Hellobee

This is my entire makeup collection.

Minimalism comes naturally to some people, but it does NOT come naturally to me.  I needed to first learn the philosophy behind it, and then I needed step by step instructions.  It ended up being totally doable, and strangely addicting.  A real life changer, and just in time.  We were actually contacting our realtor about upgrading into a larger home because we felt so cramped.  Then I read The Joy of Less, and realized that our “small” home more than suited our needs.

Although I think this process will be different for everyone based on their stamina, home size, and amount of clutter, here’s how I tackled my home in just one week.

1. Bite size projects:  I only took on one or two rooms per day.  If I especially dreaded a project (like the fridge or closet) I dedicated a whole day just to that project.  I get worn out and even nauseous when I clean, so it really helped to spread out the work over a week.  I clean my house the exact same way – one task (like vacuuming or bathrooms) per day to make it manageable.

2. Time limit:  I only worked during Sisi’s nap time, which lasts about 2-3 hours.  It forced me to work quickly and vigorously.

3. Prepare mentally: I turned up the music, had some iced tea ready for breaks, and grabbed large hefty bags and boxes to cart things away.

4. Pile it up: I put everything in the center of the room.  I mean everything (except large furniture that you can’t move yourself.)  Emptied out every single drawer, cupboard, ottoman, etc. Took down all the wall art (if feasible). I know this sounds crazy.  You’ll think I’m bonkers as you stare at your huge, towering mush pot of possessions.  But here’s why you have to dump it all into a pile: sometimes clutter becomes invisible when it’s been there so long.  You really can’t open up your desk drawer, pluck out a few things to toss, and consider it true decluttering. You need to remove it all from its habitat and look at it in a new light.  You need to ask each item why it’s worthy of shacking up with you.

5. Categorize:  Then I categorized every single item into one of three categories.

• Useful stuff: practical items that help us survive, or make our lives easier. Not items that are “potentially useful,” but items that we actually use.  A perfectly good ski jacket we never use is not useful to us, and therefore should be sold or donated to someone who will use it.  Remember, your empty space is valuable, too.  Don’t let something take up prime real estate in your home just because maybe someday it might be useful. Even if it doesn’t take up much physical space, like a pack of 500 AAA batteries for instance, on principle you should only hold onto what you can possibly use. Think outside the box in regards to furniture – just because everyone has end tables and china cabinets, maybe after getting rid of a bunch of stuff, you won’t need those items anymore.  For example, I purged 95% of my books in lieu of an e-reader and realized I just don’t need a bookshelf anymore.
• Beautiful stuff: stuff we like to look at.  It might not have a practical purpose, but it brings us joy and satisfaction.  These items have to be displayed to be appreciated, so collections and art stuffed in the attic or garage do not count.  It’s an insult to those items if they are just gathering dust. We have limited space to truly display our beautiful stuff, so choose your absolute favorites and purge the rest.
• Emotional stuff: stuff that isn’t practical or necessarily beautiful, but has real sentimental value.  Heirloooms, gifts, collectibles, souveniers.  They should bring you joy and be given a place of honor in the home rather than stuffed into closets or boxes.  Since there is limited space to display these items, you should be choosy and only save what is most meaningful. Take pictures of the rest, or give it to another loved one who might appreciate it (but not if that relative is a hoarder!).  Remember, you don’t have to have tangible evidence that a special event happened.  Your memories are even more valuable!

6. Discard: If something fits into one of the above categories, then yay!  Give it a designated place in your home, and make sure it is always in its right place.  If it doesn’t fit into one of the above categories, you need to figure out what to do with it.

• Donate:  If it’s in good condition (not stained, worn out, or missing parts) and something that charities will accept (not your old crusty underwear), donate it to your favorite charity.  We had a local women’s charity pick up all our stuff in one fell swoop.
• Sell:  Ebay, garage sale, craigslist, etc. Only if you’re into that kind of thing, since selling is a lot of work.  We had a yard sale, and only made $200 for an entire day’s work.  Plus, our $200 camera was stolen right out of our garage during the sale, so we really made nothing.  I saw the whole ordeal as due punishment for owning so much stuff that I didn’t really need.  I vowed to never own enough stuff to warrant a garage sale again. But if you’re a savvy seller, and have items that are truly valuable, why not recoup some of your investment?
• Recycle/trash:  If you can’t donate it or sell it, then trash it.  This also goes for the boxes and manuals that come with stuff (most manuals can be found online!), duplicate items, broken, worn out stuff, or stuff that no one in their right mind would buy (or take for free!). I was helping my friend purge her closet, and she was shocked when I told her that none of the items could be donated because they were worn out and faded beyond belief.  She could hardly believe the items she’d been treasuring for years were not even worthy of goodwill.  She asked if she could at least make rags out of the items, and I told her no, because she certainly didn’t need more rag clutter. Into the trash they went. I’m so mean.

Here are some snapshots of our newly decluttered home…

Your decor doesn’t have to be sparse to be minimal.  I like color and mismatched patterns.  Minimalism doesn’t have to mean sterile and white.

Plain white mantel with just a few Fall succulents.  There used to be a whole mess of figurines and vases on my mantel.

My apothecary cabinet is fairly empty now, but I decided to keep it because it fits into my “beautiful” category, even if it’s not necessarily useful.  See that basket on the floor?  That’s my dogs’ toys.  We used to have mountains of them.

Our end tables (and most tables in our house) have nothing on them, but they do have secret storage.

I keep my etsy shipping supplies in this one.

 We could stand to pare down even more, but here are Sisi’s books.  We supplement weekly with trips to the library.

Top left: doll house, basket of assorted toys; Top right:  Toys and puzzles with small parts that I have to get down for her (basically because small parts make me insane); Bottom:  Instruments, blocks, and vehicles.

These are the only toys we decided to keep (besides her outdoor toys like a tricycle, fake mower, and wagon). We keep them in Sisi’s room so the rest of our house isn’t baby-land. Ironically, with less toys, Sisi is much more likely to play independently for long stretches of time, probably because she has to be creative with what little she has.

Sisi’s art supplies.  A very manageable collection.