When I was living in the midst of my shopping addiction, I was not picky or choosey about what items I brought home with me. In fact, rarely ever did I head into a mall or browse online with a particular item in mind. No, I usually spent my time letting the sales tags talk to me louder than my own inner guide. Since kicking my shopping addiction, I have started to understand that the real way to save money, shop smarter and still have a closet filled with items I love is to be a more high maintenance shopper. A lot of us have been lead to believe that being high maintenance is a bad thing — that we’re too picky or unpleasable. In reality, more people need to practice the art of being high maintenance and refusing to settle for less than they deserve in every area of life. For now, let’s just tackle the topic of being a little more high maintenance when it comes to shopping!
Most people know that the decluttering process isn’t always easy. While I’m a big fan of just turning off your brain and tapping into joy like Marie Kondo suggests, anyone who has attempted decluttering often knows that there can be a lot of fear and resistance tagged on and we’re not really sure why. The crazy truth is that letting go of our things can quite literally be a grieving process. Not because we are people are so obsessed with our material items, but because we have accidentally given them meaning beyond just stuff. Here’s how to spot these misalignments and how you can course correct in a way that feels freeing and not frightening.
I was recently re-listening to one of Brene Brown’s books, The Gifts of Imperfection when I heard her say something so simple and profound, my brain had no choice but to perk up and listen more intently. Isn’t is crazy how we can hear or see something for a second or third time and always pick up on something different than we did the first time around? It’s probably the same reason I have a new favorite character on The Office every time I watch. While what Brene said wasn’t meant to be on the topic of minimalism, that’s really what it was, a very minimalist based solution for how to create more happiness in our lives without really doing anything for the most part. Here’s what I mean…
I used to be one of those people who believed that travel was not within my means. When I would see people online having amazing experiences and getaways, I told myself that it wasn’t possible for us. Then, I would head to the mall or Target and drown my sorrows with $100 worth of random crap I didn’t need. What I didn’t realize is that if I were to just save that $100 each month, I could have started affording more getaways. However, applying a minimalist mindset to travel was also crucial. In previous years I insisted on buying new clothes before we traveled, picking up souvenirs at each destination, all that jazz. Now that I’ve painted a clearer picture of what I want when I travel (new experiences), I spend way less and experience way more. Here’s how New York went down…on a budget…
I first heard about the Broken Window Theory in one of Malcolm Gladwell’s many amazing books. The basic idea being that if there is one person with a broken window in a neighborhood, slowly the rest of the neighborhood will start to shift and deteriorate. In other words, our surroundings dictate our behaviors. In my almost a decade of practicing minimalism, I can see more and more how we can apply the Broken Window Theory to our lives and homes. You know, less clutter = more peace of mind and all that jazz. However, there is a fine line to walk between fixing a few broken windows in your home and buying an entirely new furniture set. How the heck do ya tell the difference between these two? Well, here’s what I’m thinkin’…
