Category: Journal Entries

Ahhhh yes my favorite holiday. The only holiday that deserves it’s own post. In my opinion, the only holiday that is truly for all people. Unlike the other holidays which are segregated for only specific groups of people (divided by faith usually), this one we can ALL celebrate the things that go bump in the night. A holiday dedicated to the darker side of reality (and non-reality). Where we can celebrate our fascination with fright, fear, and the grotesque.

The reason why I even make a post about Halloween is because for my life experience, Halloween is a the best value added experience one can have in their life. Halloween joins friends/family together to engage in crafty costume making, creative thinking, joy, and merriment. It’s a way for neighbors to get to know each other. No holiday that I am aware of has strangers talking to each other than this one (ok St Patrick’s Day maybe).

So have fun all ye ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, skeletons, witches, monsters, ghouls, pirates, serial killers, Jason Vorhees’s, Mike Meyers’s, Freddy Kruger’s, aliens, predators, etc. Have a happy Halloween.

A few precautions first:

• Check the back seat before entering your vehicle.
• No skinny dipping. In fact don’t do anything alone naked.
• Never say “I’ll be right back.”
• Carry if you have the means (no one in these horror movies is ever carrying).

Enjoy

 

 

Whether we are minimalists or not, I think we can all appreciate the value of a good pair of jeans. Durable, comfortable, appropriate for almost all weather conditions (the non-extreme ones), and strangely enough, always fashionable. If we look around I think we will find that jeans are at the very foundation of middle class wardrobe; they are our first “go to” when we are putting together our everyday outfit and don’t want to think about what we are going to wear. Jeans are such a practical and efficient choice for bottoms, that outside of the professional environment, they are my only choice for bottoms. Outside of my professional wardrobe, my entire selection of bottoms is just a short stack of denim; 7 pairs of jeans and 3 pairs of jean shorts. Let’s hit the benefits one at a time.

Durability – Unless we are doing hard labor in them, Jeans don’t get much wear and tear. Provided our waist size doesn’t change, and we aren’t doing hard labor, a good pair of jeans will last many years, maybe even over a decade. This may depend on the brand of jeans we are using. I have always had luck with Levis.

Comfortable – Well, not “sitting on a cloud” comfortable, but I have never heard anyone say “Argh, I gotta get home so I can take these jeans off” (unless of course it was a waist size issue).

Versatile – Rain, shine, snow, sleet, jeans are appropriate for all weather conditions. When the temp gets to 85-90, maybe then it’s better to put on the shorts.

Always Fashionable – Seeing a woman or a man in a pair of nice fitting jeans, that hugs their body in just the right way, is always attractive. Never goes out of style. Hasn’t even faded in it’s allure.

 

I have come to the conclusion recently that there is another type of clothing bottom that have come to be just as much of a “go to” for women out there. So I’m gonna give a quick shout out out to Yoga Pants and Leggings. I believe that these satisfy all the conditions above as well. Well, not quite as durable, but much more comfortable, equally versatile, and c’mon gentleman, tell me you are not checking out the chick in the yoga pants; yeah …… that’s what I thought.

 

So I have declared that jeans are the official bottoms of the minimalist. A short stack of denim is all we need to wear on our legs. And for the ladies out there, a couple pairs of Yoga pants (or leggings) would be nice too.

Always am I writing posts about how we should minimize our material possessions; how we should toss all the things in our lives that add no value to it. There are many that would argue that this is a very ……. negative theme to build a lifestyle around; ya know, “A lifestyle focused on the stuff you get rid of” is a POV many have about this life. It doesn’t sound exactly uplifting or exciting. I understand, I really do. But please understand, this philosophy is a foundation to allow us more time and less distraction so that we can focus on the things that do add value to our lives.

I suppose I could write about all the things in our lives that remain. The problem with that, is that the things that remain are the things that add value to our lives, and one persons values are going to be wildly different than the next persons. So one persons possessions are going to be different than another’s just for that reason. In truth, I can only speak about the things that add value to my life. Or, I can write about the things I have observed add value to most (or many) peoples lives. And hopefully in reading about it, we can come to appreciate those things even more. So this will be the first of many posts where I pay respect to the wonderful things I have noticed many of us minimalists have deemed valuable enough to keep.

The first and most important of these things is the wonderful multi-tool known as the smartphone. This particular tool is uniquely designed for minimalists just because it is such a versatile tool all rolled up in a small package. It is the Swiss Army Knife of modern America.

I recall once telling a co-worker of mine that I was a minimalist, and they said (with some degree of sarcasm): “If you’re a minimalist, than why would you need a fancy pansy smartphone” (I get this stuff from people a lot). To them I replied “I have this versatile phone just because I’m a minimalist.” I went on to explain to them exactly what I am going to explain right now.

Thanks to owning a smartphone (from here on in going to be called a “mobile”), I no longer have to own or carry a:

1. Calendar
2. GPS
3. Notepad
4. Camera
5. Mobile music device (MP3 player, iPod)
6. Flashlight
7. Watch
8. Coupon
9. Ticket
10. Book (novels and such)
11. Laptop Computer
12. Pedometer
13. Photo album
14. Calculator
15. Compass

And these are just the things that I value. In all likelihood, whatever we value …….. they have an app for that. Download the apps that add value, delete the ones that don’t (digital minimalism). Easy peachy. With a mobile, one can run an entire small business.

The mobile is in fact the one device responsible for ushering in the age of the modern minimalist; the pinnacle in a series of technological developments in the past couple decades (at least) that have allowed us to live smaller while still staying current to the times.