Where Does the Road to Minimalism Begin? At the Why.
The road begins at the “Why?”. Unless we are certain of our why, we won’t be committed to the direction we take. Why do we even consider the question of minimalism? What brought you to the place where minimalism even piqued your interest? If we truly know our why before we begin this journey, my experience is that this road will have less bumps and many exciting, around the bend type of discoveries.
Determine your “Why?”.
For us, it didn’t really begin with minimalism. It began with the act of de-cluttering. We were at that age where our home was a warehouse full of stuff, our stuff, our kids stuff, but the kids were gone and we felt cramped, we wanted more space. Our home was clean and presentable, but we still felt confined.
Common thought would tell us that there are only two ways of adding more space a home; move to something bigger or build an addition. However there is a third. A cheaper, more realistic, but rarely considered option is this; reduce the number of things in your current home. If more people executed this option, I would bet that home sales would decrease, as would short sales and foreclosures.
Personally, we were pleasantly surprised that by removing unnecessary things, items, furniture, our space began to increase from the inside out. Things went out and with strong intention, we did not replace them.
I take pleasure in looking at furniture magazines. It is like looking at art to me. You’ll see a common theme in the home decor world, it’s clutter free. You don’t see advertisements for couches, bedroom sets or kitchen cabinets that are full of clutter. It is simply unappealing. Picture your home that way. Create a home that is a haven, not a stress.
As our de-cluttering progressed, our why began to evolve and reveal itself in different ways. We began to review our possessions, furnishings and decorations, and we removed what did not have meaning or value. Amazingly, our own imprint began to make itself known. Our home became “our” home. Not a replica of the latest furniture store catalog , but an extension who we were, as a couple and as individuals. We displayed items that brought joy to our heart, not those we had placed to impress our guests and friends.
The freedom became our “Why?”. It was intoxicating, we wanted more, more of less and the sense of peace that came with it. We used Marie Kondo’s excellent book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” as our guide.and tried to be as sensitive to each other as possible.
It’s not always easy. Different things have different value to different people. But I did begin to ask myself, why do I have my high school yearbooks? I looked at them for the first time in 25 years, tore a few meaning pages and tossed them. Not once have I regretted it. But I understand it is my job to manage my process and to impose my view of what is important to Elly is not prudent. I will say again and again, this is a process. Decluttering is not easy. So don’t expect an overnight solution. It needs to be learned, practiced and perfected over time. It is not as simple as following a declutter to do list. Decluttering has emotional, physical and psychological elements that need attention. But it can be done and the results are extremely gratifying.
Remember; decluttering is an activity, minimalism is a lifestyle.
Increase the peace.
Jim
