One bite at a time

My fiancé and I are both 36 and slowly growing out of our toxic love for clutter. We’ve lived in our house for 5 years and his clutter has slowly grown, while mine has slowly decreased. We used to have a lot of clutter but one day I just woke up and realized I’m tired, I’ve always hated clutter but he’s an easy to get along with introverted man who doesn’t like to go out. I took a hard look and realized I’m tired of clutter and I wanted it gone. It was liberating. <br><br>Then I realized it was the same for anxiety and depression, I’ve always hated it, but one day I said “Enough”. I wanted it gone. <br><br>Anyway he is an emotional eater, and slowly he’s realizing that this is a problem for him. He’s been able to simply stop eating quickly and he’s happy with it. <br><br>I read on Twitter that the way you eat is like your relationship with life. Do you binge on life, taking in too much, committing to too much, wanting too much, eating too much. Or do you savor life, little by little, enjoying each bite slowly, digesting it slowly, taking your time. <br><br>When I think about all the things that make him and me unhappy. Eating, anxiety, abuse, clutter, overcommitting, long hours and panic, I realized that all 7 have the same solution. <br><br>One bite at a time.<br><br>When I look at the overwhelm and all the steps to get there, I feel like I’m drowning. Then I remember, one bite at a time. It’s not like I’m giving up any clutter, I’m just picking this one thing up, not because I’m a minimalist but because I’m not a hoarder. Not because I’m training for a marathon but because I’m not a couch potato. Not because I’m an emotional eater but because I’m not a binge eater. <br><br>One bite at a time. <br><br>Also, this is part of a larger ongoing conversation between me and my daughter. I’m 36 and she’s 22 months, and I’m so proud of the conversations we have. I’m so grateful to be a minimalist because it’s allowed me to have so much time to talk to her and listen to her and learn from her. She’s learning to talk and she’s teaching me about how to talk. She’s learning to walk and she’s teaching me about walking. She’s learning to be human and she’s teaching me about being human. I’m so grateful that because of minimalism I have the time and space to watch her grow, and because of her I have the energy and joy to pursue it. <br><br>Edit: <br><br>Wow, I didn’t expect this to get so big! Thank you all for your kind words. <br><br>I am an average mom with average concerns, which is why I try to post here, because I want to help average people like me who are on their journey. I’m not someone who’s already very self aware, who had a simple life, I’m a complex person with a complex life, and it’s ok to be complex. There are many simple answers, but it’s ok if it takes a while to get there, and it’s ok to share the struggles. <br><br>I think it’s important to share content that says it’s ok to not be there yet, that it’s ok to struggle, to be a mess, to be an imperfect person, to be an imperfect minimalist, to be a human. <br><br>If I can only post twice a week I want to use it to post a real story about being a person. <br><br>Thank you all as well for understanding that I can’t respond to so many comments. Thank you for your kindness, your love, and for reminding me that I’m part of a community. <br><br>To those who commented mean things and hateful words, I’m sorry you are struggling.