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Mike and I have big plans to reduce our possessions & simplify our life. As we go along, I'll be sharing our journey with that along with tips on how others can do the same if they so desire. For now, I leave you with some inspirational quotes. Enjoy and stay tuned!You buy furniture, you tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. buy the sofa, then for a couple of years you’re satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you’ve got your sofa issue handled, then the right set of dishes, then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things that you used to own, now they own you.
~excerpt from Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.
~Elise Boulding
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak
~Hans Hofmann
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
~Henry David Thoreau
Simplicity of living, if deliberately chosen, implies a compassionate approach to life. It means that we are choosing to live our daily lives with some degree of conscious appreciation of the condition of the rest of the world.
~Duane Elgin
Bringing simplicity into our lives requires that we discover the ways in which our consumption either supports or entangles our existence.
~Duane Elgin
Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.
~Sir Joshua Reynolds
The aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption. The cultivation and expansion of needs, is the antithesis of wisdom. It is also the antithesis of freedom and peace...
~E.F. Schumacher
Free men must live simple lives and have simple pleasures.
~William Morris
Joy comes not through possession or ownership but through a wise and loving heart.
~Buddha
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.
~Charles Haddon Spurgeon
I love this idea! I'm going to actually try and do the same. It was my plan to go through my things this winter when it gets really cold and yucky and start to get rid of things and give things away and just minimize my possessions. Love the quotes, especially the Fight Club one ;) I'm looking forward to seeing your journey!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to this series. I try to do the same in my life, but with OCD I often hoard a lot of unnecessary things or "need" to collect stuff. Whenever I hit a manic stage though I get really upset and stressed about how much stuff is around me. Living more simply constantly would definitely keep my moods at a more even keel.
ReplyDeleteThis is especially nice for this season, when we can gift some of the useable unnecessary STUFF
If I didn't have a thrift store addiction, I'd be right there with you :).
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good series. I'll be eager to read along.
ReplyDeleteSo important especially during this consumerist part of the year. I am keeping it very simple too.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to learning from you, Molly! After New Year's, we are going to majorly re-organize our house, which was sadly built with no sense of space, so we are always disorganized and cluttered.
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of quotes! It will be interesting to share your journey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, everyone!
ReplyDeleteWe're looking forward to this all. It's something we've done to a point for a while, but now we're going to pick up the speed & get more serious. I have a lot of ideas for posts for this, including many areas of not only the home, but life as well. :)
Great quotes Molly! I am looking forward to reading about your journey towards simplicity:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Erica! :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it ironic that you could've started simplifying already with just one or two quotes instead of ten?!
ReplyDeleteHa, just kidding, was probably just some simple cutting and pasting.
I love these quotes...especially "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak". That's something we are in the process of trying to do ourselves. I even have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Simplify" :o) I'm looking forward to more of your journey!
ReplyDeleteSV- lol, but I love quotes! I enjoy reading them as much as a book, so it's all good. Stuff that's fulfilling I don't mind maximizing. :)
ReplyDeleteMichelle- it might be a while before I post anymore, but I have a lot of stuff in my head already! Now to just organize those thoughts...
Nope, never tried coconut sugar, I've heard good things but it's still sugar so I've stayed away. If you try it let me know?
ReplyDeleteI love the ideas in this post. I regularly cull my belongings and the local charity shops end up with huge donations but somehow I fall back into temptations and the cycle begins again. Perhaps it's time for an in and out rule- I should donate something if I want to buy something new? How do you keep yourself in check?
All the best xxx
Perfect time of year to simplify! This holiday instead of a gift, we donated dog houses to a local rescue group and it felt way better than receiving something I really didn't need!
ReplyDeleteClaire- I don't know if I'm going to try it because we're trying to cut out sugar, but if I do I'll definitely let you know. :) I have a few ideas that I'll be posting about for "rules" to have as far as staying in check, so stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteRamona & Kevin- that's so wonderful that you donated like that! We just dropped off a bunch of stuff for the local thrift shop that benefits local shelters. It's good to give! :)