Minimalist Book Challenge

In 2017, I challenged myself to read 52 books in 52 weeks and I made it! This year I have a different kind of book challenge in mind.

I'm calling it my "minimalist book challenge."

I have been on a journey to incorporate more minimalism into my life for well over a year now, but books are my favorite things, and getting rid of them is incredibly difficult for me. So, despite my best efforts, and a couple purging sessions, my book collection continues to grow (and grow). That's where this challenge comes in. 

I was looking at my bookshelf the other day thinking about how many of the books on my shelves I would actually read again or reference for some reason. And then I thought, if I'm not going to do either of those things, then why am I keeping them? 

So, for the first six months of 2018 (I'm going to try to go the whole year, but after the first six months I can make no promises) I'm only going to read books that are already on my shelves. AND, I'm only going to read one book at a time.

Here are my rules & a couple exceptions:

Rules

*I can read anything that is on any of the bookshelves in my house, including my husband's and children's shelves.

*I can only read one book at a time, even if the books I want to read are from different genres.  

*If I don't want to reread a book that is on my shelf, I have to remove it from my shelf and donate it to the library or Goodwill. 

*If I get beyond the first six months (say a prayer for me y'all) for every 3 books I donate I can get 1 new book. 

 

Exceptions

*I can, but do not have to, reread the books by Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler for this challenge, as I have already done that a few times (you will have to pry those books from my cold dead hands). 

*If I need to read a book for the bookclub I'm in with my bestie-sister, I can request it from the library OR get it through iBooks or Kindle. If I really love the book after reading it, I can add it to a list to consider purchasing at the close of the six months (or the year). 

*If someone buys me a book as a gift (without me asking for it) I can keep the book, but I have to wait a month before reading it. 

What do you think? Anyone interested in joining me? Let me know in the comments below. 

making room

If you walked into my house you might not think that a minimalist lives here. You might look at my shelves full of books or my son's truck collection tucked neatly under the coffee table or the shoes lined up by the front door or any number of things, and think, nope, no way.

But on my journey to streamline and simplify my life, I have learned that what minimalism looks like shifts depending on the lens of the person imagining it. 

When I walk through my home I see space where I once saw clutter, order where there once was chaos (albeit organized chaos). My life feels calmer and it feels like there is now space for the things I've been working to manifest. 

I have been asking the universe for abundance while my life was already full to the brim with things I didn't need, things that had long since stopped serving their purpose, things that were weighing me down. Where was the universe supposed to send that abundance, and even if the universe sent it, where would I have put it? I had no room. 

I have been surprised at every turn by how much more clear my mind feels as I clear my physical space, and how full my life still feels despite having so much less. 

P.S. My journey through minimalism has been greatly aided by my best friend Patrice King, CP Patrick aka The AfroMinimalist, Brown Kids, and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.