Our Journey of Less
an ever evolving story of acceptance, letting go and settling into enough
as my husband and i began to shape our family’s values after getting married in 2020, intentional rest and living simply kept rising to the surface. though we both came into marriage with so. much. stuff. and equal amounts of emotional attachment and ideals for living to work through. i adamantly stated (often) that i refused to spend my life managing our stuff. this began a cycle of constant purging and donating to the thrift store, yet still we had so many closets and corners of things we never touched.
seasonal purges were a norm for me, growing up moving often + a regular purveyor of lemonade at our annual family yard sale. i still had the tendency to collect clutter, but was almost as good at letting go as i was at acquiring. no matter how many little things i owned, i liked knowing exactly what was there and why. my husband grew up in the same home most of his life and was a stranger to these said purges. in our early days of marriage i struggled to understand my ever-evolving style and find contentment in the things we did have so i thrifted about as much stuff as i let go of. our first home together had lots of vintage touches like built in shelves, and telephone nooks that i kept trying to fill — character, yes, but clutter collectors for me. our home rarely felt chaotic, but the contents of dressers, closets and cabinets weighed on me. after many purges and several clutter induced fits of overwhelm, i finally felt a subtle shift about a year in, around the time we found out we were having our first baby.
said built ins — photo by the philgreens
the shift : instead of more baskets to organize, more space to store, what if we lived with less? what if shelves sat empty? what if every item in our home fulfilled purpose in function and beauty? it’s been a process since day one and i have learned (still am!) over the years how to let go, evaluate my motivations and lean into simplicity.
subtle shifts have come from asking questions like these:
— what are our family values?
— are we holding onto anything that doesn’t align with our values?
— what fills our days with joy?
— what is a pain to organize? to store?
— is there an unhealthy emotional tie to anything i’m holding onto?
— am i willing to unearth + rewire this belief?
— what is necessary for our family to lead a fulfilling life?
fast forward to may 2024 a few years and one baby later, we are five months into tiny living and have never felt more at home. we got rid of over half our belongings, paring down to the essentials in furniture, home decor, clothes and more.
enjoying the little things as a family of three — photo by agm creative co
creating this an intentional online space was an inspiring way for me to share our journey in it’s own authenticity + beauty with the hope to spark inspiration for your own story. the simple + slow is my reminder that there is a constant pull towards the more + faster, and that each day is a choice to lean into the pace that comes with less. may this space be an invitation to soften your jaw, release your shoulders and lighten your load.
thank you for visiting the simple + slow. follow along for a peek into my day to day.
