the rising ranch Archives - Hippie in Disguise

Minimalism draws us in different ways. The reasons range from environmental concerns, to stress and anxiety reduction, financial freedom, aesthetics, and simplicity. And surely there are others. But it seems that over time these start to converge, at least they did for me. Week after week people generously share their stories on this blog, today I’ll tell you a little about mine before we get to Andrea’s.

I’ve always loved a tidy, sparse space, and been concerned about my impact on the environment. As as child I would secretly take things out of the garbage and recycling bin, if I thought my family could still make use of them, and stash them away in my room. Later in life, as a busy parent of two I started to feel excessive stress and anxiety related to our home space, the constant mess, even though I was always tidying and really we don’t own that much it was still: Constant. Mess. I craved simplicity and aesthetic comfort in our home space. Tidying daily wasn’t working, so I changed gears. I started by drastically reducing the amount of stuff we had, goodbye duplicates, goodbye infrequently used items, and so on. And just like that things started to lighten. I felt calmer. I gave things away to people who would actually use them instead of keeping them “in case” (in case we didn’t have the money to buy it later on, that was usually my fear), our home life gradually became simpler and our space was aesthetically more pleasing. We spent less money and had more time — the greatest resource of all — to do the things we loved doing. With all the ways minimalism has benefitted us, it’s no wonder I think of it as a way of life.

Today, Andrea is sharing her story of finding minimalism and how it works for her family of four and what opportunities it has given them. Andrea is a mother of two, secular homeschooler, and creatively self-employed. I hope you feel inspired by her story. And if you would like to share yours please email me.

Andrea, let’s start with a little bit about you. Who are you? What’s your background?

I am a 30 year old homeschooling stay-at-home mom of two bright children. Before meeting my husband and having children, I was a very career oriented hard working woman in the healthcare industry trying to buy my first home on my own. After moving to the Maritimes, I met my relaxed husband and adapted to the slower, laid-back lifestyle. I started to really explore New Brunswick and the neighbouring provinces, focused on having joyful and meaningful experiences, I learned a lot from him. It is the experiences we have that create our story and not the things we accumulate.

What part of the world do you live in?

We live in the beautiful Maritime province of New Brunswick, Canada.

How many children do you have and what are they like?

We have two children ages 5 and 3. Our eldest son is an extremely chatty, no non-sense, inventive child with a passion to create anything out of a piece of string, some painters tape and binder clips. Our younger child is fun-loving, empathetic, loves to be silly and is determined he is a Fire Rescue Man. They are complete opposites of each other in appearances, attitudes, and preferences, but are inseparable

What are you passionate about?

I am very passionate about the family I have created and what we want to accomplish together. We are currently homeschooling our children and are working to build an off grid, self sufficient small minimalist home and homestead. We want to go ‘back to basics’ in a sense, to show our children how to appreciate what we have, to have the ability to be happy and fulfilled with little possessions, and to show them to have gratitude for what we do have.

I believe there are many ways to be a minimalist and many forms of minimalism. What does minimalism mean to you? And, in what ways are you a minimalist?

To me, minimalism means living with only what you need, in all areas of our life, not just the amount of possessions a person has. Our family takes a minimal approach to everything, the amount of toys our children have, how we shop for our groceries to reduce waste, the size of our small rental apartment, the lack of a television, even the amount of debt we are willing to create for ourselves when purchasing a vehicle.

So, what is your story, how did you start on a path toward a minimalist lifestyle?

It’s funny actually, because a few years ago, I would never have considered myself a minimalist, certainly not a hoarder but definitely lost in the middle of all that meaningless stuff! Once we became pregnant with our first child the maternal instinct to collect and nest kicked in and next thing I knew, I had a three story 1500 square foot home full of ‘stuff’. It was three years later when we moved across the province that I realized how ludicrous it was to fill a 26′ long truck full of things we rarely used. It was all laid out in front of me and I knew I needed to change our lifestyle not only for myself, but to be the kind person I hoped my children would turn out to be.

Are there any websites or other resources that have inspired your minimalism? Favourite books?

I have always flown by the seat of my pants when making minimal choices for our family, but I strongly relate and agree with a quote from William Morris, “If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” The simplicity of our home and everything in it really reflects the guidance the quote has offered to us.

In what ways/areas do you struggle with keeping things minimal? What is your weakness?

Homeschooling my children while living a minimalist lifestyle is an oxymoron! It’s really hard, I won’t sugar coat it! Homeschooling requires a variety of tools, books and other resources to home educate the children in all subjects just like children who attend a physical school. However, children that are sent to school have an entire building dedicated to their learning environment, with endless resources, books and sometimes separate rooms for various subjects. My biggest challenge is to find multi-use resources, games, or toys to effectively homeschool without accumulating a lot of possessions and making it all fit in our small apartment.

Have there been any struggles with the other people you live with about living in a minimal way?

In our home we have no issues with people and our minimal choices because we are all on board with this lifestyle. However, there are a few extended family members or colleagues of my husband, who wonder why we haven’t ‘settled down’ and purchased a large expensive home, that our apartment is too small for our family, or that we need to sell our car and purchase a newer pricey vehicle. These remarks are all well meaning because society rewards us for purchasing these big exciting and expensive things, but it doesn’t affect our choice to live our minimal lifestyle with less debt.

What have been some unexpected experiences (positive or negative) you’ve had with minimalism?

The most exciting and unexpected side effect of living in this minimal lifestyle is how well our 5 year old understands it. It is amazing when a birthday rolls around and he is showered with gifts, he will consult with us on which toys he would like to part with and give to another boy who may not been as fortunate. I cannot think of another child who would be so willing to part with toys. Occasionally he will ask for a new toy and to bargain with us, he will name off all the toys he would gladly live without to get a beloved new toy.

What advice can you offer to people interested in living a minimalist lifestyle?

Start small. Take a look around one room in your home and remove everything that you think is not useful to you enough to keep it or beautiful. There are so many people in this world that may need many of those items. We found once we began to remove more items the easier and easier it got! I remember when the microwave left the house, my husband didn’t notice for 2 weeks!

You are planning to move off the grid, can you tell me more about your plans and how far you’ve come?

We are going to purchase a piece of raw land in New Brunswick within one year and build a small 16’x20′ home that is power and water self-sufficient. We plan to continue homeschooling our children while growing most of our own food and eventually be able to supplement our income enough that we won’t have to work outside the home. So far, we have downsized our possessions to approximately a fourth of what we originally had, and downsized from our previous 1300 square foot home to a 700 square foot apartment. We still have a long way to go before we are able to live on our land in our small home but it will be worth the wait and hard work.

You are also focused on waste reduction, can you share what you are doing to eliminate garbage from your life?

We’ve been trying to reduce the garbage we create when we shop because really that is the only waste we create, everything else is recycled or donated to families in need. When we grocery shop we use reusable shopping bags and try to buy everything in a reusable or recyclable container. Many things needed for our pantry can be purchased at The Bulk Barn which uses recyclable bags and containers and after shopping we put everything in large glass storage containers. Often the only thing that needs to be thrown away is our receipt. We try to shop for used items like clothing before we purchase new and very rarely do we bring anything into the home that isn’t groceries or crafting supplies from the dollar store.

Do you have any goals for this year or the next few that you want to share?

My goal this year is to continue living this lifestyle because it brings much more meaning to our life and family.

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Thank you, Andrea! Readers you can find Andrea (her pseudonym) and follow her family’s adventures on her blog or her Facebook page.

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Hippie in Disguise

slow living, minimalism and connection with nature

Tag: the rising ranch

Interview with a Minimalist: Andrea