cutthecrap

Pause

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

keep-calm-and-know-thyself-23

It is important to notice where opportunities for minimalism show up each day.  This should be a practice for us… one that requires daily intention.  There is no doubt that we often times miss the graces that are present in the ordinary because we get so pressed in on by our busyness and the day-to-day duties of life.

There are certain questions that can be kept in front of us that will open our attention to where our desires and desperation’s collide.  In this collision, we will be faced with both temptation and opportunity.  The choice we make will have consequences that will move us one step closer to a simple life, or one step closer to consumerism… again.

These questions can help you to be attentive to your mental state… how your body responds to your environment… and how your emotional baggage plays into the desire to ‘have more’: life… or death.

These questions can help you be aware of what is difficult in your life… what is beautiful in your life… whether it be relational, or material.

These questions are meant for honest reflection about who you are… and who you are becoming.  They can be pulled out at any time of the day.  In any circumstance, whether a quiet moment in nature… or at the local department store as you stand before your next potential purchase… or when you find yourself in the midst a relational issue.

Before you simply react… take some time to pause and ask:

  • How can I experience gratefulness in this moment?
  • How is this moment making me feel ungrateful?
  • Am I able to give and receive love in this moment?
  • Am I not feeling the love at all right now?
  • How is this moment an opportunity to be life-giving?
  • How is the potential of this moment not life-giving?
  • Is this a moment that is leading me to a place where I am going to be fulfilled?
  • Is this a moment that is leading me to a place where I am going to be disconnected?
  • Am I experiencing a temptation in this moment?
  • Am I experiencing an opportunity in this moment?

These simple questions can used in those times of life where you need to pause before moving in a direction.  They can assist you in that moment of tension (or moments of tension) during the day where you may be faced with freedom or bondage to things… time… and relationships.

It’s worth it to pause.

Your perspective and sense of direction for who you are becoming can only happen when you stop to listen throughout your day.  The call to minimalism is a perpetual state of forward motion and growth.  Without intention, the gravity of consumerism and busyness will undoubtedly pull you back in.

This kind of awareness will keep you in touch, and draw you into the person that you were created to be.  When you recognize that the raw material of your day-to-day life is all that you really need to live, you will continue to move into the call and design of who you are.

What is your story… we would love to know.  If you are able, tackle one or two of them in the comment section below… or email us.   It is our desire to offer you the opportunity to share your story… through blog post, YouTube video, podcast, etc…

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#CutTheCrap Challenge: Clean the Garage Part 2

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

keep-calm-and-clean-your-garage

In case you missed ‘Clean the Garage Part 1‘… click the link.

Now that you have gone through and gotten rid of everything that can be gotten rid of… it’s time to organize.  Since minimalism is an art, the organization of the garage can become your masterpiece, and there really is no right or wrong way to do it.

We have a decent size garage, with a lot of space.  We are also fortunate to have a couple other storage sheds on the property to keep many of the seasonal items that we have, such as snow shovels and gardening equipment.  So, when it comes to organization, the first thing we did was to move many of the items to where they needed to be in other locations.

We have a lot of kids… so sometimes tools don’t get put back where they belong, and things just miraculously appear in the most random areas.  It’s time to get these items back where they belong.

These types of initial organizational things will begin to open up potential for your garage.  But you need to ask yourself the question: What do we want this space to be?

Is this garage a place to store tools and park the cars?

Is this garage going to be a place where our kids have start a band?

Is this garage going to be a place where we can invite some friends over to have a few drinks and listen to music on a rainy summer night?

etc…

After you have identified the nature and the purpose of this space in your home, it is time to create, and bring this idea to life.  For this summer, we decided to create a place for the kids to hang out and create, or watch a movie, or play video games.

Last summer, we combined two homes, and so we have an extra couch and television cluttering up things.  While we could donate these items somewhere else, we really felt like this would be a space outside of our living space for the kids to venture into and chill.  It is not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but so far the kids seem to like it.

We put some musical instruments out there for those creative types… and some art supplies out there with a table to draw on.

All of this is on one half of the garage.  On the other half is the more traditional garage… tools and a few boxes that we still need to sort down.

In the end, it feels good to be able to go out there and feel that the garage is more than just a giant junk drawer.  It has a nature and a purpose… one that will bring the family together during the summer months, and give us a place to laugh and to play.

Embarrassingly… we did fill up two dumpsters of throw away stuff in the process.  That felt good in a way… but dang.  That’s a lot of junk that was just sitting around.

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Are you ready?… let’s do this.