Simple Living Inspiration

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One of my all-time favorite blogs is Young House Love. They’re DIY + home bloggers in Richmond, Virginia who have a blog and podcast that I have followed for years. Their podcast is hi-larious! In recent years they have renovated two and a half homes in Cape Charles, Virginia on the coast (I really want to rent one sometime!) Recently, they announced that they will be selling all of their homes and moving to Florida fueled by the desire for simple living by the sea.

Simple living by the sea

If that doesn’t sound dreamy then I don’t know what does. I have always wanted to move to Florida myself. Like Sherry, I am drawn to warm weather. I love humidity and hot tubs and hot cars and sunshine and walking on the beach. And like both of the Petersiks, I crave simplicity. Ever since they made the big move announcement, I can’t stop thinking about it. While Thomas and I have zero plans to move, locally or across the country, I find myself brainstorming ways I can mimic the Petersik’s move without changing zip codes.

Just saying the word ‘simplicity’ makes me feel calm

I’m not looking to give away all my stuff and only sit on the floor, but I want to feel s p a c e.

  • Space in my days to have a clear mind
  • Space to relax on the floor with the kids and not think about what I should do next
  • Space to be creative

To get more head space I need to free up time. Time is our most valuable resource. One way to get more time is to have less house to manage.

The Air B&B Thomas and I rented in San Diego was so tiny and charming! But we were feeling a bit crowded by the end of our stay.

Simple living is challenging for most of us

I know it feels like I have one foot in and one foot out. I talk so much about simplicity yet I am still having a hard time really embracing a simpler life. For example, I spend a lot of time sorting, organizing, picking up my kids’ toys. I really just want to have less toys. So why don’t I? I want to have less clothes. Less kitchen appliances. Less food in the pantry. I have chipped away at all of these areas, but it still feels like we own too much.

Here are just the coats I own:

  • Big nice winter down coat
  • Old winter down coat (saving for a muddy sledding day)
  • Lighter winter down coat
  • Sweater jacket
  • Dressy wool coat
  • Lighter dressy coat
  • Cargo pocket jacket
  • Ski jacket
  • Rain coat

I wear all of these coats. (Except the old winter down coat I need to just donate.) I used to have even more. I constantly ask myself how I can simplify my coats. Would I miss them? I could probably get rid of these and be just fine:

  • Old winter down coat (saving for a muddy sledding day)
  • Dressy wool coat
  • Lighter dressy coat
  • Cargo pocket jacket

(Moving to Florida would help me get rid of most of these :mrgreen: ) These are the kinds of thoughts I have all the time when I try to minimize. Kitchen appliances are no different – I have maybe 10 different ones and I use them all. How do you simplify items if you actually use them?

“What if I need it?”

I think the biggest reason I am afraid to jump down another level on the simplification ladder is the concern that I might need something one day. I tend to go through phases where I test the waters. I’ll get rid of 20% of my closest and see if I miss anything. You could say I’m getting braver when it comes to living with less. I can’t think of anything I have donated that I have regretted, but there have been times I’ve gone looking for something and then remembered I gave it away (I think that was an extra comforter.) Truly simplifying is risky because you don’t really know if you’re going to miss something until it’s gone.

You can buy another

I always say though, although it sounds wasteful, you can always buy something again. Or swap with someone. Or find a used one just like you used to have. So it’s not the end of the world to miss something that is replaceable and that reminder alone should be reason enough to take the risk of simplification!

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