I Was a Minimalist and Didn’t Know It.

I Was a Minimalist and Didn’t Know It

I have always enjoying living in a tidy space. Now don’t get me wrong, I wont say I am a neat freak but I have always loved the refreshing satisfaction of taking a space, big or small, from chaotic to organized by taking excess out and putting them in an orderly functional way. When I was growing up I loved changing the set up in my bedroom and clearing out all the contents of under the bed. I grew giddy when my teacher would announce one of the tasks of the day was to re configure and clear out desks. Since Mister and I have been married we have moved 7 times, never living in a home more than 3 years. We have stayed on a slight military schedule even though we haven’t been with the military for 6 of those moves. Each time I had moments of overwhelm when clearing out closets and drawers to prepare for the move.  I have always tried to purge and get rid of things in order to not have to move them. As we prepare for this next and hopefully last move for many years, I have many ideas circling in my head of how to organize and what is in storage that we can part with to not have to bring into the house.

Our next house will be set up in a way we feel will work functionally for our family but will be smaller and will lack the storage space in a garage that we have had in the last two homes we have owned. I have recently started researching and watching videos about Minimalism. I have learned so much! One thing is that I have been a minimalist for many years but didn’t know there was a name for it. The other thing is that minimalism can mean many different things to many different people. The reason I try to practice minimalism include a sense of clarity when I enter a space to live and work. I try to bless other people with things I don’t or no longer use. I also try to earn back a portion of what I spent on an item when I have stopped using it.  Minimalism can mean bare walls and only a couple pieces of furniture or it can be a bit more than that for different people. It is a process and is something that changes and grows with people depending on their season of life and their living circumstances.

I think the important thing is to remember to make sure you recognize if a space is working or not for you. For instance, if you and/or your family have trouble keeping your kitchen island clear and you find yourself feeling frustrated or even audibly sigh, something isn’t working. You and your family either need to find a way to change the behaviors that lead to that clutter. Is there not a dedicated space for those items? Is time an issue because the chaos when everyone arrives home after school and work? Do you just get overwhelmed when you try to tackle it?  All of these things are common and understandable. We live busy lives with lots of paper and things floating around our homes. An important thing to remember is that this area of frustration (most likely) did not get to the point it’s at over night and the behavior and process it takes to get to the point of frustration will not be changed overnight either. Take it one drawer, one small pile, and/or once cabinet at a time. See if you can redirect the contents to a permanent location. Bills could be filed directly into a dedicated file cabinet or even switched to paperless billing if possible. Sunday school papers can be put into a folder to go over during school time or even perhaps thrown away. (don’t get me wrong, I love my children being in Sunday school but if you already have a Bible curriculum maybe you don’t need to worry about the follow up at home.) Getting anyone who reads mail into the habit of reading the mail and either tossing it or filing it right then instead of putting it down on the counter is one way to drastically reduce paper clutter.

If this sounds like you either you already are a minimalist or you desire to live more minimally I encourage you to check out these you tube channels that I have been inspired by. Join me in my own process as I continue to purge, declutter and organize our new home.  I’d love to hear  your own stories of what works or don’t works for you in your home!