I’m not the type of person who needs to own a lot of things. I love to shop and decorate and have a home full of beautiful things that make me happy.

But I’m not obsessed with having a lot of stuff. That might seem pretty obvious since my whole business is centered around minimalism.

But it’s more than just not buying things so my house doesn’t get cluttered. I mean, that’s a pretty great side effect. It’s just not like my holy grail of why I’m a minimalist.

Our family is really big on experiencing things rather than owning things. Brian and I definitely have a core value of prioritizing experiences over possessions when it comes to how we handle our finances.

That’s doesn’t mean we never buy anything or that you should never buy anything.

I’m not telling you to only have a suitcase amount of possession and to  go to Disneyland every weekend.

That’s not where I’m coming from at all. I mean, if that’s what you want to do, you do you. That’s just not my heart.

We do enjoy taking the kids to Disneyland or Legoland. And weekly date nights are really important to Brian and I.

Traveling is something we really enjoy and something that is important to us and we want to do more of.

Our priority is experiencing things together.

That’s where we kind of put our money where our mouth is. Like when we flew our family to Nashville for two weeks of fun and staying at different Airbnb’s and hotels and experiencing new people.

Whether it’s trying out a new restaurant or taking the boys to a baseball game. We’d rather do things together as a family than sit around around in a house full of stuff.

We’d rather have date nights than purchase things that don’t really contribute to the vision we have for our family. That takes a lot of intentionality on our part.

Brian and I work really hard to have a successful business so that our budget is bigger and we can plan for those types of things. But even when we were pretty broke, we always prioritized experiences over things.

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experiences last

Experiences are so much more fulfilling and have so much more depth to them than material possessions. Research even shows this!

The happiness that people get from purchases fades away pretty quickly. But the joy that we get from experiencing something actually increases over time as you remember and as you look back on it (which I think is super incredible).

Basically, it’s like a good return on an investment. It’s adding happiness to your life and then it’s increasing that happiness over time because positive experiences give us positive memories. And that’s something that all of us desire and find fulfilling.

We learn to be present and enjoy the moment when we’re out doing things.

When we’re holding hands with our kids, we wonder how we can live that way more often. How we can soak up little moments in even the mundane moments of life.

And when you get out of your little bubble, you get to meet other people. You get the chance to strengthen your bond with your family. I can’t emphasize the importance of that enough.

Yeah, when you travel somewhere with your kids, it’s crazy and hard and there are negative aspects to it. But when you just decide to suck it up and do it,  to go to Disneyland or to a movie or the beach, or really anywhere away from your typical atmosphere, it gives you the gift of connection to the people who belong to you.

That’s so worth any frustration or embarrassment that comes from traveling with little people.

Adventuring together is where the funny stuff and the weird stuff happens and where meaningful conversations are started. Connection is built and cultivated and that’s vital, especially with your husband and your kids.

ask yourself how you can infuse your family with more experiences

It doesn’t have to be a huge trip somewhere. It can be, though! And if that’s what you want to do, you can start saving money for that.

But it can also just be a fun experience in your neighborhood this weekend. Go out for ice cream or see if there’s a kid-friendly street fair in your city.

Instead of laying around your house and doing nothing because you’re exhausted, get yourself up, get the kids dressed and go do something fun. Sure, you’re probably going to be tired later but I promise you’re not going to regret it.

You don’t get forever with your kids. You only get so much time  to invest in and be a big part of your kids’ lives. And once they leave, it’s just going to be you and your husband so you want to make sure you’re nourishing that relationship now too.

HERE’S YOUR WAKE UP CALL

If you’re thinking, “Allie, this all sounds really good but I don’t know if  I can do this.” Like maybe you’ve spent a lot of money on material things and you feel a little unbalanced on where your focus is versus where you want it to be.

I hope this will serve as a wake-up call for you. Starting now you can begin to focus on experiencing life and connecting with your family and you can make sure your finances reflect that priority a little bit more.

And you know what, buying less stuff means less clutter. Which I’m super passionate about because clutter causes us stress.

It  requires maintenance and takes up our time. Time that we could be spending experiencing things. Cut clutter from your life so you can be unfettered and live more abundantly.

In our home, we’re still cutting out clutter and we’ve been minimalists for years. But with all the travel we’ve been doing, we’ve been focused on going deeper with minimalism and letting go of even more stuff so our home can be even simpler.

We want to feel like we can leave it more easily to travel and do more fun things together.

Because that’s what we truly believe is the most important thing.

I want to encourage you to prioritize experiences. Especially with your family.

Life is out there. There are things to be experienced. Don’t miss your moments. .

want to declutter your home?

YOU HAVE ONE CHANCE AT RAISING YOUR SWEET BABIES… DON’T GIVE YOUR STUFF ANY MORE TIME THAN IT NEEDS!

This is an online program where I walk you through every step you need to take in your home and your life to become a minimalist mama. Because you’re so ready for a simplified, intentional life!