By now you may have seen CT’s mention on a previous post of the new air conditioner we just had to buy. It was a painful experience, but in the scheme of things it was something we had to do in order to “maintain” this home. Here’s a pic of the massive building-sized heat pumping robot terminator fandroid:
Over the past few months, CT and I have been thinking a lot about the things we have bought and surrounded ourselves with, and the lengths at which we have to work and stress the hell out just to “maintain” all of these things. In American society, it seems like our idea of standard of living can simply be boiled down to making sure you make enough money, virtually any way you can, in order to surround yourself with stuff you probably don’t really need. For a lot of us, that means working a soul-sucking and intrinsically meaningless job that causes us daily sadness and fear.
I’ve thought a ton about what it is that I need. I know I need CT. I know I need to eat everyday, and have some kind of indoor human habitat. I need to do work that has some kind of redeeming purpose, where I can be creative. I need to feel free and happy. That’s it.
Does a big screen TV fit into my needs? No. Do I have one? Yes. Do I need to own a huge house and fill it with furniture? No. These things can be super fun, but I don’t need them.
This being said, CT and I are going to begin our journey towards minimalism. We have chosen to not be held hostage by our things, and choose for the rest of our lives to be more of a journey. What does this mean? Well, that really remains to be seen. I think the answer to that might be different for all of us. Anyone else having the same feelings?
Living Analog 
When I built my “little house,” I started my road to minimalism. Over the past 3 years, I have given away tons of stuff…just put an ad on Craigslist for someone to come pick it up. I’ve felt really good about letting it go to people who want or need it more than I do. When my daughter and I moved into our current house, we gave away more, and we’re about to go through all our kitchen appliances and gadgets and give away all the things we don’t use regularly. Traveling light is nice.
Thanks for the advice! We’re starting out by making a ton of trips to Goodwill. It’s a slow start, but intentionally slow. Already feels great.