7 Tips to Get With a New Minimalist Mentality

Years ago, when my kids were small and our home was awash in toys, laundry and newspapers — to mention the top 3 classes of things I discovered overwhelming — from time to time, when I was feeling exhausted and entirely beleaguered, I’d envision our house burning down. I truly wanted to lose only the laundry room, the playroom, a closet or two and several cabinets, but I understood with fire you can’t be so choosy, and that I discovered the idea of a wiped slate intoxicating.

Obviously I was imagining the best house fire, where all the mess was (poof!) Gone and the insurance provider immediately handed us a big, fat check to begin over soberly and responsibly, without Legos and stuffed animals.

This daydreaming came to an abrupt stop after we remodeled our kitchen. We shot it down to the studs and put in new cabinets, counters, appliances and flooring. Next, the first time that I imagined my laundry area swallowed by flames, I assessed myself. The laundry was just down the hallway from my fresh and beautiful kitchen, which I did not wish to lose; I would have to have arranged the old-fashioned manner.

Tamar Schechner/Nest Pretty Things Inc

The epiphany

That’s what I’d been trying to do for years. I’d spent so much energy and time into setting my house in order, however that I could only ever get into a certain point before it dropped back into mayhem. But then the response came in a holiday that prompted an epiphany, which changed everything.

Our family had rented a small cottage on Lake Michigan. I kept the place as neat as the snare trap, and it was so simple. Wondering why I realized our life at the cottage was limited to meals, books and clothes. And that was that. I determined this was the way I wanted to live all the time. Regardless of what, I was going to get us down to meals, books and clothes. I was finally going to live William Morris’ maxim, “Have nothing in your house you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

With the help of an organized friend, I started a spree of decluttering and reorganizing, the likes of that our home had never seen. Over the course of several weeks, I went room by room, sorting, throwing away and donating before I’d gone through nearly everything.

And then, in one of life’s little ironies, in the wee hours of June 27, 2010, an arsonist randomly put our house on fire. My husband and I and our three kids were all at home in bed and escaped with the clothes on our backs. I did catch my notebook, because it was right at hand. I didn’t even stop to wear shoes or fetch my handbag, and that I was so thankful to have saved our digital pictures and all my writings.

sarah & bendrix

Our home has been about 2,500 square feet and filled with cherished things, but what I have wept over (my children’s art and writing), what I have longed for (images and videos), exactly what my mind has returned to again and again (more than 30 years of papers and letters) could fit into a little closet with room to spare.

It’s a peculiar experience to have sorted through all my possessions, to have gotten down to exactly what I believed I couldn’t live without, only to get rid of everything and find I managed to live without it all.

I would not wish a house fire on a rat and at the conclusion of the day, it has been strangely freeing. It’s so clear to me that for many, many years, I exchanged peace of mind to items I didn’t truly want and absolutely didn’t need.

How can you define how much is too much?

Bottom line: It’s subjective. If you’ve read the post Clutter vs. Keepers, by Laura Gaskill, or Beautiful Clutter? , by Samantha Schoech, you understand that tastes and comfort needs vary. It actually comes down to what’s too much for you.

Some questions to ask:
Can you really feel overwhelmed?Is organizing and decorate your home a frequent topic, a constant worry?Are you always cleaning, but your home isn’t actually tidy?If you answered yes to any of those aforementioned, you can almost certainly benefit from eliminating some things. Just reading that may bring some anxiety, but if you feel overwhelmed, it is a indication that engaging and starting to consider what you might get rid of would be worth it. And there is going to be stress either manner; you is short term however, another could last forever.

Andrea Schumacher Interiors

7 strategies for going minimalist:

1. Begin with the end in mind. Think about how you would like your home to be. Read through the ideabooks you’ve already created and look for topics. Just after you are clear what you are shooting for in case you start to purge.

2. Prepare yourself to feel worse before you feel better. I am sorry, but it is correct, as my afterward 3-year-old explained, when she told me she always loved me but didn’t always enjoy me. When you get rid of things, you’ll focus on what you paid or that you really, really adore an product. You might feel shame about the money you’ve wasted, but holding onto things you do not want or desire is not the answer.

3. Forgive yourself. Once the feelings of pity surface, have a little time to say, “I forgive myself” and then keep going. These feelings will dissipate as you build momentum.

4. Get Assist. Have you got a friend who likes to arrange? Organize a barter. My friend Jane owns a bed-and-breakfast, and that I exchanged helping her there in exchange for her assistance with my purge. My husband, Paul, took over on hauling things away.

5. Give or throw items away. One stall of my own garage was for Goodwill, and another was trash. I have sold a good deal on Craigslist, but when I was doing my hardcore decluttering, I wanted to get rid of things as promptly as possible. In a way it was religious: I have gotten so many bargains over time on Craigslist and at thrift stores, it was a means to resow something I’d reaped.

6. Break it down. Strategy to give yourself weeks, months to experience your home. I recommend going room by room; this keeps the mess contained along with the project more manageable. Have a day or two to perform a room and then take off some time. Once you declutter a space, you can see if you are in a position to keep it should you need to get rid of more.

7. Ask yourself what you would catch in a fire. In an actual fire, you ought to think of saving only people and creatures, but asking this yourself in the abstract can be a helpful exercise in pointing you into what actually matters. Bonus tip: Do not talk glibly about this to folks who’ve actually endured a fire, or you might be throttled.

The 3 stages of decluttering, simplified:
Sort things into “keep” “provide” and “trash” piles.Put away what you keep.Haul the rest away.Like lots of things in life, “easy” does not necessarily mean “simple,” but breaking the process down into these classes can help you keep focused.

Several weeks after we moved to our new house, the fire alarms went off , again in the wee hours. My notebook was next to my bed, but that I walked past it to gather my kids along with the dog and head directly to your door while Paul investigated. He immediately realized it was a false alarm. Only after did I notice I went directly into evacuation mode and didn’t think of a thing.

Next: 4 Obstacles to Decluttering and How to Beat Them

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