I’m trying to think about whatever progress I have made in simplifying my life and becoming more minimalist and a bit more frugal. I’m in temporary housing for quite a number of months to come, so most of my things are in storage. And I’m afraid I have much too much stuff in storage! My intention is to go through all when I have a more permanent home and give away or discard, recycle much of it. I only took basic things I need to live with me in the temporary housing I’m living in for awhile. I’ve given away all but the most basic furniture that I need and want and to me that’s progress. And this furniture is in storage. I’ve gone through my clothes and have given away to clothing bins clothes and shoes I don’t wear or don’t like and have with me now very few basic outfits and only 2 pairs of shoes. I’ve done the same with shoulder bags, wallets, backpacks, etc., that I used to keep and now have 2 shoulder bags, 1 backpack, 1 wallet, etc. When I have my permanent home I will give away any clothes and shoes not needed or wanted that are now in storage. The way I shop for food and the way I eat now is much simpler. I basically will cook a chicken soup with lots of vegetables in it and eat that for days, also will cook a lentil soup with vegetables and alternate eating this with the chicken soup. I’ve cut most meat out; eat fish and eggs a few times a week. I shop at Aldi and discount dollar shops and this plus not eating much meat has cut my food budget a lot. I did give away many excess kitchen items, gadgets and plates, etc. So the kitchen was an area I feel I did well in minimizing what I kept. I will give away my TV which is in storage; I hated the programs and the commercials on TV so stopped watching it. I only watch videos, films, occasional news on my laptop; mainly I watch them on YouTube and also free films elsewhere on the internet. If ads come up I sit close enough to my laptop that I can mute them or press skip ads and many films have no ads to interrupt them. I have a smartphone with a $30 a month plan (has internet) and use Wi-Fi for my laptop so don’t pay for internet where I live. So I’m finding different ways to save money. I got rid of a few subscriptions I had, that I basically didn’t use. So living on S.S. and a tiny pension and whatever small earnings from teaching dance classes at senior centers is more than enough to live on. There’s plenty of free entertainment offered by the City and also in the suburbs; get a local newspaper and also find out what senior centers, parks, and towns have to offer. Areas I have much work yet to do, to minimalize, is with the copious books I have saved over the years and these are in storage. When I move I will donate many of them to libraries, vets organizations, etc. I will keep the “treasures” that I love or feel I may not be able to locate again. The other area I’m quite deficient in is minimalizing the papers, children’s artwork, articles, you name it that I have saved over so many years. All these are in storage and again when I have a permanent home I will work on sorting, discarding, and saving only some very special papers with very special memories. Creating a simpler life through minimalism, learning ways to save money, thinking about what you value most in life, is an ongoing process and something I’ll be working on for some time to come!