The case for Minimalism
Ok, ok
DEEP BREATHS
Stay with me… because sadly people tend to have a visceral reaction when they hear the word “minimalism”. I hesitate to say I am an aspiring minimalist because I don’t want clients to be afraid I’ll barrel into their homes and try to take all their stuff away. I promise I will not!
Please know that minimalism doesn’t have to mean empty rooms and an all-white wall asylum. I’m not speaking of minimalism as a design esthetic, but as a mindset. You can own all the furniture and paint your walls hot pink and still be a minimalist. Minimalism is about genuinely having only what you need and use or what legitimately brings you joy. Getting rid of the excess can leave you with time, space, and sometimes more money to experience the freedom of doing what you want in life instead of always cleaning.
My personal motivation for minimalism is simply that I can’t stand living in chaos. It genuinely causes me mental sensory overload when there is junk on every surface. I don’t have the same reaction in someone else’s house - only my own. Because in my house I’m the one responsible for dealing with it all. Every time I declutter something and every drop off at the donation site has left me feeling lighter and brought me more joy than buying something ever did.
I refer to myself as “aspiring” because I live with lots of other people (plus dogs) and as much I like to boss people around, I have to respect that it is their house, too. SOME of the people in my house like stuff A LOT and they don’t mind seeing it out on counters and tables and all the surfaces. Dealing with stuff is a delicate dance in relationships that doesn’t get enough discussion.
We have had our kids (and now our granddaughter) spaced well apart-the gap from our oldest son to our youngest son is 27.5 years- and have gone through the baby phase, toddler phase, and every stage of gender and clothing phase MULTIPLE times. That means we bought and decluttered cribs, car seats, baby swings, bouncers, playpens, strollers, toys, toys, toys, and clothes upon clothes upon clothes, ALL THE STUFF- over and over and over.
Are you starting to see why I became the wannabe minimalist decluttering lady? :)
My best case for minimalism is this: Envision how peaceful you feel when you check into a hotel/resort, etc. on vacation. Part of the feeling instantly relaxed is because, duh - you’re on vacation. Have you ever considered that part of the peace is the relative emptiness of the space? You haven’t unpacked yet and theoretically your luggage contains only what you NEED for your time there. You have a little toothpaste and a little shampoo and the clothes you think you’ll wear. You didn’t pack the jeans that haven’t fit you in 5 years and make you feel depressed every time you look at them or any of the other clothes you haven’t worn in forever. If you are at a rental property with a kitchen, it likely only contains the set up you need to get by for vacation cooking. There aren’t 20 sets of unused dishes, 47 coffee mugs and water bottles and a bazillion gadgets. It’s MINIMAL. And if the property is missing something, you’ll probably figure out how to get by without it. You’ll survive and still have a great vacation WITHOUT ALL THE THINGS. I am not knocking the idea that sometimes a special item can provide a convenience that makes it worth it, but we have become so attached to our stuff that we sometimes convince ourselves we couldn’t possibly function without it.
You are smart and capable and there are very few things in life you can’t live without.
In my house I strive for some of the comforts and convenience of “HOME” with a balanced effort toward the peace of the hotel room. Who doesn’t want to live their whole life on vacation?
