Saturday, June 1, 2013

Becoming A Minimalist

Recently, Cody approached me with the idea of living a more minimalist lifestyle.  It intrigued me to say the least.  We already do many things to lower out "footprint" such as recycling, eating vegetarian, carpooling, etc. But, we are creatures of habits and "things."

When we first moved to Alaska (almost) a year ago we only brought one carload of belongings.  What didn't fit in our car simply didn't make the cut.  There were a few boxes of keepsakes and important things (like my record player) that my parents stored for me.  Overall though, we packed the car and that was it.

Packing our car for the move from Illinois to Alaska. 

Some time (not-so) later we managed to accumulate a ton of STUFF.  It is a little sad and a lot silly.  So, we decided to condense many of our belongings.  We took a load of books and clothes to the thrift shop this weekend.  And, we intend to continue to downsize.  We cancelled our cable (except for basic channels) and downgraded various other "plans" that we had going on in our lives.  We started a garden and began to really think about saving long-term and downsizing long-term.  It has been a freeing experience! It is still all new to us but we are liking it so far.

We are also looking into EarthShips quite a bit.  We probably won't be able to build/buy our own home for another 8-10years.  But, long-term we would love to build a sustainable "green" home. Check out the links and let me know what you think!

Here are some cool links about the topics:
Minimalist FAQ's from mnmlist.com 
The Everyday Minimalist
Project 333
10 Reasons Why EarthShips Are Awesome

Questions
How do you feel about living a minimalist lifestyle? 
Would you ever consider this lifestyle? 
How awesome are EarthShips???? 

2 comments:

  1. I have officially become addicted to your blog. I now realize I've been reading it backwards lol. I am fascinated with Earthships. You have motivated me to restart some of my resolutions for healthy living as well. Thanks. I am interested in your daily beauty routine while becoming a minimalist. Do you still enjoy perfumes and potions? Curl or blowdry your hair? Wear makeup? What are some of your must haves/can't live without? Dexter? Mac book? Lip gloss? I really encourage you to submit your writing to Cosmo/Glamour magazines. Your writing is beautiful and your lifestyle is fascinating. I think many women would love hearing how you are a modern day woman living in an area that is primitive in some ways for lack of a better word. Thank you for sharing your blogs.

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    1. I love your questions (and EarthShips rule)!! So, my beauty regimen is pretty basic. I wear very little makeup (powder, eyeliner, mascara) and basically don't do my hair at all. I french braid my hair every night and sprtiz it with spray gel. Thankfully, my hair is naturally curly so I just unbraid it and let it go wild most days. My biggest must-haves are definitely season DVD's of my favorite shows and my Mac! Also, my Ipod and Kindle are also lifesavers because they save so much waste!

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