Modern House Minimalist Design

I recently read somewhere online that people in western Europe own 10'000 things on average. If you think about it, that really isn't very much. (You could also compare it to a developing country in African where some people can count their belongings on ten fingers.) We should all strive to own less. I wrote a post last week about my experience with minimalism and how it has been the best stress reliever that I have discovered yet. Own less, experience life more...that is my new motto! Here's how you can do it too: 1.  Throw away the half used lotions, shampoos, and soaps that you don't use in your bathroom. ( You can also do this with pens, pencils, dog toys, kids toys...etc. ) 2.  Burn your candles, don't save them for special occasions. 3.   Put DVD and CD contents onto a hard-drive and give away the hard copies. 4.   Limit sentimental things to 1 box. 5.   Stop stocking up on stuff, only buy what you need. 6.   Keep your two best ...

This picture is of our bedroom. Yes, we have a dresser and a closet, but this is basically it. I have had a few small bouts of living a minimalist lifestyle, like living in a 200 square foot studio apartment in South Korea, but not until this year have I purposely wanted to live that lifestyle. Since getting married, (about 3 years ago) Andy and I have moved apartments or houses roughly 10 times. That means that on average, we have moved about every 4 months for the last 3 years. What can I say, we like to keep things interesting! After Andy and I eloped for our marriage, we had a wedding party for all of our friends and family to help us celebrate. When we invited people we specifically said 'no gifts', we didn't want to acquire more things. It was a simple start to a marriage with plenty of kitchen utensils and not much else. That was how we liked it though. I mean, what else do you need in life?! With each move that we made, we acquired more "stuff". Building ...

One of my new years goals was/is to live a more minimalist lifestyle. I am gradually minimizing and organizing the things that we have around our apartment. Andy and I initially did a huge purge of our things when we moved in, so now it is mainly down to organizing. We have this small Ikea kitchen cart that has been used in the kitchen for a variety of things in the past. We have stored fruit and veggies on the bottom shelves, while using the top for food prep to maximize space in the kitchen. In our current kitchen we don't need it for that, so we put it to better use. We created a coffee and wine stand. Rather than crowding our already crowded cabinets with our coffee stuff, we now have a special place for it. The mugs and bean grinder go on the bottom, while our french press sits on the top. There are also sweeteners and tea on the top for preparing your tea or coffee however you like it. Not only is this convenient, but it frees up some counter space and is an attractive way ...