Hello
Hello everyone my name is Thomas. I’ve been reading through this thread for a while now and thought I would share my experience.
I first found out about minimalism and simple living from stumbling onto Leo Babuta’s Zen Habits blog. From there I found some other blogs that have also inspired me namely Becoming Minimalist by Joshua Becker and The Minimalists.
I am married with 2 kids and live in a fairly cluttered house, my family aren’t really into the simple living stuff and I respect that but I decided to pare down my own stuff.
I went from having a large triple wardrobe that was overflowing down over the space of a couple of years to a single chest of 6 drawers that comfortably hold everything I could ever need except of course for my bike!
I’m not allowed to drive as I have epilepsy so I commute everywhere by bike on my 29er hybrid. I own some work uniform a couple of changes of clothes, a laptop, a set of books, folder pencil case for my physics degree. I also have a small Buddhist shrine and a meditation mat. I have a kindle but may get rid of it as I’m reading more and more books for the library now, it’s just handy for the slightly more obscure titles you can’t get in the library.
My laptop doesn’t get much use, if it wasn’t for the university course software I have to have installed I figure I could easily manage using a local library or work for computer access. I got rid of my smartphone and am planning to keep a basic cell phone for emergencies.
I’ve never been happier and I really don’t see the need for any more possessions. I’m working to pay off what debt I have and just trying to enjoy life.
It’s great to meet a lot of likeminded people.
Thomas