Realistic Minimalism (With Kids!)
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“Minimalism seems great… for other people… without kids.”
This seems to be the prevailing narrative I hear about minimalism, which, between Pinterest, books, documentaries, and Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series, is having quite a moment right now.
Jenna is challenging that narrative and proving that minimalism can not only work for families in the long term, but can actually help provide a framework for gratitude, meaning, and true fullness of life with kids.
To be clear, Jenna isn’t preaching minimalism in a shame-inducing, in-your-face sort of way. She would never tell another family how they should live their life or make them feel like they aren’t good enough… she’s far too kind for that.
She’s just doing it and letting her family’s happiness and contentment speak for itself.
Jenna, her husband, and their two kiddos are leading by example... from the beautifully minimalistic, yet cozy, comfort of their home on Maui. She is beautiful proof that your passion doesn't have to take you outside your home to make a difference.
My family and I had the distinct pleasure of staying in Jenna’s Hawaiian home last year while they were out of the country touring New Zealand (travel is one of the primary ways they spend the money they save by being minimalists.) It was warm, inviting, clean, and restful. My husband and I kept looking at each other and saying, “This is what I want our house to feel like!”
After taking some time to think about it, I’ve realized that feeling is intentionality. Mindfulness. And it’s exactly what Jenna is going for.
“Minimalisms helps me be mindful about what we bring into our homes and lives,” she explains. “Everything we bring through the door is either necessary and/or it really brings joy and intentionality to our lives.”
Before she buys anything, Jenna asks herself: “Do I actually need this?” “Does this serve a longterm purpose?” and “Does this do more than one thing?”
For Jenna, embracing minimalism was part necessity and part choice. When she and her husband welcomed their first baby nearly 8 years ago, they were living in a 450-square-foot, one-bedroom ohana (the Hawaiian term for a granny-flat or mother-in-law quarters.) They were still there when their second kiddo arrived a couple years later, and the four of them shared that space for a few more years before moving into a larger space of their own.
There is not a lot of space for stuff when you’ve got four people living in 450 square feet. Minimalism was just the way it was.
Jenna is also quick to note that minimalism is part of her nature. She describes her self as “Type-A” and says she’s got “a lot of Enneagram Type 1 tendencies.” (The Enneagram is a sort of personality type assessment… Ones tend to be structured with perfectionist tendencies.) She also grew up with family members who were collectors and she says being surrounded by so much stuff drove her crazy. So minimizing the stress of stuff comes naturally to her.
“Minimalisms helps me be mindful about what we bring into our homes and lives... everything we bring through the door is either necessary and/or it really brings joy and intentionality to our lives.”
But while the practicality of minimalism came fairly easily for her, she says “the heart of minimalism has developed over time.”
For Jenna, this “heart” means that nearly everything she buys is ethically and/or sustainably made—every purchase she makes helps create the kind of world she wants to live in. The kind of world she wants for her children.
This value is driven home every time she sees the trash barge floating away with the island’s garbage or takes the kids to the beach and finds trash and plastics washed up on the sand. A few weeks ago, they were sitting on the beach on Oahu and she filled an entire mason jar with microplastics she picked off the sand around her towel. These little plastic pieces wash out of our clothes or getting shredded out of plastic packaging and they look remarkably like the tiny sea creatures that turtles and fish feed on. As a result, they are responsible for much of the die-off we’re seeing in larger marine animals. The plastics, she says, remind her why sticking to her values is so important.
“It might only make a tiny dent, but that’s what I can control right now,” she tells me.
The thing is, it’s not only a tiny dent she’s making. Because while her impact might only make a dent, the message she’s sending to big companies will help make a massive shift. Every sustainable or ethical purchase she makes instead of buying the cheap Target version, tells Target that they need to do better. And Target is watching and listening because they need her money! (And the money of all the shoppers she represents!) So they will do better. Case in point: they recently started producing swimwear made from recycled plastic water bottles.
Making responsible purchases is about minimizing our impact. But it’s also about sending a message.
On top of the difference minimalism makes on the world around her, Jenna says it also makes her family happier and more grateful for the things they have. Minimalism, she says, has made her “a completely different person.”
“The things we have bring me real joy and add a lot of value to our life… so when we do spend money, we’re super grateful for whatever it is we bought,” she explains.
But it’s not just a new appreciation for things. This lifestyle also “creates a new appreciation for the simple things of life… it brings us real, deep gratitude for life.” For example, since their family doesn’t have a TV, they go outside to watch the sunset almost every night—something Jenna says she wouldn’t do if she had a TV (“I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t have the self-control to turn off a show to go watch the sunset,” she laughs.)
I ask if it ever feels like she’s making a sacrifice to live minimally and she takes a minute to think about it.
“Honestly, no! I can’t think of anything that’s felt like a sacrifice! I don’t lose anything from minimalism… but I gain so much.”
For tips on how to pull off minimalism with a family, check out Jenna’s beautiful Instagram profile. She’s got a highlight reel in her stories with practical info and FAQs about embracing minimalism and moving toward a zero-waste lifestyle.
