When we hear the term minimalism, some of us think of modern houses with white interiors, walls made with windows from floor to ceiling, rooms sparsely decorated with neutral furniture, clean lines, nothing but a few white shirts hanging in the closet and one pair of shoes on the floor in that closet. Let's not forget the kitchen with nothing on the counters except one plate on a centre island with 3 apples on it. You know, everything that your house isn't. We have all seen things like that in magazines and in design blogs.
Now to reality, where there are items in every closet of our houses, kitchen cupboards full of more cups and plates than you really ever use and items in your garage that have been there for a minimum of 2 years or more totally untouched. The list could go on, but we individually know our own homes and the items that we could do with and do without, so I won't go into details of all of the areas in our homes that could use a clean up.
I once heard the term "Mess Is Stress" but it was when I was younger and had no stress in my life anyways, so I really didn't fully understand the meaning of those three words. Fast forward to my life now, and more than ever I look for ways to simplify and lead the most stress free life possible. Getting rid of the excess clutter in my life is one of those ways. Material possessions have two possible reasons to exist; either they serve us usefully and make our lives better in some way, or they have no use to us, but take up our physical and mental space in the form of clutter and emotional/sentimental attachment.
I never quite saw how things could mentally weigh us down until I began to rid myself of unneeded objects and realized just how good it felt to clean out spaces and see them breathe again. To actually see the back of a closet and have space between my clothing is a very accomplished feeling for me.
That process is really not easy and anyone that finds the "getting rid of stuff" process easy, to me, has amazing superhuman powers. Every item that I take out of a drawer or closet with the goal of not putting it back in, is part of a decision making process. Is this useful? Have I used it lately? Do I really need this? Would I actually buy this today if it was for sale? Should I give this away or keep it to sell? .... Then there is that awful question....What if I need it later? That one is the killer....and so many times the item ends up back on the shelf...because of the fear of getting rid of something I will need later and regret that decision.
There are ways to ease into that process, and one that I really find handy is the "I don't know box"
Basically, I purge the contents of a cupboard, drawer or closet, and I put everything that I can't decide on into a box that will go into storage for the next month or so. Then, I will revisit the box, and minimize those contents again. I may have to minimize that box a few times. I am not as good as some people, being able to purge everything in one day. I grew up with the mindset that you should keep things that could prove useful later. And really, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, unless you end up with more "what if" objects than ones you actually do use and then feel a little overwhelmed by the " useless stuff" that you have held onto for such a long time.
My goal this week is to empty as many closets and cupboards as I can, keep what I always use, give away the unused items that I don't want anymore, sell the valuable ones on ebay, and put the rest into the "I Don't Know Box".
Hopefully my "undecided" boxes won't be too full. Minimalism isn't a religion with strict rules, and I actually find the minimalist movement perhaps a little pretentious in some aspects. I feel that it is sometimes presented in a way that would make those who hold onto objects feel in some ways inferior to those people that are able to live with 100 items or less. I like the thought of the clean white house, with simple lines and open space. Perhaps one day my home might be like that, but most likely it will not. It's a process, if I can clean one cupboard, it's always a positive step in the right direction. Be proud of your progress no matter what it is, as long as you are moving forward, you are on the right path.
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