Simplify This Life

Just a warning: this post may seem to wander, but I hope it will make sense at the end. And, if you don't want to go through the whole thing, please read the last paragraph anyways.

As my husband and I are moving toward healthier eating and being more conscious of what is in our foods, I've also found myself with a desire to rid ourselves of the junk that clutters our lives.

I moved into a apartment with two other girls the fall after graduating from high school. I lived in that building for two years while both of my roommates were replaced and things came and went. I had enough furniture and things to fill my space and help fill the spaces we shared. Then, I moved into a 2-bedroom apartment in which I lived by myself. And, I lived there for two years, expanding my possessions to fill that space.

When we got married last July, Matt moved into my apartment, bringing only a few things with him, because we'd be moving again that September when my lease was up. We then moved into a house where we have lots of space to spread out, and he moved some more things in, but the majority of our possessions came from my life between high school graduation and marriage. We've bought a few things together, mostly furniture and appliances.

I feel like we need to start anew with our possessions. A lot of what I have, I don't use anymore, and I'm pretty good at having stacks of papers that need sorted and/or thrown away. We currently have a room that is supposed to be the office area, but is more of a storage area for things that I don't know what to do with. Papers that need sorted, things from school, art supplies and just general junk.

A few months ago, we watched a movie on a trip taken to Patagonia (180° South), the places seen and the people met and a conservation project going on there. We talked about it briefly. We talked about taking a month and just going. We talked about selling a lot of our stuff a taking a lot of time off of work and going. Then, we starting thinking about what that would mean. I would probably have to quit my job - not that this would be terrible for me, but our goal is to build a house and to get a bank loan, they like you to have two years at a job. It would mean some money. The cost to actually do the project is very minimal, meals and lodging when your not camping a few days at a time at the job site are included, but the airfare to get there was a bit more than we could handle.

We hadn't told anyone about this dream that we had. We kept it to ourselves, and slowly the talk subsided, and without a word being said, it was "cancelled" - not forgotten, by any means, at least not by me, but there seems to be an unspoken, "impossible."

I'd still love to participate in the conservation project in Patagonia. It's really not a plausible idea for us right now. Where would Ajay stay? What about this house we're building? What about the machine shop that Matt's family owns and runs that has been blessed with an overflow of work? Someday, maybe.

Anyways,  I've been thinking about simplifying since seeing that movie. And, I know that's something we can do now, even if we're not flying thousands of miles away to spend a month in a foreign land. Who knows, maybe it will make it that much easier if that opportunity does come.

A close friend of mine, along with her husband and kids, moved to Ohio to start a church plant, last fall. She's recently started a blog about the journey her family is on, as well as her desire to simplify their lives. Simplify This Life is that blog. Stop on over and let Jessica introduce herself, and while your there, tell her, "hello!" She's giving me the motivation I need to sort through and get rid of some of our stuff, and she might just give you some inspiration too. Or, maybe you can give her some tips!