Hi. My name is Angie, and I’m an aspiring minimalist striving for a simple life. I haven’t always been this way, although there have been consistent tugs for decades that I persistently neglected. But the idea of minimalism, letting go, and pursuing a simple life with purpose pulled me out of one of my darkest moments. Perhaps even saved my life. Let me paint a picture for you and what led me to today, my simple living ground zero and minimalism day one.
My Darkest Day
In September 2025, at 42 years old, I found myself in the parking lot of a Market Basket, almost an hour from home, crying on the phone with my husband. I had run away from home and my problems yet again.
This was nothing new new and had become a regular behavior, one I’m not particularly proud of. And it’s not your typical running away from home story filled with abuse and neglect. It’s a story of crushing responsibility, mounting debt, lack of self, emotional instability even after years of therapy, a cluttered home, and life so full and overstuffed that there was no more room for me in it. It was all just too much, and I felt like life was strangling me. So I ran.
Typically, I would drive off with the kids at school or safely under the supervision of my husband, Colby. I would cry for hours until I calmed down, often after a panic attack triggered by life doling out more than I could handle. After a good cry and running from the tiger, my emotions attacking me, I would slowly limp back to my home and responsibilities, unsure what the coming days would bring. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But during the latest run from home, something had shifted. This time was different, and I lacked hope that anything would ever change. There was no panic attack, no intense emotions, and minimal crying. I felt dead inside. Strangled by the things. Not wanting to live, yet not wanting to actively end it all. Stuck. So I sat in the Market Basket parking lot pondering. When had life become so overstuffed that I had been squeezed out of it?!
It was a big, life assessment kind of moment. I didn’t recognize myself. I didn’t know what I liked, who I was, or what I wanted outside the role of caretaker. The only thing I knew, this wasn’t a life. Responsibility had overburdened the good stuff in life. Why live?
I know now that there are many valid reasons to live, but at the time, I couldn’t see it. I was stuck in a dark place where I just wanted to disappear. Those feelings squeezed out the ones that had been helping me hold on all these years, hacking away at those last threads I had been clinging to.
The Text Message That Rocked Our Family
I had no plan and no will to live. And being a responsible adult, texted Colby, “I love you and the girls. I’m sorry. I’m leaving my phone, keys, and purse in the car at the Market Basket for you.” My vague plan…go for a walk in the woods. Disappear. Unburden myself from the crushing overwhelm.
Thankfully, my husband called immediately. I remember nothing from our conversation except for one thing: we could cut it all out, scrap everything, sell the house, burn it all down, opt out, and build a simple life. He said this with surprising calmness, love, and conviction. It stopped me in my tracks. My response, “I’m listening.”
What would life look like if we let go of what wasn’t serving our family? The physical stuff, the emotional clutter, commitments, the whole shebang. It could look radically different than the burned-out family of four, running the rat race of consumerism, juggling too many jobs while raising children without the support systems needed to truly make it all work. All while our government is removing safety nets, inflation is skyrocketing, health insurance costs are becoming untenable, and the climate is radically shifting.
In that moment, the idea of minimalism and simple living gave me hope and made me feel safer. It provided a lightness at the end of a dark tunnel that I thought had closed in for good. It was just the thing I needed to latch onto. If I had hope, maybe I could pull myself out of this. It had been so long since I had hope.
Was my text message a cry for help? Absolutely, and I’m grateful my superhero answered the bat call with just the right solution. Not all superheroes wear capes. Sometimes they’re salesmen with a company-issued branded polo.
The First Week Home: Quiet And Still
The entire drive home, we talked about things we rarely talk about. What could we let go of, what needs to stay, and how can we shift our lives to live more aligned with our values? And most importantly, what do we truly want our lives to look like in a radical, no-holds-barred kind of way? In the moment, we both wanted to scrap everything and start from scratch, but knew that wasn’t realistic and it would just lead me right back to the darkness of overwhelmed and overburdened. It was decided, a slow and steady shift needed to happen.
In those first few days home, I abandoned many of my usual duties and focused on being still and as quiet as possible. No to-do lists, no chores, no work (at the time I was working as a DIY blogger), no extras. Just taking care of the children before and after school, feeding myself healthy food, basic self-care, walks, and journaling. No TV, no podcasts, no phone scrolling. Just quiet.
I am so thankful for those quiet days of letting go of it all, and I plan to share more about it, along with resources and tips that helped me (which included a really amazing therapist).
Let The Journey Begin
So consider today, minimalism and simple living day zero as we begin our journey. My intentions with this blog are to chronicle my journey in minimalism that I’m officially dubbing “The Unload Project,” sharing tips, tricks, and lessons learned along the way. I hope you’ll stick with me on this journey.
So I wish a happy birthday to Wildly Simplified. You’ll find it to be part love letter, part life experiment — a space to share the real, messy, wonderful process of simplifying everything.
Here, you’ll find practical tips for decluttering your home and mind, ideas for slowing down and living more intentionally, and reflections on finding peace in the dirt (my happy place), the quiet, and the everyday.
Welcome!
Pssst…I promise, I normally don’t write this heavy-hearted. Typically, I’m more easy, breezy, beautiful like a CoverGirl ad from the nineties. So if this is your stop here at Wildly Simplified, please stick around for another post or two to get a better feel for it.
Psssssst…Also, I LOVE comments and connecting with you here. While I do have a social media presence, it’s not my favorite place to be.
