A Proverbial Simple Life

Reading through the book of Proverbs isn’t for the faint of heart. I did this very activity the other day, and read a verse that stopped me in my tracks. “A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life” (Proverbs 13:7. MSG).

Woah… wait a minute. Is the smartest king who ever lived actually endorsing a simple life?

If you’ve never read Proverbs, they’re quite intense. Within 31 chapters oozing with advice, there are instructions for how to live, how to act, how to think, and how to treat others. The lists go on and on. And while it can seem like a flood of unwarranted correction - at least it feels that way for me while reading through it with what is usually a chagrined look on my face - I always go back to the truth behind it all.

Most of this book was written by a man who was - and is - still considered one of the wisest men who lived on the earth.

Sometimes, to be honest, I question his wisdom. A man with about 1000 wives seems rather… out of touch with reality. Who in their right mind would want 1000 spouses? Having one is hard enough. I can’t imagine him having to deal with 1000! 

But, I digress. 

If King Solomon was indeed one of the smartest - and wealthiest-  men who ever lived, it would behoove me to pay attention to his words. (Maybe those 1000 wives are what got him to go deep into self-examination in the first place.)

Solomon says that chasing money is like chasing after the wind (Proverbs 8:10, MSG), or the act of accumulating money is a waste of time (this is from another book he wrote, Ecclesiastes 5:10, MSG). It would seem Mr. Solomon understood that living a good life wasn’t about wealth, securing things, and obtaining riches – because he had it all, more than anyone ever had, and it wasn’t enough, nor did it satisfy him.

After reading through the book of Proverbs it looks like King Solomon was - in the end - an advocate of minimalism and simple living. That less is more. 

So, am I saying the wisest man who ever lived, should’ve been a minimalist? Maybe, maybe not. But, he surely would’ve agreed with its tenets had he lived in modern times. He figured out, probably through experience, that knowledge and wisdom were greater than money and things. Stuff was less important than people and wisdom was more important than riches.

Here are a few examples where he mentions how living a life with less (particularly money) leads to a better way of living.

“A simple life in the Fear-of-God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.” (Proverbs 15: 16, MSG) 

So Solomon is saying the opposite of what is promoted in our culture. Riches do not bring peace but instead with it comes headaches. This is coming from a wealthy man who it would seem could vouch for the concept that riches ease pain and suffering. Apparently, it can soothe difficulties, but in the end, causes more strife than peace. 

I can barely handle what I already have in my life. Of course, more money can temporarily ease certain problems, but I’d rather have less money than have to take care of, invest, guard, fight over, and protect those riches with a headache the size of Texas.

“Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time” (Proverbs 16:16).

Solomon is directly telling us that money isn’t as valuable as wisdom. Money doesn’t inherently make us wise, either. Wisdom comes with the right choices, and money tends to take us to places (and people) that don’t have our best intentions at heart. To me, it sounds like he’s saying money tends to corrupt the person whereas wisdom enhances our character. This makes plain the obvious choices for a happy life: a stuff-filled life purchased with money is less great than wisdom. Okay. You don’t have to tell me twice. 

“A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank” (Proverbs 22:1. MSG).

This is an interesting statement. He’s saying that money doesn’t automatically make you a good person. This is obvious, it would seem. But it sounds like he’s had plenty of experience with people who have money yet have a horrible spirit. Did the money make them that way? Maybe for some. But it’s clear he’s saying a giving person, no matter how small the gift is, is greater than any large amount of money in the bank. That a good reputation far outweighs riches. All I have to do is think about our celebrity culture to know this is 100% true. 

Solomon and his proverbs are very easy to understand: life isn’t about stuff; it isn’t about money; it isn’t about collecting, hoarding, holding onto, and obtaining things. (Again, he should know -1000 wives sounds like a miserable retirement plan).

Instead, it’s about living with less, having a noble and integrity-filled reputation, giving away our time and love, and accumulating friends and family. All of this is greater than money and stuff. To live a disciplined life that radiates peace and simplicity instead of one vapid and devoid of anything real, and squandered on things that don’t matter, is what Solomon says we need to pay attention to.

While this is an extremely unpopular way to live (we’re inundated with scores of media telling us to have more, buy more, and be more) it sounds like a life that is rich and fulfilling in all the ways that money can’t duplicate. Search out and seek the simple life and you will be rewarded with peace and tranquility.

And as a minimalist, with simple living at the forefront of my mind, it sounds like the perfect life for me.

A Classic Wardrobe for Life

Why "being trendy" is no longer a part of my vocabulary.

Every fall, when I know cozy sweater season is approaching, I find myself perusing a few brands online to see their latest fashions and trends. And I use the guise "just to see what's in style" as my excuse for crashing back into the fast fashion world for a brief moment.

While there is a modicum of truth to that excuse (I sell vintage clothing online and it is nice to see what I should stock up on, though most items I sell are traditional pieces), there is also a small part of me that wonders if what I've transitioned to (slow fashion) is where I should be.

Yet, the moment I check in on J. Crew, L.L. Bean, and a few other traditional clothiers (even Target), I instantly remember why I'll never go back to the old days of being "on trend." The money I've spent! The fashion I thought was cool—oh my. 

Being on trend means time and money hurrying after something that is going to change a few months later. Forever. I'll never catch up. I'll never be perfectly fashionable. I'll never stop running the fashion race because that's the concept behind fast fashion.

Which is why I gave up that old way of fashion.

Now that I'm a huge proponent of slow fashion, the fast fashion lifestyle feels like a horribly miserable place to stay. I have a hard time believing I was doing that for decades, too. I thought I had to constantly change my wardrobe. I thought I had to because everyone else did it. 

That's the lie of it all.

Here's a thought to remember: Just because you can wear it, doesn't mean you should. (I mean, jeans with holes only look so good for so long). 

Here's another thought to remember: Just because a retailer says something is on trend doesn't mean it is. At the end of the day, they are a business. Their bottom line is the most important thing. And rightly so. They're a business. But try to understand it within their context: switching to slow fashion is the opposite of their goal for you.

They want you hooked on their next season's "drop." They want you to ditch classics in favor of trendy pieces so you'll always be on a merry-go-round of spending, wearing, giving away, and spending again. 

As someone who's ditched fast fashion (don't get me wrong, sometimes I need something random like a bathing suit and Target is the only place to get one - I'm not legalistic about that ) I'm in such a fantastic state of mind about my wardrobe these days. 

Minimal living has pared down my closet to what I love, but slow fashion (clothing that is made well, with real fibers, and probably vintage or on the way to being vintage) has changed how I view buying and wearing clothes.

I save money: Again, if you're living with a minimal wardrobe, make it a slow-fashion one. This may mean paying a little more upfront for a traditional piece—like an all-wool cardigan or thick denim jeans—but these will also last for years longer. Classic pieces are called classics for a reason: they'll never go out of style. That ruffly, no-shoulder top may be cute, but it probably won't be in style a year from now. Of course, it doesn't mean I can't have a statement piece or two. Those are fun. But, the majority of my closet, as a classic wardrobe, will always be in style and I'll save a fortune keeping key pieces in my go-to, everyday wardrobe.

I don't have to think about what to wear ever again: I never have to question whether or not I'm in style. With a traditional, classic, and quality wardrobe, I'll always be in style. With a minimalistic wardrobe as a bonus to the slow fashion wardrobe, my pared-down closet is the simplest thing to navigate. And packing for a trip is beyond easy. Because I don't have thirty long-sleeved tops, and now have ten, picking from those ten makes my wardrobe choices a piece of cake. I now have more time to spend doing what I want, like being with family or reading, which is a much better option than standing in my closet trying to figure out what to wear. Think about it: 10 minutes a day trying to figure out what to wear is five hours a month, which is sixty hours a year. That's a whole lot of books I could read or a whole lot of cups of coffee I can enjoy in peace. 

I'll never look like everyone else: This may be because of my personality (I'm an Enneagram Type 4, or INFJ if you're into the personality types), but looking like everyone else is the opposite of what I want. What is the fun of that? When I was young, I wanted to fit in - we all wanted our Guess jeans and jelly shoes. But even when I was living a fast-fashion lifestyle, I  hated knowing my sweater had the potential to be on every woman at any given moment. But now? Not so much. Vintage fashion, or quality pieces, while always in style, are much rarer. And when you see someone wearing a unique outfit, people notice. I know I sure do.

It's not a popular thing to not be popular. That's the polar opposite of our media-driven world. But it seems going against the grain and doing things with a bit more thought leads to a more fulfilling (and smarter) life. If you want to spend money forever on a wardrobe that will always need to be updated, great. You do that. That's what the "trendy" wardrobe is for.

But if you want to look amazing in a wardrobe that is top-quality, unique, and classic, then a classic wardrobe full of classic, traditional, perennial pieces is your best option. In the long run, you'll save time and money, and in all honesty, you'll look like a million bucks. 

To me? That's a no-brainer because that's the power of a classic wardrobe for life.

Lost and Found │ How Minimalism Gives You More Time to Do What You Love

I just lost my phone in my own house. Or at least I thought it was in the house. Five minutes later, I finally wised up and asked my husband to call it. I found it, in my car, under the seat.

Nice.

So, I just wasted five minutes. Five minutes I can't get back. Five minutes I could've spent watching cute dog videos, reading, or writing fiction. Five minutes I could've been savoring a cup of coffee.

It got me thinking. Is this something I do all the time? And if so, why am I still doing this? Why am I losing things and why is it taking so long to find them?

Well, I lost my phone because I was carrying about two thousand things out to the car. My phone was in the way essentially. But those two thousand things to the car... that right there is the problem. Doing too many things at once. 

But why does this still happen to me even when I'm not taking two thousand things to the car? Because I have too much stuff. I'm a minimalist, and I still own too many things.

How often do you look for things in the house? For me, it's at least once a day. It's a dolorous situation. I literally grieve when I know I've lost something and have to spend time finding it, and that's assuming I can find it. A serious waste of time.

What happens when I have a home stuffed with things? How easy is it to find whatever I'm looking for when the home is overflowing with garbage I don't need? It's a slippery slope, one that only adds to the elimination of a precious commodity: time.

It is said that the typical home has  300,000 items in it. I may not have had quite that much before my minimalistic ways kicked in a few years ago. But, I know many people do. And more than that.

It still meant I probably had at least 100,000 to 200,000 items to go through. It had to be because so often, I couldn't find the things that mattered most. As in, items I needed to access but couldn't find because I had misplaced them within the 200,000 other items in my home. Therein lay the problem.

I've heard that the average person spends 12 days a year looking for misplaced items.

I balked when I first read this. 12 days? That's absurd. Then I did the math and divided those 12 days by 365 days and it made perfect sense. That's only about 30 minutes a day but over a year, that's a whole lot of wasted time.

If there is any good reason to become a minimalist, not losing things would be high in the top ten for me. Become (and stay) a minimalist and your time is yours again.

Here are ten things you can do for thirty minutes instead of spending thirty minutes a day looking for a lost item:

• Read
• Take a walk
• Talk to someone on the phone / Facetime
• Paint or draw 
• Write 
• Pet an animal
• Make a meal
• Bake a treat
• Stretch
• Play an instrument

All of these things are helpful to both your brain and body. They are stress relievers and blend seamlessly into the slow-living lifestyle, which in my book, is an integral part of the minimalist lifestyle too.

If you're on the fence about adding minimalism into your life, let this be your guiding hand into a new world of living and loving. It may feel foreign at first - a life without time wasted and extraneous stuff - but it's a new life that allows you more time to do the things that really matter. It's freedom.

Minimalism is about creating space for what we love and how to really live. We give up what doesn't belong in our lives in order to bring in what does.

Book Pairing:

Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven World - Stephanie O'Dea

Small Doses Living │ Living an Intentional Life One Small Action at a Time

The thing about living a simple life, a life filled with intentional living, is that everything I do becomes obviously helpful or detrimental to my life's trajectory.

When I was running the rat race, doing more than I should, having more than I needed, overextending, and saying yes when I should've said no, I would watch hours of my life taken away. Never to return. Yet, I didn't think it was harming me. I'd have time for myself later, right?

How wrong that thinking was. Of course, it was hurting me. I could never get that time back. Time spent working a job I didn't like, doing work for clients instead of work I could've been doing for myself, was irretrievably gone. 

What if I lived this way for the next twenty years? Where would it get me? Exactly where other people wanted me, but not where I wanted to be. How would I write that book if I was writing for other people? How would I become healthy if I never took the time to get to the gym? When would I get to live the slow life I adored if I was choosing to live the fast-paced one?

I wanted to be free to do what I loved, free to live a life suited to me, and free to live a life unencumbered by the things society says we need to have (like a constantly updated wardrobe).

These stolen moments - like working a second or third job that I really didn't like - weren't blatantly bad. But, when I realized I could've spent those moments doing something else more suited to what I loved, I knew things had to change.

When I got back on track (letting go of not just one but two jobs that were leaching my life from me) I had to work hard at getting back all the time I missed. Sure, I'd never get those actual moments back, but if I made good use of the time I did have, it might almost make up for it.

I could do this by doing what I wanted to do (write a book, create my dream garden, or become healthier than ever before) and by doing it in small doses.

Small doses of anything lead to something big; a goal accomplished, a lifestyle attained, a slow living life free of the restraints the world says we "need" to have.

This also works in reverse. Bad habits in small doses lead up to something big; something profoundly difficult to climb over once the monster (of poor choices) finally emerges. Think: Bad habits are the mad scientist and Frankenstein is the result of bad habits! We are the mad scientists in desperate need of recalibration.

Here are a few ways to take daily actions in small doses that lead to huge accomplishments that are good.

• Write a hundred words a day. - Is there a book inside you waiting to be written? Does that seem insurmountable with your schedule? Then make it simple. Write a 100 words a day. In a year, you have a small book. If you want a 60,000-word book, make it 200 words a day. As a writer, I can tell you that's a very small amount of words. 100 words a day is a few paragraphs. In a year, you can have that book you've always wanted.

• Clean out a part of your home in only 10 minutes a day. - If you're looking to become a minimalist, going through an entire home is an overwhelming task. Instead, take it in small doses. Ten minutes a day. Take a drawer or one small cupboard. Clean out, throw away, or donate what isn't used. Just ten minutes of cleaning through your items a day makes for an entirely cleaned-out house at the end of one year. This is doable when it's divided into segments.

• Get healthier by adding exercise in fifteen minutes a day. - It's not much, but if you think you need more than fifteen minutes a day to get healthier, you'd be wrong. Just fifteen minutes a day of movement can do wonders for your heart health, and improve your mood, and brain function. Take a short walk, take a bike ride, maybe take a slow jog, or stretch for fifteen minutes. Small doses of exercise lead to big health improvements. You don't need to run a marathon or take an hour-long spin class to be considered healthy. You just have to be dedicated to doing something for a short amount of time to see results. 

• Read for fifteen minutes a day. - Do you love to read but always feel you "don't have time to finish a book?" Then sit down for a short fifteen minutes and read. You may not be reading a book a week, but you can definitely read a book a month. By the end of the year, you'll have read 12 books! Did you know that only 5% of Americans finish one book a year? Reading does wonders for the brain. Reading has also proven to relax and destress us. Who doesn't need that?

There are hundreds of other examples I could list. But, the gist is small doses. It isn't about large amounts of time that's important. Most people can't spend three hours a day writing or three hours at the gym. The important part of small doses living is that you're actually doing something about what you want to better yourself in very manageable, very simple amounts. 

Slow living, slow fashion, and minimal living - with 100% authenticity - are the biggest goals of my life. But, I've taken steps to accomplish these tasks in very small doses.

I no longer write for others, I write for myself. I no longer have a fast fashion closet, I have the slow fashion wardrobe I've wanted for the last decade and a half while selling vintage clothes. I love what I do and do what I love. I have the garden, read the books, take care of my body, and eat well. It's the path I want to take and it's also a path I created by choosing better and choosing small.

Remember, doing something in small doses is 100% better than doing large doses of nothing. 

Carnivore Lifestyle with the Minimalist Lifestyle

How Going on the Carnivore Diet Blended Seamlessly with My Minimalism Lifestyle and Healed My Autoimmune Disease

 

Today, I want to discuss how my health has helped me keep minimalism going full throttle.

It's not something I usually talk about. I'll make a passing mention of my "autoimmune disease" in other blog posts or articles. But this disease - and what I did to combat it - has all played into my minimal lifestyle.

 

About five years ago, I was diagnosed (first by me hoping it wasn't true, and then by a doctor, officially) with Vitiligo. 

Vitiligo is a skin condition where the body essentially attacks the melanin in the skin, causing depigmentation. There are many ideas behind why this happens but no specific cause. Some say stress triggers it and other auto-immune diseases (which is very likely, and probably what happened to me) but also it can simply be a part of someone's genetic makeup just waiting to flare up.

Because there's no real "cure" for Vitiligo, I did a lot of armchair research. Like all autoimmune diseases, the best way to fight this disease (from what I've discovered) is with diet. And that diet is an anti-inflammatory one - the least inflammatory diet possible - which is called the carnivore diet.

This means no wheat (a biggie!), no other grains, no fruits, no vegetables, and no sugars of any kind. Nothing but meat (or meat-based foods, i.e. dairy, eggs.)

There are many routes to non-inflammation. Some folks say vegetarianism or veganism is the way to go. Some say the keto diet is good (Which, it is. I started first on keto and transitioned into carnivore.) 

This post isn't to say my choice of the carnivore diet is a cure-all for every autoimmune disease. It's also not a diet for everyone regardless of if you have an auto-immune disease. I'm not a doctor, but a patient who has tried to quell the deleterious effects of this disease.

As one who has struggled with Vitiligo, I've found an option that has helped me tremendously. And that help - to stop the disease in its tracks - was to go full carnivore. 

Many of you won't agree with this diet and many of you will. One of my friends thought I was joking when I said I was going "carnivore." I can assure you, it's a real thing and there are many people on this wonderful diet.

After reading about and researching the carnivore diet - and then actually attempting it - after almost two years on it, I can attest that I feel better than ever and the disease has stopped spreading!

Again, this may not be the answer for others with Vitiligo. I'm just telling you what worked for me. 

Warning: This diet comes with a very minimalistic way of eating. 

Having come from eating whatever I wanted for the previous forty-some-odd years - to essentially eating only a couple dozen food items today- it has taken time, patience, and willpower to change. It's not easy. Some days, I want the whole loaf of bread, you know? I want the variety.

But at the end of the day, when I feel great and I know my disease is in remission, it is all worth it. And honestly, I can't imagine eating any other way now. It's incredible how adaptable we human beings are.

So, what is the carnivore diet? The most succinct answer I can give is this: meat and water. 

That's it.

Now, I've added eggs, some dairy in small amounts - like cheese, butter, or full-fat yogurt occasionally, and heavy whipping cream. But I eat beef primarily, with seafood, chicken, and pork as alternatives. I also like bison but have a hard time with goat or lamb.  I'm sure it's fantastic, but I have a difficult time with the texture.

Also, full disclosure here: I cheat occasionally. I'm about 95% carnivore, not a full 100%. And here's what that is:

I have a cup or two of coffee every morning, still have an occasional glass of red wine, I have a single piece of dark chocolate after dinner too (come on, I have to live a little) and I also eat a vegetable about once a week. That vegetable only being avocado.

But the rest of my diet is all carnivore for the rest of the time. 

Being a minimalist helped facilitate my transition into carnivore. I knew how to let go of things I didn't need and shouldn't have because of the practice I'd put into minimizing my whole home. The best part of this diet, other than the most amazing fact of feeling and looking good, is it makes eating and shopping for food simple.

Is the diet easy to do? No. There is nothing easy about giving up ice cream, bagels, and fruit smoothies. Nothing. At first. 

But when I could visibly see the havoc wreaked on my body, knowing that what I put into my body was causing it pain, it wasn't an impossibility to let it go. In fact, it was the only thing I could do to try to control the disease.

I had no choice.

Once I began to slowly shift away from the standard American diet (I still miss bread a lot. Especially flour tortillas - Mexican food is my favorite) I began to change everything else around me, meaning: all the products I use on my body changed too.

I wrote about that for No Sidebar; how I minimized my health and beauty products. I did this because I was a minimalist and I did it for my health. Can I tell you how difficult it is to find pure products? Something without chemicals? Almost impossible.

One of the biggest issues was finding something for my face. I needed a moisturizer that works for morning and night and after looking into tallow (fat-rendered suet from cows), I found one.

Now, hear me out. Tallow? I can hear you say. Yes. Tallow. It's been filtered to the extreme, so it has no "cow" or "beef fat" smell. It's a fantastic thick moisturizer, and with natural essential oils added, I'm a true believer.

I looked into many companies that sold tallow moisturizers and when I finally found Pure Good, I had to share.

Here are three reasons why I chose this one over any other:

• It's American-made (Win!)
• It's from a small business (Double win!)
• This product is double the size of most other companies' Tallow products. (Triple win, for sure!)

If you're looking for a natural moisturizer, something without chemicals, fake colors, or synthetics, I'd give this a try. I've only been using it for a month, and I still have a lot left. One jar lasts about two months. For $28, it's worth every penny. 

I had to tell you about it because I wished I'd been using this for the last few decades instead of all the garbage moisturizers full of phthalates, parabens, and chemicals. Pure Good's products are fantastic. This moisturizer is now my favorite.

So here's the rundown: You don't have to be a minimalist to be a carnivore. You don't have to be a carnivore to be a minimalist. And you don't have to have a disease to go carnivore. I wish I'd started this way of eating, oh, about thirty years ago.

But if you're like me, and you need to clean up what you put into your body and what you bring into your home, the carnivore diet may be what you're looking for. 

It's been a long, strange, arduous journey that has led me to the healthiest I've ever been, but I'm finally there. And having a minimal diet has made my minimalist lifestyle all that much easier.

The best part of this whole scenario is that I feel better than I've ever felt. It's kind of hard to believe. We think we're supposed to feel run down and lethargic. To feel aches and pains. I'm telling you, this diet - and the deletion of sugars and grains especially - has changed my life. Filling my body instead with good fat and lots of protein has made all the difference.

If you don't put junk into your body, you tend to not have junk coming out of your body. For me, that meant the stop of the spread of Vitiligo.

Vitiligo will probably always be with me. Some of my depigmentation may never get re-pigmented. But the fact that I was able to stop the spread all because of my diet blows my mind. And being a minimalist made that transition into the carnivore diet all that much easier.

The carnivore diet may not be for you, but I had to share about it all the same. Try it for a week or two, see if you don't feel better. Maybe you only need to do some carnivore. Maybe try swapping a meal of carbs for one just with meat, and see if you start to notice subtle changes. 

Create the diet that works best for you, just like minimalism. I can't do Project 333. I can be a minimalist with my wardrobe, but not to that extreme. In the same vein, I can't do 100% carnivore. Sometimes, when the need for Mexican food is at an all-time high, I'll "cheat" with corn tortillas, and wow ... that sure is nice.

Create the diet - like minimalism - that works best for you.

It changed my life. And quite possibly, it could change yours too.

Book Pairing: The Carnivore Diet, by Shawn Baker

YouTube: Visit Dr. Anthony Chafee's channel for some of the most in-depth and educated material about the carnivore diet out there.