Keep in mind that open time on your calendar doesn’t mean that you aren’t important, it means that you value your time. Once you stop living with back to back appointments, the day can really reveal itself. You never know what’s in store until you open your heart and time to possibility.

Series Links

Living in the Land of Enough

How to Live in the Land of Enough: Money

Reading Recommendations:

Focus: A simplicity manifesto in the Age of Distraction by Leo Babauta

What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

 

Minimalist Fashion Project

Author Courtney Carver

I am no Coco Chanel, but style and fashion is part of being more with less. We spend so much time thinking about what we wear, that I think it is time to simplify the concept of getting dressed. I’m not suggesting that we don’t get dressed, just that we stop giving it so much attention. Then again, when you stop paying attention and start wearing your yoga pants everywhere, it’s time to get yourself together. (I am speaking from experience and knew I had a problem when my daughter told me she was going to secretly throw my yoga pants away).

Eating at a restaurant with a 24 page menu can be overwhelming. The choosing becomes more important than the dining. Having too much to choose from is not always a blessing. Imagine never looking at a fully stuffed closet and thinking “I have nothing to wear” again. What if you knew exactly what you were going to wear every day?

For me, the purpose of dressing with less is twofold. First and very simply, I want to live with less for a healthier, happier life, and second, I have used clothing to express my creativity, and tell a story about who I am. Now, I am ready to tell the story myself.

I have decided to start a minimalist fashion project that I hope can be long lasting for all of us, if you are interested.

You are invited to Project 333

3 months with 33 items

When: October 1 – December 31

What: 33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes.

What not: these items are not counted as part of the 33 items – wedding ring, underwear, sleep, in-home lounge wear,  and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout)

How: over the next two months, outline your 33 items, by the 1st of October, box up the remainder of your fashion statement, seal it with tape and put it out of site.

What else: consider that you are creating a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months. If you purchase items for project 333, stick with the one in, two out approach. Consider the essentials and stick to 33.

Here is my initial list. I will post the final list a few days before we (yes, we) get started…

  • 1 pair of heels
  • 1 pair of dress boots
  • 1 pair of casual boots
  • 2 coats
  • 2 pair of jeans
  • 2 skirts
  • 2 dress pants
  • 1 dress
  • 2 blazers/jackets
  • 2 white button down or dress shirts
  • 3 sweaters
  • 1 sweatshirt
  • 2 v or crew neck shirts
  • 2 tank tops
  • 1 purse
  • 1 pair sunglasses
  • 1 hat
  • 1 pair gloves
  • 2 scarves
  • 1 bracelet
  • 2 necklaces

Update: Since I wrote this post in 2010, Project 333 continues to grow and simplify wardrobes around the world. Learn more and join in …

Minimalism Misconceptions

Author Courtney Carver

Minimalism comes in many shapes and sizes. While there is no one, right way to live a minimalistic lifestyle, you do typically choose to live with less. In my minimalist approach, less spending, less stuff and less obligation, are all part of being a minimalist. I think more and more people are becoming interested in living real lives that don’t revolve around stuff, but are afraid to aspire to minimalism, because of a few misconceptions that I hope to clear up.

10 Misconceptions about Minimalism

Minimalism is an event – Minimalism starts in your heart and mind, not in your closet. Cleaning your closet does not make you a minimalist, but could be the start of it.

Minimalism is a religion – The only thing you have believe in to adopt a minimalist lifestyle, is that your life will be better with less.

Minimalists never spend money – Spending on the essentials and what matters to you, is different than a shopping spree at Target or spending a day at the mall. Minimalists often spend purposefully and vote with their dollars.

Minimalists are selfish – They may not spend on extravagant gifts, but because they have cleared the clutter in their own lives, they have the time and space to be more thoughtful about yours, and in turn become more giving.

Minimalists all live with less than 100 things – Dave Bruno and many other minimalists live with less than 100 things, but that doesn’t mean you have to do that to start applying minimalism to your life.

Minimalists live alone and don’t have kids –  I have a daughter and husband, Joshua Becker has a wife and two young children, Leo Babauta is married with 6 children.

Minimalism is extreme – It could be as extreme, but you can jump into minimalism anytime, in any situation.

You have to be born into minimalism – I did not grow up or live most of my adult life with less, in fact, it was with excess. Just like I stopped eating meat and became a vegetarian, I have stopped living with too much, and am becoming a minimalist. It’s your life, and you can change it, whenever you want to.

Minimalists don’t drive cars – Tammy Strobel from Rowdy Kittens doesn’t drive a car, but I do. Depending on your current life situation, you may need a car. I do, but choose to drive less.

If your partner is not a minimalist, you can’t be one either – While my husband is excited about simplifying our life, I am definitely leading the movement in our house. He may never want to get rid of as much as I do, and some days, I think he is afraid that he will come home and find out that I gave away the front door, and kitchen sink. That being said, I think he is noticing that the less time I spend on stuff, the more I spend on him and us.

If minimalism is appealing to you, keep in mind that you can dip your toe or dive right in!

Email is Taking Over and Only You can Stop It

Author Courtney Carver

photo credit: click here

“You run the day, or day runs you” – Twitter user

I will admit it, email sometimes runs my day.There are days that I feel like I live in my in-box. It starts off innocently enough with a “quick” email check in the early morning, and then, it’s late afternoon.

Choose to live your life on purpose and determine how you want to run your day. Is it more important to respond to an email within 45 seconds or to do meaningful work? There is nothing like a quick response, but by offering this service every day, all the time, you are training your customers, colleagues and even friends and family that you are waiting by your email to respond to them, immediately. More importantly, it is distracting you. Because there is no such thing as an effective multi-tasker, this lack of focus will seep into the quality of your work and creativity. I understand that technology has advanced the immediacy of how we communicate, but until there was email, I never thought regular mail was slow. Now that we have Twitter and instant messaging  and text services, email seems slow. Keeping up with the speed of technology will only slow you down.

There will always be someone demanding your attention, and you have to decide how to give it to them in a way that works best for you. I get it, you are busy. You have lots of work to do. Stop checking your email every 3 minutes and see how that changes your work. See if it affects how busy you really are.

See what my minimalist mentors have to say about checking email.

  • Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist: You remove the mail from your mailbox everyday. Apply the same principle to your Inbox. To accomplish this, if you can answer an email in less than two minutes, do it right away. If it will take longer, move it into a “work in progress” folder.
  • Leo from Zen Habits: “I got this idea from Mike Davidson, whose article came at a perfect time as I was limiting other things in my life, and was also trying to keep my emails short at that time. His 5-sentence rule (no email can be longer than 5 sentences) fit in perfectly with everything else I tried to do, and I’ve adopted it. It forces you to write only what’s essential.”
  • Everett Bogue from Far Beyond the stars: “Eight hours of receiving and reacting to email will similarly not get important work done. When you batch respond to email during fifteen minute intervals once a day, you get less email and also have many empty hours in the day. Empty hours are uncomfortable, and I’m convinced that most of us are terrified of them. This is why we spend all day hitting refresh buttons waiting to react to messages that don’t matter. This is why we fill up our schedules with meaningless meetings which ask questions that we already know the answers to.”

Do you want to spend your day reacting to email or creating good work and enjoying life? How often do you check your email?

 

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