Lately, I have been feeling more overwhelmed than freed by our minimalist journey. I haven’t changed my mind, because my “why” for losing the clutter is so important to me, but I expected to feel better than I do right now. Each step I have taken toward minimalism feels like it creates three steps backwards, and I am utterly spent emotionally.
In fairness, my overwhelmed state is not solely from simplifying. I am also a stay-at-home mom, college student, heavily involved in our church, and we are in the process of remodeling our home. I am always working on the next project or idea that crosses my mind, and if I were an internet browser window, I would have at least 492 tabs open at any given moment.
Photo credit: http://braintabs.blogspot.com/2016/04/my-brain-has-too-many-tabs-open_21.html
My mood ranges from caffeine-induced bubbliness to ugly crying, and I can go from one extreme to the other in the same conversation. I somewhat expected journeying into minimalism to instantly stop the chaos that consumes most of my days, but that’s not how it works. Rachel Jones hits the nail on the head in this post about minimalism not being a “magic pill” to solve all your problems.
Minimalism is very similar to dieting. You can take pills or do fad diets to lose weight very quickly, and they generally work…for a short period of time. But if you change your eating habits gradually and steadily, it may take longer to lose the weight and be frustrating along the way, but the results are usually more permanent.
I’m definitely in for the long haul of minimalism, but the frustration is of not losing the “weight” fast enough is setting in. How is your journey into minimalism so far? Do you feel like you are on a fad diet or have you changed your habits? Leave me a comment below or find me on Twitter!
Clutter Mama 
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson
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I love this. I found a copy of it that I have had for years during this cleaning process. It means even more coming from you!
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