my downsizing journey

It’s a simple notion, really, although philosophers and bloggers and hipsters in coffee shops are all painting it as a new, radical theory…minimalism. I give them credit, though, for helping to popularize a movement that actually began in our great-grandmothers’ backyards. If they didn’t dress it up with buzzwords like “sustainability” and “intentional living,” I wouldn’t feel half as cool as I do embarking on this journey. Canning tomatoes on a Saturday night could easily be construed that I have no better offers. But thanks to the multitudes of people climbing aboard this Minimalism bandwagon, my efforts to drastically change my lifestyle are right on trend. (And just FYI, I have LOTS of offers for Saturday night soirees.)

For the past several years I’ve been flirting with the idea of simplifying my life. Not just resigning from a committee or organizing a closet or two, but really doing it. Changing the way I live. Changing the way I think. Oh, there’s a lot I could say about the metaphysical energy it sparks and how liberating it is, but I think it’s more interesting to skip to the nitty-gritty. Those first steps that, despite the allure, take courage.

This was our first step – selling this…

Yep, let me lay it all out… that’s 7500 square feet. It’s what I now like to call our “acquisition phase.” We did have 14 years of memory-making there, AND I had privacy, so it was worth it. But what can I say? I’m tired of cleaning all those rooms, paying a lawn service, and forget Christmas lights. It was just too damn big. So we bought this…