I think it’s surprising how many positive e-mails I receive that begin like this, “You probably hear this a lot, but I just wanted to say thank you…” I always reply with the exact same response, “I haven’t received so many that I don’t appreciate yours…” And I truly mean it.
Jessica Hall looked up my e-mail address and sent me this heart-warming and inspirational story. It was so good I asked if I could share it with you. She said, “Yes.” So, here it is:
I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I really enjoy your blog. I would have never been interested in the world of minimalism had I not seen your blog. It’s unreal how it has changed our lives and way of thinking.
We started a purge of our home 6 months ago, the first time we did it, we were not really good, it was hard to let go of things and we really made no impact. However as we dug deeper into your blog and other blogs, we began having conversations about the life we want to live, about what is truly important to us, how we want to raise our daughter and so on….then we went back at it.
We were amazed at how much easier it was to unload things and boy, did we get rid of tons… and we are not even pack rats, we are usually clean and organized. We spent months doing this, it was such a long process and stressful at times, but only because of the mess we created in our home. We were tired of maintaining things, it was taking away from our time together, I didn’t want my down time to be spent doing laundry or cleaning, I wanted to hang with my husband and daughter…or go out and so on.
We went through our clothes, books, dvds, paperwork, photos, everything. We got rid of extra dishes and silverware. We also took this opportunity to turn our home into a green home as much as possible. We even got rid of our microwave, we needed the counter space and really nothing good comes of the microwave except heating up food, which we can do on the stove. We got rid of all our laundry baskets but 1, the rule is, when it’s full we do laundry right away, less laundry builds up….we got rid of one of our computers, we tried to get rid of cable, but due to needing Internet and the phone the deal made sense to keep it. But we did get rid of the DVR (which was a big move). We also decided to no longer buy crap items just because they are inexpensive, we wait and save a bit more and buy an item that is of better quality – it gets old tossing Ikea furniture because it craps out on you in a few years. Our bedroom is now down to our bed and a dresser, we took out the TV and other items. It’s so nice to wake up to such an open and clean room. We got rid of the amount of towels we had as well as sheets. You name it we did it (sorry I am rambling)….
I could go on and on, I hope this made sense. We tell our friends our story and they often look at us like we are crazy. But then they see how the change has made our life less stressful and more balanced and they ask us what they should do….
Thanks for doing what you do and sharing your story! It has made a difference for me and my family!!
Peace~ Jessica
If you ask me, you can never receive that e-mail too many times…
***
I did want to take a personal moment just to thank each of you for being a reader of Becoming Minimalist. This week, we passed 7,000 subscribers! That reality continues to amaze me given the fact that this blog was started late on a Saturday night as just a means to keep my extended family updated on our minimalist journey. I never dreamt it would be read by others or become what it is today. Thanks for making the ride so enjoyable.
Barb says
I used to be such a sentimentalist. I think it may have been because I lost my dear sister and then my mother when I was barely in my twenties. It seemed like the things were all I had left of them and throwing away the objects would make them seem even further away. Well, I’m thirty plus years further down the road of life now and have felt an urge to purge. My husband – who has probably never even heard the term “minimalist” – says he is proud of me. I don’t think I even want to go to the 100 things place, but I do feel freer now that I’m not clutching things so tightly. Your blog has been and encouragement to me. Thank you.