Amy Slenker-Smith

A Minimalist’s Guide to Dorm Room Essentials

May 22, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Last year, my son and I went to Target to buy items for my his dorm room. Ironically, my minimalist epiphany occurred in the Target parking lot when he was a baby. But this trip was very different. We had a list of dorm room essentials and were intentional about every single purchase. We ask questions like: Are we sure we need something new? Can we repurpose an item we already own? Is this purchase absolutely essential on Day 1 or could you experiment without it for a few weeks? Will this item add value and do you have space for it in a small dorm room? Can you live without this item and thus make it easier to keep your room clutter-free and neat? Over the summer, we talked about what items to buy and more importantly, what NOT to buy. I have seen obscenely long lists of alleged dorm room essentials. And I challenge many of these items. My dear friend sent me sales alerts about things to buy. And we've had some fun conversations about what each of us was …

5 Easy Technology Solutions to Go Paperless

April 14, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Paper clutter is the #1 challenges families tell me that they face every day. Junk mail, kid's art, catalogs, and more. But after establishing a Paper Filing System for our family, I can safely say that we live 90% paperless. And we leverage technology to support this goal. If you get control of the paper, the paperless part is easy. Sign up to receive my FREE Paper Filing System Technology options are overwhelming and it's hard to know how to choose the right one. But it's more important to establish your routine and less about the tool itself. Here are my 5 "go-to" tools to help you get started on the road to Paperless Living. 1. Evernote I started using Evernote over 10 years ago. I love that the information syncs to all devices. My Evernote tab stays open all the time. The addition of the Web Clipper on my web browser allows me to clip webpages and save them to relevant notebooks such as Business, Recipes, Family, etc. Eventually, it's easy to …

5 Minimalist Habits To Achieve Financial Freedom

March 10, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 7 Comments

It’s impossible to ignore the financial benefits of decluttering, downsizing, and owning less. For our family, financial freedom was the single greatest gift we experienced when we chose to own less and pursue a minimalist lifestyle. Our path to minimalism began when our son was young. Over time, we’ve sought to set an example by teaching the importance of debt-free living, owning less, and being intentional with our resources, especially money. These are character traits we hope he’ll inherit from our example. Debt-Free Living The process began with a personal finance class my husband and I took together. I was motivated to declutter anything that wasn’t nailed down in our house and never buy anything ever again. Meanwhile, he was motivated to accelerate our retirement savings and reduce our spending in several areas. This led us to realize that step one was to eliminate every penny of consumer debt we had. We cut up our credit cards, closed a $45,000 home equity line of …

How to Survive a Layoff with Financial Freedom

March 3, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 1 Comment

If you've been through a layoff, or are worried you might be facing one in the near future, then you know how stressful it is. It's especially difficult if you are the family benefits-holder. But it doesn't have to be this way. Early on in our marriage, we experienced two significant layoffs and never touched our savings. As a family, we prepare for emergencies knowing they happen when you least expect it. Simply put, we have an emergency fund (6 months of expenses saved). And we make lifestyle changes to adjust to the lack of income. The Storm My husband was laid off in early 2019. The news arrived just before my son‘s 13th birthday. We had planned to go skiing and kept the trip as scheduled. The next day, en route to the mountains, with the layoff weighing on our minds, our neighbor called. A pipe had burst in our home. We turned around, dealt with the mess and arrived at our destination, albeit several hours late. One disaster after another but somehow we weathered the …

How Many Vases Do You Really Need?

January 27, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 6 Comments

How Many Vases Do You Really Need? Well, that depends. I love spring and summer when all the flowers are in bloom. It's a beautiful time of year and a welcome break from winter. While it's nice to display flowers in vases, I really prefer to enjoy them outside. (And so do my allergies!) During the winter I find myself drawn to candles for a hygge feel. Set a Boundary for Your Collection Over the years, I've worked in many garages, basements, and kitchens and routinely find enough extra vases to supply a large wedding reception. Vases are an item that people accumulate without much thought. Flowers arrive. Flowers die. Vases are washed and put in a cabinet. It doesn't seem to matter if its a vase you like or have room to store. The default response is to keep all the vases we've ever received and find space to store them throughout the house. And this is why I suggest setting a boundary for every category throughout your home, like dishes, books, and vases. When it came time to …

5 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Books and Read More

January 6, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 7 Comments

Over the years, getting rid of books generates the most passionate discussions. I wonder if people fear they might lose the knowledge gained from a book if they give it away? There is a strong sentimental attachment to books, especially the ones we get lost in. I have no idea what happened during the days I read Water for Elephants. I felt this way about The Great Alone, Small Great Things, The Nightingale, Half-Broke Horses, Educated, Refugee, The Harry Potter Series and so many more! Reading is good. Owning is the problem. There was a time when I read less and bought more. But I renewed my interest in reading when I purged nearly all of them. I felt a weight lifted. And was free to read new titles. I even joined a book club and set an annual reading goal in Goodreads. At any given time, I am reading 4 books. One non-fiction, one devotional, one personal development and one on audible. The best part...I take them everywhere on my Kindle, Kindle …

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Amy Slenker-Smith

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