Are you considering downsizing your house to save money? Welcome to the club! Hello, my name is Emma, and in 2015, I was exactly where you are now. I won’t rehash our entire downsizing story (you can read it here if you like), but suffice to say we downsized so we would have more time … Read more
The holiday season is always a challenge for those of us intent on simplifying our lives. If you are a minimalist parent, or just don’t like the excess that surrounds this time of year, here is a simple concept that could make your holiday season a whole lot easier. Want Need Wear Read: How does … Read more
Gifts for Minimalists. Sounds kind of like an oxymoron. I mean minimalists don’t want more stuff, right?? Wrong. Minimalists love gifts that are thoughtful, heartfelt, practical, or consumable. It’s not that we completely eschew stuff, it’s that we try to own only the things which we use or love. If an item doesn’t fit into those … Read more
Ten years ago, my husband and I were living in a large home with loads of stuff all around us. We had a toddler, a low income, and a large mortgage payment (relative to the income, anyway). Our house was damaged in the Christchurch earthquake, and we could not renovate it until we had a … Read more
Text to (insert number on invitation): “Does (child) like Paw Patrol/Shopkins/other plastic junk that I really don’t want to buy but must?” (I don’t say that last bit). Grab the item, take it to the cashier, and ask for a gift exchange receipt, just in case. This is the routine I go through 5 or … Read more
I’ve been living in a small house with my family for over three years now. I was quite apprehensive about how living in a smaller home would work for us, but I can say now that downsizing was the right choice. Don’t get me wrong, living in a small house with a family has not … Read more
I feel like minimalism has got a bad rap lately. I’m reading about people struggling with minimalism, or even quitting minimalism altogether. And I kinda understand why. There seems to be this idea that in order to ‘be a minimalist’ one needs to get rid of all their stuff and move into a tiny … Read more
Do you struggle with decluttering? If so, you’re in good company. I hated decluttering. I love my stuff! But I realised that my stuff was literally costing me money after paying nearly $4000 to store it while I travelled around the world with my family. My husband and I decided to downsize to an 80sqm … Read more
If you’re interested in downsizing with a family, this is my first blog post about our decision to downsize our family home. We spent 2015 in Spain, renting a small apartment and living like locals. We had just found out we (me) were pregnant and planned to head back to New Zealand to have the … Read more