Minimalist Living - Good for your Health/ Good for the Environment

My whole adult life I never wanted to commit to purchasing and owning a home on a piece of land that I would hope to own in the future. To be bound by something materialistic. I have never had a desire to be attached to anything that wasn’t living and breathing, but me like most had children and a responsibility to give my mini’s as much stability as I could. I was never happy in the corporate environment although I climbed the ladder and stayed in that career for 20 long years. Too long in my opinion. I have owned a home surrounded with things that in the end was very easy for me to walk away from, the things I find in life that would be difficult to walk away from are the people I love and care for. I made the decision when my son was 15 that when he graduated high school and started adulating that I would embrace the exact life I wanted for my self wholeheartedly. That life that I waited so long for was minimalism. I’ve been called the lady with a gypsy heart, a hippie, etc….I just laughed it off and really never knew how to categorize my ideal lifestyle. Then again titles really don’t hold any bearing for me.

My mother passed away suddenly of a stroke in January of 2016 at the young age of 65. This was the turning point in my life. I thought about her life struggles and her happiness while she was alive and as I reflected I realized she was happiest when she had nothing, no one place to call her own, she had a bed to lay her head at 5 different places, because what was important to her was spending time with the people in those homes that she cared about the most not weather she owned it or not. So she was never lonely and had a lot of people that embraced her love and her presence. I can remember when it was her time to move onto another house I never wanted her to leave. After her passing I started saving as much as I possibly could. It was a significant time in my life as my youngest child would be graduating in 5 months with his new life to create and I would be an empty nester. By Mid June my Fiancé Steve and I saved enough to head up to Canada (His home Town) and spend the summer with his family. I purged, donated and got rid of 95% of my personal belongings, none of which I’ve missed or needed since. All our belongings fit in the bed of his small sport truck. We lived in a fifth wheel camper for 4 months and then stayed with his parents for the remaining 3 weeks before heading back to warmer weather in our home state of Florida.

We are in the process of moving our Florida camper to a site so we won’t be tied to any one property and can leave to go wherever our heart leads us. Since becoming a minimalist I’ve found my true happiness. I have more time to work out, eat right, enjoy nature and most importantly enjoy people without the distraction of trying to climb a ladder or surround my self with things. Success for me is building solid relationships, doing my part to care for the planet for others to enjoy for many years to come, physical and emotional health.

The things that mean the most to me are spending time with the people I love, leaving the smallest footprint possible for future generations, not consuming more than my share of space, and my health. I truly believe in ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and not leaving THINGS of insignificance behind, only memories built for others to cherish and words to live by.

Life becomes worth living when you make the time to breathe it in everyday.

-Sue

What kind of life matters most to you and how do you get there?