If there’s one thing parenthood has taught me, it’s “never say never.”
I never thought I’d be a stay-at-home-mom.
I never thought I’d leave my career of almost 10 years.
I never thought I’d end up with several part-time gigs that are even harder to juggle than my former 9-5.
I never thought I’d wear the same seven shirts every week.
I never thought I’d become a minimalist.
But then I did all of those things. And I’ve never looked back.
When you stay at home all day, it’s easy to obsess about your home and everything in it.
I’m already a type A personality. I like to keep things tidy. A place for everything, and everything in its place. I love organizing. I love moving, because it means I get to purge my house of junk.
So imagine taking a person like that and keeping them inside their house for all but 2-3 hours of the day. I know where literally everything is in my 1,100-square-foot home.
That’s how I came to embrace minimalism. I needed it, or I literally would’ve gone crazy.
Becoming a mom has taken me out of myself in so many ways. My values completely changed.
I don’t need the things I thought I needed before, so the natural step has been to get rid of them.
I didn’t need Marie Kondo to tell me that a simpler life is a happier life.
- If we have fewer toys, we’ll be more creative.
- If we have fewer clothes, we’ll know what to wear.
- If we have less furniture, we’ll have room to explore.
- If we have less on our minds, we’ll have more in our hearts.
Also, minimalism doesn’t have to look like what you see on Instagram or Pinterest. You don’t have to buy more to live with less. It’s not black-and-white-washed walls. Don’t let anyone tell you what minimalism should look like. Do what you can, do what makes you happy, and do what works for you and your family.
Or don’t.
Just never say never, or you’ll end up sharing some crow with me for dinner.
If you’re looking to make the minimalist leap, here are some of my favorite resources:
- The Minimalist Moms Podcast
- The Minimalist Mom
- Minimal-ish Podcast
- 11 Simple Ways for Any Mama to Become a Minimalist
Be sure to follow along on my minimalist, zero-waste, wellness, crunchy mama journey on my blog and on Instagram.