I'm so proud of myself right now, haha. Over the past month or two I've donated about 20 trash bags full of stuff that was hiding around our little apartment! And it feels awesome! After hearing about that book "the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo on NPR one day, and coming across a few links online that talk about her concept, I was really intrigued, and just kept thinking, "Man, that sounds so interesting, I really want to read that book." Well I was out browsing at Barnes and Noble on a book binge and I just stumbled across it. (Well not really stumbled, it's in the best seller or hot new arrivals section or whatever) Anyway, her one principal for whether you decide to keep items in your house or not is by asking one simple question: "Does this spark joy?". You either have to have a resounding "Hell Yes" to keep it, Hell Nos are a no brainer, and Maybes automatically fall into the Hell No category. By this one simple method, you're not only getting rid of things you don't need that are taking up mental space, but you're making your home a kind of sanctuary. Imagine living in a world where you were constantly bombarded by things that spark joy in you, that's a pretty happy place to be. Anyway, a couple months into that journey and it's going great, and has even sparked a greater curiosity in me about minimalism and having just what you need and love. I've always been facinated with minimalism, especially for traveling, but coming across this little path has really freed up a lot of things in my life. I spend less time managing all the stuff cuz now I don't have the option to let dishes pile up, cuz I only have a few; I don't have to do a ton of laundry on laundry day, cuz I don't have as many clothes. Cleaning and dusting is way easier just because there are more empty spaces and things are finding homes to go back to into the house. It may have been a bigger initial effort, but it's sure is simplifying my life in the long run. I've always been the messy creative type and embraced that, but it's pretty awesome to feel like I have way more free time and mental space to BE CREATIVE now that running a house isn't so burdensome, but actually quite joyful. If you're one of those people who find you hate doing house chores, you should check out this book! You might end up beating the system, haha.

Man, what a crazy week! The nearly past week and a half has been eating, breathing, sleeping the production of the drifter film. After several 10-15hour days, nights of very little sleep or even time for food sometimes, filming all over San Antonio and San Marcos, TX and coordinating with our actors from Dallas, Austin, and SA I am officially pooped out! haha. Oh and we finally wrapped filming all the scene but 1 last night! Yay! So for now, I'm just gonna slink around my house for half the day and read and recover. Then tonight I've got to get back on my Venegas Studios work that has taken the back seat for the week, AND THEN I'm gonna plan myself a fricken VACATION! haha! I'm so grateful to have my hand in all these different little creative projects. It's what I live for! But I'm so ready to wine and dine myself for a week, and sit somewhere in a semi-tropical location with my feet in the sand.

Striving to live a more minimalist lifestyle is incredibly freeing. With every new empty space I create, I also send away just one more piece of clutter that had occupied my mind.. Like little weights lifting off me...they float away like a balloon that's been freed. It's not just about having less, it's about having the perfect amount, what you need. It's also about surrounding yourself only with the things that you love and bring inspiration to you... And your house begins to become a kind of sanctuary for inspiration for you. Also with less things, that means less items to manage, less to take care of and all that time cleaning, organizing, etc. can now be spent doing things I want to be doing, not just chores and maintaining shit I don't really care about. Lol I've become addicted to this game of paring down my life and I'm loving every minute of it!