i try to live that way

Earlier this week I wrote about intentionally cutting thing out. More specifically, analyze what you do and why you do it. You might just find there is no reason other than that is the way it has always been done, but that’s not a good enough reason to keep doing it that way.

I had more to say on the subject, but decided to break out the post into two parts. This, my friend, is part two.

How I’ve been cutting things out

A common thread among minimalist bloggers is that minimalism is personal. You don’t have to have under 100 items. You don’t have to do things the way anyone else does them, you do it the way you do it. And with this, I agree. I say all that because it’s explaining why I say, “How I’ve been cutting things out.” I guess I’m just trying to really stress that I’m not telling you how to do it, just how I’ve been doing it. Ok, enough of that.

When I received the inspiration to become a minimalist, I didn’t realize at first what I was doing had a name. I only knew what I was trying to accomplish. First thing I was trying to accomplish was have less stuff. Ok, I’m now only 1/3 of what I was before. And I did that by simply (or not so simply) going through everything I own, and deciding if I really need it. No? Gone. Yes? It stayed. 2/3 is gone and I’m left wondering why I’ve kept that stuff as long as I have. Oh well, problem resolved.

But what about the rest?

Now having completed sweeping change, things are getting more detailed, more personal. It’s not about the easy choices anymore, it’s about examining how I live my life and being intentional about everything. (and I don’t use the word ‘everything’ lightly here. Perhaps it should be in all caps. “… it’s about examining how I live my life and being intentional about EVERYTHING.”)

At first minimalism was about my stuff. It’s still about stuff, but it’s more than that. I’ve cleaned up my computer desktop. [linky link] I’ve stopped putting cream in my coffee and the coffee is still great.[linky link] I’ve stopped watching the clock (future post). And now to add to the list: I canceled my HuluPlus account, I put my Netflix account on hold, and I’m attempting to get offline in the evening.

I’ve been a HuluPlus subscriber since it was in beta. I’ve been saying for a long time now that the iPad is the best way to watch video. I haven’t had a TV for years, but I do enjoy some shows. I limit myself to three shows at a time. This is an old rule of mine, but it does fall under minimalism. It was just time management before. :) So I watched them on my iPad, on Hulu.

Netflix just famously[linky link, funny or die] raised their prices. I think it’s now double what it was when I first started a year and a half ago or so. I also watch streaming Netflix on my iPad. While making and eating each day, three meals, each took at least a half hour. That’s and hour and a half a day of idle time, and I was using it most days to watch a documentary.

So the Netflix price hike was what first made me start thinking about the ‘watching’ that I do. And this brings to how I’ve been cutting things out. For HuluPlus, I realized that three shows, that don’t even play year round, I still have to watch commercials, and the only benefit is that I can watch them on my iPad, didn’t make sense at $8 a month. Gone. All it took was a little rethinking of the issue. Not cutting the end of the ham off.[linkey link] Netflix is on hold until October 1st. Netflix is still valuable to me, or so I think right now. And that’s the key. I’m taking a break. Re-evaluating. Nobody said if something is cut out it’s gone forever or I’m cheating. So some things, like Netflix, I’m taking a  sabbatical from. Come October I could decide I’m just grand with no Netflix. I could decide that I really do gain value from it, and it would stay. I could decide that I only need streaming and the physical DVDs are out. It’s a mystery to me. But I did something. And now I get to live a few months to see what it’s like.

Wrapup

So that’s my advice on what I’ve been doing.

Possibility #1: Drop it like it’s hot.

Possibility #2: Scale back.

Possibility #3: Drop it for a short time, and see how you feel after a month or two. A item or activity fast, if you will. Afterwords, it’s Ok to add it back if you still need it or aren’t ready quite yet to get rid of it completely. It’s also Ok, of course, to get rid of it completely.