How Minimalism Saves Our Family Time AND Money

If you are like me when I first heard of minimalism, you are probably curious about how minimalism really works. I thought of empty houses and museums right? Could the concept of minimalism ever be practical for real people? And I also wondered, would it seriously solve any of my problems...the two big ones being TIME and MONEY?

When I started this journey, I had three children ages 5, 3, and 1 years old. My amazing, hard-working husband had a job that took a ton of his time and I was doing different side gigs to help make money without having to compromise raising our children. In the almost 7 years since I started that journey toward living with less, I have given away 500 + bags to charity and 10 huge pieces of furniture. And yes, we still have couches to sit on and live in a "normal" home (see the tab market HOME TOUR). And I wondered if it was worth the time and money of giving it all away....

What I wanted in the beginning was some sanity in my home and life. What I gained has completely blown my mind.

As I peeled back the layers of 6 tubs of scrap fabric I was never going to use and mismatched dishes that I hated, I slowly and painfully and ironically questioned the sanity of "why am I doing this? It's taking forever!" I felt it was my penance for having allowed all this junk in my house in the first place. I felt like God was punishing me! Stuck in my basement or head-first in my disaster closet, I felt like I was being punished and miserable for allowing other people to determine what I kept in my home. I determined that I would change. My thinking was the problem. And then, the miracles happened...

Suddenly, small miracles. I could find my keys. I could find my shoes and purse every single day. Items had a permanent home. I could see progress. The anger and overwhelm that had plagued me slipped out of my heart and mind quietly leaving like an unwelcome guest finally told to go. The children were happier. With every bag gone, the burden began to lift. And I got my time. Seriously, I wish I could yell this from the mountain tops....everything took less time!! Can you believe it!? So simple yet so revolutionary for me.  Less time to do dishes, laundry, cooking, and kid chores. Less time looking for things. Less time sorting and putting things away because there was simply less things to put away. Halleluiah!!

Then, another miracle happened. Opportunities opened. I had the time to work on our investment properties and triple our rental income in about 4 months by adding additional units. I had the time to really get to know our tenants who became dear to our family. They would feed our kids grapes and cheese while we chatted and changed furnace filters. Seriously, who does that? People with time. People with time invest in other people!

Because of the compounding impact of minimalism, I also was able to work with my husband and start another business helping families and business owners with financial education and game planning. I found all my skills from the corporate world brought much needed help to underserved communities in our area where financial mentorship and hope is truly needed. And because I had the mental clarity and I was spending less time with "stuff," I could spend more time serving people. That simply makes my heart sing.

In terms of exact numbers, I have on a consistent basis saved 20+ hours per week compounding by donating all those bags of very useful items. 20 hours X Years of Freedom = So Worth It!

As far as money is concerned, saving money is one category. It regularly saves us about 50% of our household budget by choosing a minimalist lifestyle. But that's not all, not only do we SAVE more money, we have CREATED more income as well. By being free to work on our businesses, I estimate that the amount exceeds double my salary in corporate world. It's significant. And I am still raising my children rather than commuting into the city.

And although I am a huge advocate for Creating Minimalism, I am also a realist. This will take work. It took giving it all away to find the life I was looking for all along. May you find your best life as well. Blessings for your journey!

~Elizabeth 

Non-toxic toothpaste and minimalism

Toothpaste and minimalism may seem an odd couple but I promise they are related. Hang with me! We love living in a modest 1400 square foot log home in the woods. It's beautiful and toothpaste does not easily wash off logs. Ask me how I know. Enter my toddlers! They have helped, with the squeeze and squirt experiments, to motivate me to find alternatives to the traditional tubes. Plus, we are working towards a zero waste household and less toxic lifestyle.

Hence, we reduced our need for commercial toothpaste to making our own in small, naughtiness-limiting amounts that were non-toxic and organic in case they simply eat it all.

Here is the recipe that we use modified from tons of different recipes on DIY websites on line. It came down to what ingredients I already owned or could easy purchase. Have fun with this! The main point according to our dentist is to actually brush more the ingredients anyway.

Non-Toxic Toothpaste Recipe: 

Equal parts depending on the size of your family, about 2 Tablespoons for us......

Coconut oil (organic unrefined from Walmart or Mountain Rose Herbs)

Arrowroot (organic from Whole Foods or Amazon)

Bentonite Clay

Baking Soda

Xylitol

Mix Well - add Distilled Water if needed

Add high quality, food grade essential oils about 20 drops to your taste. We used lemon this time but we like peppermint also.

I put them in sterilized small glass French jars from Amazon with lids that are attached. Then I also sterilize their bamboo toothbrushes with either boiling hot water or I often get hurried and just peroxide on them when everyone has had colds. I try to keep it as clean as possible and then I find their toothbrushes on the floor getting stepped on....we can only do so much. They totally eat dirt outside so I guess these steps may be quite silly!

That's it, though, super easy.

Minimalism is not about less for the sake of less. For us, it is really is creating a way to live that is healthier for us all.

Our reason....our story

Moments create our lives. Our reason and our story has multiple beginnings. Perhaps it began with trying to live on a youth pastor's salary and keeping everything, "just in case." Maybe it was the weight of our grandparents' passing away and all their stuff being poured into our basement. Probably it came with a deep conviction.

People are more important than stuff.

We knew we needed change. And as all good and permanent change does...it began slowly. Slowly, painfully, I began with the support of my husband (as long as I didn't touch his stuff), to peel back layers of years and in heartache. In short, we ended up giving 2/3rds of everything we owned away.

In the last 6 years, we have donated over 550+ huge bags, pieces of furniture, and stuff to charity (doesn't count other items shared to friends and family).

We also are about to have baby #6. With children, we thought it would be difficult to find peace and minimalism. How wrong we were! Actually children thrive in a less cluttered home. And not only thrive, but help create minimalism. More than we ever realized. Sometimes in humorous ways. Sometimes in extremely hard ways. Always good and always moving us forward.

This is our story, with our reasons, but as you hear in these pages and images the laughter and often deep struggle, may you find courage. A path. One more step forward. For your family, for your season. Create for yourself the kind of life you want using all that we have learned along the way. Welcome to our journey and yours.

We know that you will find the life you want to CREATE is just beyond all that is let go along the way.

~ Blessings,

Elizabeth