Dining Room Table

I have been absent from my own blog for quite a while now. I haven't been keeping up with the blogs that I love either. Sometimes life just gets too hectic. In fact, the saying 'when it rains, it pours' has been very prominent these last few months. 

Nonetheless, when I feel out of control in other areas of my life, my home becomes a much bigger focus for me for some reason. I think it is just me grasping desperately for control of something. Minimalism kind of helps sooth me. My focus has honed onto my dining room table. I want to cut its legs off. No, I'm not mean and vindictive towards it; I merely want to transition it to a coffee table for the living room. 

The thing is that we never NEVER use it as a dining room table. In fact, I fold laundry on it more than anything, really. However, our coffee table has seen better days and is never big enough for all the remotes, cups, plates, and controllers that seem to gather when we are hanging out or eating in the living room. Now, I know they say not to eat in front of the TV because you are less mindful of your consumption; however, I've tried and tried and that just is NOT how we live. We do everything but cook and sleep in the living room, it seems. So I am trying to accept that fact and tailor the house in response.

Now, I have tried over and over to convince my husband that it would be much more useful in the living room (after some modification), but he cannot get past the empty space that would be left in the wake of the transition. To him, it doesn't matter that we don't have the money to replace the coffee table with another purchase and that the kitchen table would fit perfectly with a slight height reduction. All he can focus on, in my opinion, is the fact that there is a space for a table with a chandelier so there MUST be a piece of furniture there for that never-fullfilled purpose of dining. 

...*sigh*...

I have a hard time when it comes to social norms and following suit blindly. I think it's great when people break out of the mold and live life intentionally with what they actually NEED. In fact, I do not care for the norm that in this country it seems it is EXPECTED that one's home have a kitchen (the bigger the better, oh and an island), dining room (the hutch AND 8 seater table are just for formal occasions), living room (better make sure we can seat a crowd), multiple bedrooms (walk-in closets are SUCH a MUST), multiple bathrooms (why NOT have at least 2 showers), over-sized garage (one must have seasonal vehicles too, right), etc... 

If I do not use a second bedroom, is it not a waste of materials for it to be built? A waste of energy so that it is cleaned and maintained? A waste of resources for it to be heated and cooled? Is it not silly that if I do NOT use a kitchen table to eat at, that I keep one anyway so that I do not look absurd to the rare visitor that may or may not come around??

...*sigh*...

I'm not sure if I can get him to see my side of things. I know he is entitled to have his own opinions and taste when it comes to our home. 

I guess I just wish we'd all take a minute to question all of these things (or obligations, tasks, etc) that we constantly have bombarding our existence. Most of it isn't necessary, I promise. And if you (or we, me, whomever) can get past that initial scary part, you'll learn that you never needed it in the first place. Heck, in a few years, you may forget you ever lived WITH it!

What If We Just Had One?

WARNING: Taking It To The Extreme Content! (Oh, and a whole LOT of ?'s)

What would happen if we just had one of the many various things that we have in our daily lives? Why is one bike okay, but one bowl or set of clothing considered too extreme? What would happen if people started living with the least amount that they could instead of the most? Those are the questions that I ponder many times when I just sit alone with myself and let my brain wander. It seems like that last question is just too hard for most people from first world countries. In fact, I KNOW of people that would rather throw something out and buy a new thing (and often end up buying MANY new things) than clean or fix it.

I often wish that I could take a challenge in my life to eliminate ALL but one of all the stuff in my house... One pot, one pan, one bowl, one cup, one spoon, one towel, one blanket, one pair of shoes... One. How much differently would I treat those things? What if I HAD to keep them clean, fixed, and usable? How would that change the WAY I live? I'm fortunate enough to not HAVE to live with this mindset. (I am very much American middle class.) But just because I don't have to doesn't mean I shouldn't, right?! I just saw a moving truck yesterday that was the size of a FULL semi truck trailer. The truck had to swing through both lanes of the road to get through. Seriously. Why why why why WHY don't we question that as abnormal behavior instead of normal!? And what if I treated money similarly to the above? What if I treasured EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR that came into our household? Just because I could afford Internet on my cell phone and for the house doesn't mean that I needed it. Just because we could afford the bigger house doesn't mean we needed it either. I mean, how many sinks/toilets/bedrooms/whatever do people need? Many on this earth have to walk miles just to GET to water. We won't even use the same sink to wash our dishes in after brushing our teeth. Am I just weird for questioning that..? What about consumables? Just because I can afford the fountain soda drink at the gas station doesn't mean it's okay to buy it either. Why do I need Pine Sol, Clorox wipes, paper towels, Pledge, Comet, Clorox Bleach, etc? Isn't soapy water and a rag really enough?  I am not saying I want a total miserly life. I don't want to pinch every penny until no one can stand me and I'm old, 'rich,' and alone. I'm just saying, I really think that if we all just tried to nudge our mindsets a little more in the direction of conservation, we might make a whole lot of decisions, well, differently... And I'd really like that.

Ode to the Old Oldsmobile

I'm not necessarily against getting new things; I'm just against getting new things when they aren't needed. Too often I think people's default response is to replace something instead of repair it. Minimalism has helped me greatly when it comes to these matters. I've learned over the last few years to question buying instead of mindlessly doing so as is the usual.

Today I am specifically referring to my car that happens to need a little t.l.c. It is a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero with around 134,000 miles. My husband has been hounding me to get rid of my car as he says that it is too old and in need of too many repairs. I say it is nicely broke in. :) Oh, and did I mention that my car is paid off? Yeah. So its a little hard for me to voluntarily sign up for car payments again. I'd love to do the no car thing and ride my bicycle everywhere, but I'm not quite there yet... 

Anyway, my car shakes a bit at interstate speeds, which I think I can remedy by replacing the rims and tires that have given me nothing but issues since their purchase/installation years ago and then possibly the struts. It also has an oil leak in the head gasket (no I am not car savvy, but my husband is) and a few other minor inconveniences. All in all, though, I am pretty sure that with a less than $4,000 investment my car can run like a top again. Now, if I look for a car that has the exact same features as mine for under $10,000, I end up finding cars that have about the same mileage as mine. And then I would have no idea what is broken or will break on it in another 10,000 miles. Sooooooo... I'm thinking that investing less than half of that to make my existing debt free car work great looks like a MUCH better option than sinking at least $10,000 into a car that will inevitably need the same t.l.c. as my Alero. Repairing it also bonds me with the car. (I know, kinda weird.) But if you've ever taken the time to repair something, then you know that it makes it all that more valuable to you.

I'm sure my husband will continue to express his opinion, and I'm sure we will have many more discussions about the matter in the near future. However, I am standing firm on this one. More often than not, I concede to him and his lust of shiny new things. This time I'm sticking with my well worn not-so-new car.

Have you ever had the mental (or spousal) battle of repair vs replace?

Introduction

I've decided to start my own blog to share my thoughts to any and all who will listen. I decided to call it Simple As A Rice Ball because, well, to me, rice balls look so simple on the outside and can contain all sorts of surprises on the inside, they can be decorated up to look cute as can be, or played down to just be the simply beautiful thing that they are... just like life. It was also an inspiration from one of my favorite anime shows. :)

I am no expert on anything that I write, but I hope any who come to read this blog enjoy what I have to say. The main focus of this blog will be about minimalism, but of course minimalism can be applied to all sorts of good stuff. 

My journey to attain a minimalist lifestyle has been ongoing for many years already. I've had major purges of stuff, had more major purges, left my 8-5 job (that always somehow ended up being 7-6 not including the commute), moved to a new home in a new city, had more minor purges, evaluated my life over and over and over again, overhauled what I ate, and I am here to say that I am STILL learning. But, hey, its the journey not the destination, right?