day 295 : my 'one little word' for 2015 : LESS

at the beginning of each year, i pick a word to focus on for my next 365 days. a small, simple word, that when used on its own, just adds to a sentence. but when applied all year round, each and every day, helps to define a period of time and everything around it!

and so, on the cusp of another trip around the sun, i have chosen 'LESS' as my word for 2015.

i would like to think that i have always been a bit of a minimalist. i don't need much. i don't want much. i don't purchase much. and the things that i do have, that i no longer need, i am happy to give them away.


blake and i {daphne, too} live a really simple life. we are working hard to become 100% debt-free this year {we are so close!} we live in a small, 2 bedroom apartment. we don't own a car. we spend a lot of time riding bikes, reading books from the library and shopping small in our neighborhood.

the more i am surrounded by 'stuff' and people who really love stuff ; it has made me realize that there is a powerful shift happening in my life, calling me to the word 'LESS.'
we are surrounded by 'MORE.' more debt, more bullshit. more stress. bigger houses. bigger cars.
and you guys, i don't want to be a part of that!

so, in 2015 i will be focusing on LESS. 

below are things i want to work towards in this coming year, while focusing on my word :

*starting tomorrow, i will be deactivating both my business and personal Facebook pages. i find that using FB makes life seem noisy, stressful and clouded, and i don't love it. {for now, i will continue to have semi-active twitter & IG accounts}

*unsubscribe from newsletters & emails that just add to the clutter {i get almost 100 emails a day and very few of them are enriching my life or giving me energy}

*go through all twitter // blog // instagram followers {people that i read // follow} and purge. there are SO many blogs in my reader that i don't read anymore. and some folks that i follow through social media that stress me out with their posts

*clean out my pinterest boards // reorganize and delete. am i really going to make all 500+ meals i have pinned? or make all 200+ of those art projects? if its not on my 'to do' radar ; its out of here!

*re-purge the apartment {we just did this a couple months ago, but it will be good to do it again in a few months}

*stay intentional with gifts {we both work really hard to only give gifts that are local, handmade, useful and thoughtful}

THIS ONE IS HUGE!

*focus on 'experiences' and not on 'things!' like i posted above, i don't need // want // desire much, when it comes to tangible items. we are able to purchase organic food from our local coop, we shop at the secondhand store across the street for all of our clothes and simple things like doing puzzles, watching old 90s movies on netflix, riding our bikes and reading books are fun for us.
this christmas, we saw so many people just 'buying shit in the name of buying shit' and it bummed us out. i want to focus on EXPERIENCES, rather than MORE STUFF!
for christmas, i bought blake {and myself} tickets in a clay workshop, where we are both going to handbuild our own beer steins! the class will be held at a local brewery and we are both super excited!

*sell our closet full of 'nice stuff that we have no use for' {brand new pair of TOMS that don't fit, a brand new camera bag that is leather, ect} on amazon. we have a lot of nice things that have been gifted to us // we have won & we just have no need for them. i have tried to sell them on craigslist with no luck, so now we are moving to the big league and selling on amazon!

tell us : do YOU have a word that you are striving towards in 2015? 

you can read more about the 'one little word' movement here
and come back tomorrow for my 2015 goals!