Has it been a year?

Yes my friends, (not that anyone is reading this) but it has been nearly a year since I've last posted. I resolve to post more to work on my writing and to keep the world posted on our journey.

The past year has been eventful. I started a new job at Daxko as a Systems Engineer. In the meantime I've kept my job at ITT but I'm now an adjunct instructor. I'm using the money from my part time job to help support my mom and to pay down our debt.

I've succeeded in paying off my car (yay!) and we transferred some savings to Melissa's car and should have it paid for in a couple months!

That's it for now but I promise to write more and to keep it going in 2k11.

Steps we've taken..

My family has begun the journey towards simple living. Here's some of the things we've done in 2009 with a look at what's in store for '10.

. If it's yellow let it mellow ( do I need to explain?)
. Huge compost pile in backyard. All organic trash goes in it.
. Stepped up recycling to include cardboard and paper.
. Put up dual clotheslines to use the dryer less.
. thermostat adjustments.
. more aware of driving habits
. massive amounts of decluttering
. bedroom
. kitchen
. laundry closet
. garage
. kids closets

2010?

. Quadruple the garden.
. enrolled in Helena's new curbside recycling!! so recycling is going to increase.
. increase biking for local errands
. increase use of freecycle & craigslist
. attempt to not purchase anything new this year (undergarments and food aren't counted)
. Enroll in our local CSA.
. continue to declutter

That's all for now! Happy new year!

First Christmas of our journey..

I am fully on board with my minimal journey. Melissa my dear wife is interested but hesitant. However our kids daycare is rather expensive so that makes becoming minimalist that much easier.

We agreed to not purchase one another gifts for Christmas. I bought a rack to go on my mountainbike and told her she could have a small home improvement or a 50 dollar self purchase gift. She chose the home improvement so I purchased a light fixture to replace an aging ceiling fan in the dining area of our home.

As far as the kids go Melissa was remarkably restrained. My son Jack is only 9 months so he doesn't really have a clue so we didn't spend much on him. Elizabeth is over 3 so she is well aware of Santa and the whole gift-thing. We kept it reasonable and it went over well.

I will say this, I had temporary pangs of guilt/panic when Elizabeth was opening her gifts in that I wondered if it was enough. The moment passed quickly but I can tell that this journey will be long and we may slip along the way.

Not the destination....

I'm off for a few days so I thought I'd get out and about to enjoy this weather. One great thing about the deep south is the sunny and 50 degree days in mid to late December. I live in Helena which is just south of Birmingham. An area with a rich mining history. It was not uncommon for someone to open a mine and run it for 10-20 years then just abandon it back to nature.

I had heard of a mine and coke oven on a peninsula where Buck Creek and the Cahaba river meet. This happens to be relatively close to me and being the history geek I am I have always wanted to see it.

Fast forward a few months and here I go. I hop on the bike and ride over to the park where I hope to follow Buck Creek to the Cahaba.



We are fortunate to have such a wonderful park close by. Old Town Helena has a coffee shop, burger joint and a great park that shows family friendly movies in the summer.

I didn't get far when I ran into dense woods, but I'd occasionally run across old structures that probably were there to support the mines or the railroad.



Eventually the woods became too tough to keep going and the trails I found didn't always follow the river so I allowed it to become an invigorating nature walk. Here's some of the sites along the way..






I never reached my destination and I really don't want to sound like an ad for Harley Davidson but sometimes it is the journey and not the destination. I most likely hiked about 5 miles of rough terrain and I don't know how close I got. Next time I'll consult the gps but for now I'll just relax and enjoy the moments I had all alone with just nature and my thoughts.

Just breathe..

Not only is this a song on the latest album BackSpacer by the greatest band of all time Pearl Jam (my opinion naturally) but it is something that we need to be reminded to do.

"Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts."

Thich Nhat Hanh

Profound words.

It isn't new age hippie stuff. Take 10 minutes. Breathe don't think just be.

Construction Project Completion

I have been simplifying my bedroom for the past few weeks. I am going for a clean minimal look. My television was on a small 2 drawer dresser that was unused otherwise. I decided to replace it with a simple stand. Rather than purchase one I decided to take it upon myself to construct one.

I visited home depot and bought the materials for around $30.00. Keep in mind I have never built anything. I slapped together some wood for a box garden this spring but that didn't really count.

I have been practicing meditation so I took my time, put some jazz on and knocked it out over the course of a couple of days.

Moral of the story?

Do it yourself, save money and it feels great.

About me..

I suppose I could have given this information earlier but better late than never right? My name is Jerry Smith I am 34 years old. I am a Program Director for Computer Networking at a Technical College in the Birmingham, AL metro area. I am married to Melissa age 31 who in addition to being a wonderful wife is a school teacher. We have 2 kids, Elizabeth (3) and Jack (9mo). Our lives are very chaotic to say the least, most of my classes that I teach are at night so during the school term I don't see my family that often.

We have a decent income of 100k +- but we have made a few bad decisions along the way. Nothing too bad couple of financed cars (used) and you saw the post regarding the motorcycle. Really our largest expenditure is on daycare for the kids. They are starting a new school in a week or so called Primrose it is quite expensive but because my children spend so much time in the care of others I want to be sure they are learning all they can and are safe to boot.

So how does any of this have to do with Minimalism? Really all of it has to do with minimalism, I have been unhappy for years, always searching for meaning and some sort of contentment. I am not a very social guy and to be honest I walk around thinking I'm smarter than everyone, even though I know I'm not. I consider myself to be a renaissance man and quite frankly most people I meet just don't interest me. So I realized that I am the one constant amongst a sea of variables.

The humanity around me doesn't need to change. My wife doesn't need to be neater, I need to change. I've tried many other things but I have always been interested in giving it all away. I like computers and motorcycles but those were the first to go. I have my macbook pro (which I will never part with, except for another) and my wife has a windows tower because she is more comfortable using it. No motorcycles and no other toys. I have given away or sold almost all of my books and clothing now I am down to the small stuff. My bedroom is becoming quite minimal and it is very soothing to me.

I have also begun meditation, I tried unsuccessfully many times in the past but I visited a Shambala Center and learned about mindfulness meditation. It has changed everything for me.

I realize this was rambling but I won't apologize, it is just a stream of consciousness about how I got here. Subsequent posts will be more organized.