Why minimalist?

In my second post, I explained the first half of my blog title, and discussed loneliness. Today I will talk about what minimalism means to me, and how it is expressed in my life thus far.

It seems like the various members of the minimalist blogsophere have a story - a loss, a life-threatening illness, or a sudden epiphany - that spurred them to choose a life of voluntary simplicity. I wish I had something so dramatic, because it makes for a good introduction, but that's just not what happened to me. I'm not even quite sure how I stumbled upon the concept, or precisely when. 

I was never much of a collector, much less a hoarder, though I definitely wasn't a minimalist when I was young. I always tried to live frugally, and managed to get through college and a master's degree with no debt. During my last semester of grad school, I landed a job making far more money than I knew what to do with, and I turned to some personal finance blogs for guidance. It was there that I first heard of the book Your Money or Your Life (which - confession - I still haven't read) and the concept of voluntary simplicity. This would have been roughly 2007 or 2008.

Since then, I have moved across the country with only the contents of my small car, something I could have never done before. This experience really drove home the freedom that shedding possessions can confer. Several of my friends have discussed wanting to move, or actually have gone somewhere, but were hampered by the hassle and expense of moving whole apartments full of furniture, thousands of books and DVDs, and large wardrobes. For me, it was as simple as putting some bags in my backseat and going.

I'd like to continue being flexible with my lifestyle, and I'm hoping to raise my children with anti-consumerist, pro-environmental values. The 800-pound gorilla in this plan is my fiance (an issue I will delve into when I find the patience), though I hope once he sees how much freer I am, he will come around. This next year will be a major reckoning. With him searching for jobs and me applying to school, we're not sure what part of the country, let alone what city, we'll be living in, and the more agile we can be, the better. 

To avoid being a windbag, I'll leave it at that, though I'm sure there'll be more on the subject interspersed in various other posts in the future. I'm not entirely certain where I'm going with this blog, but I'm going to attempt to post at least a couple of times a week, so something will show up one way or another. Life's an adventure, so I guess blogging can be too.