So far, so good...

Less Me:
In this blog I intend to track with some detail my weight loss efforts for those who are interested.  I will also include some before and after pictures.  I have found that reviewing other people's success stories online has been very inspirational to me, and I hope to do the same for you.

• Feb 2010 I started in at 245.5 lbs
• Aug 2, 2010 226.8 lbs
• Net change: 18.7 lbs

Below is a graph for reference.I leveled off for a while there after losing my job in early May.  The good thing is that I really didn't put any weight back on since then and am easily back on track now. In future posts I'll give more detail on my lifestyle changes that are making this an easy process.

Less Stuff:
I think I became recommitted to minimalism while at scout camp with my son. About 3 days into it I was laying on a small cot looking up at the modest cabin I was sleeping in and thinking, "It doesn't take much stuff to be happy."  In fact, I realized that I am much happier without all of the stuff.

George Carlin said that your stuff
is other people's junk, and vice versa.
This pile of our stuff is now junk!
(just kidding- we'll donate it to Goodwill so
it can become someone else's stuff)

Earlier this year my wife and I were removing things from our house in preparation to show it to potential buyers.  We have 4 kids and spend much of our house cleaning time dealing with their stuff.  Once the house was cleaned and the stuff removed, we took a second look at it and realized a sense of peace of having less in it.  We even started thinking we did not need a larger house (and mortgage)!

Junk drawers mid cleaning

It's already August and we have made some progress on minimizing our home.  I started with my "junk" drawers (yes, I had two for some reason).  I pulled them both out and reviewed the items, recalling that I only ever open these drawers about twice per year! Yikes!  It did not take long to get rid of ~90% of the items in the drawers.  It is tough to fight the nostalgia urge on some things, but I have become so unattached to things now that it really isn't hard.

We'll get more pictures up as we progress.  So far my side of the closet and part of the master bedroom is done.  The kids rooms are nearly done (they are finally catching the spirit!)  We are working towards the center of the house.