'Cause I am! I have long admired Cheryl's home management. She has shared inspiring stories of decluttering and simplification on her blog. She recently started a second blog dedicated to her family's journey towards minimalism. You can read her story here.
I think the common stereotypical minimalist is a single person or small family. The truth is we large families may stand to gain the most from steps towards living with less. Most of us would like to spend the majority of our time enjoying our children but feel bogged down with all the stuff that comes with them, or at least what our culture has led us to believe accompanies them. People like Cheryl challenge those assumptions. I look forward to following her less-is-more adventure.
Starry Sky Journal 
I think that many of us reach the point in our very layered lives that there are too many layers and not enough ‘me’ to go around!
I have been decluttering “for good” on and off for the past 2 years. I was forced to. Family harmony really depended on it. I am in no way done..it is just better. I feel like I have lost weight and have more energy. I lost the stuff on the outside of me that was making me slog through the day. I am in no way at the point of leaping like a gazelle through the day now…nice pic huh??:)…but there is a peace knowing where things are and planning for spaces for US to be creative instead of spaces to put more THINGS.
Why do I always feel I have to keep reinventing the wheel??
Oh yes. I have been really purging, buying less, and saying no much more in the past 6-12 months. Many, many bags have gone to Goodwill, a few to appreciative friends and many more into the trash. Still, I feel buried and the process continues.
The hardest part of the purging is respecting the attachments of other family members. My mother is a real stuff oriented person and would be devastated if I got rid of anything she had given us—which is a lot. My husband is a collector of brochures, pamphlets and booklets and also hoards years and years worth of utility and tax bills/records—so there are a LOT of boxes of that stuff around.
The more I get rid of, the more I am bothered by what remains. And, the more I am bothered by the burden–er,I mean,responsibilities of taking care of this large house my parents talked us into buying (“you can never have too much space” they told us—well, you can have too much space if you have to keep it all cleaned!)
So, for now, I purge all that I can. Purging things that we spent hard earned dollars to buy really makes me sensitive to making new purchases without giving serious consideration to whether it is a true need or a justified want.
One piece of advice I have been following came from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project blog: Before buying a new organization system for some stuff, seriously consider whether you really need to organize it or you could just get rid of it.
Thanks for the link to Cheryl’s new blog; looks like she and I have been reading some of the same blogs.
I am fascinated by the Happiness blog as well. Thank you for sharing that!
Yes, I am in!
I love to be inspired to declutter and simplify. Thank you for posting this link! I’m off to peruse . . .