Using minimalism as a tool for a tidy home and less stress
Well, here we are, we’ve made it (almost) to month three of 2016, and if you're like me, the mantra of "A new year, a new you" has worn off by now and "real life" has resumed. Your month long juice detox left you renewed but longing for a hearty meat sandwich and all those cute organizational bins you bought to store household items in, yeah those are still in the Target bag on your bedroom floor. At this point I'm sure you want to just give up and say "what's the point anyways!?"Well, I'm here to say: don't give up! There IS still hope, well at least when it comes to keeping a tidy, less stressed house and dare I say it, maybe even life. That whole juicing thing, you're on your own with that. Sometimes life can get overwhelming, the home/space ends up getting neglected, and the whole mess just stresses you out more from having to live in the chaos of it all.
Well, let's take a look at becoming more minimalistic. What is minimalism, anyway? Here is a great definition by theminimalists.com in an article What Is Minimalism? "If we had to sum it up in a single sentence, we would say, Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom."
So let's dive in and jump over some of those "real life" hurdles when it comes to becoming more minimalistic in life and keeping a tidy living space:
Sort-
Honestly, most of us have more then we need!
4 things to keep in mind when sorting through things:
- Is it useful?
- Do I have multiples?
- Does it have sentimental value?
- Have I used it in the last year?
If it doesn't fit into any of these categories, then toss it, donate it, or repurpose it.
Make a place for EVERYTHING-
If something doesn't have a place, it gets thrown on the counter, bed, table, floor…any surface really and this is how the never-ending cycle starts! It doesn't have a place, so it all just piles up. Nothing will stay clean if things are just put wherever they happen to land. To eliminate the messes and keep things from getting lost, find a place for it. Hang up your coat, put your shoes in your closet/shoe bin, put your outgoing or incoming mail in a storage slot, get a drawer organizer to store office supplies, etc.
Storage-
Get baskets, plastic bins, drawer organizers etc. to store items. Items for everyday use should be kept close at hand and easily accessible. Label your bins to keep track of the contents.
Now I'm sure you're thinking, “No one has time for that!” Well, this is where YOU come in. Yes, this takes time, but in the words of Leo Tolstoy "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." It takes a mindset to help keep things tidy, and believe me, your life will be so much less stressful when your environment is clutter free. All in all, this boils down to enjoying life and how to eliminate THINGS that overwhelm it. There have been multiple quotes I've heard thrown around but I find the following to be quite profound, "Have less, live more". The less stuff we have to worry about the more time we have to truly live and money saved. Life has so much to offer, why waste time on things when you can be living and enjoying life with those in your life. There is great insight in this blog, The Science of Why You Should Spend Your Money on Experiences Not Things.
So this year, make a change for the simple and enjoy more! In the words of Confucious, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
About the author…Rebekah was born and raised in Washington and currently resides in Montana. She is a dance teacher, mother of two, and creative soul. She enjoys cooking, baking and creating with fabric.