Minimalism
I have always thought that it would be amazing to be organized. I have NEVER been an organized person, and probably never really will be....but recently, it occurred to me that my problem is not with needing to be more organized. It is with needing to own less STUFF.
Why it took me this long to figure something so simple out, I'll probably never know. I've tried to minimize before, but never to a point where it made much of a difference (and I just kept buying more containers to organize the stuff I own!) and I've always tried to do it all at once, and then I get burnt out before ever finishing.
This time, I am going to do it slow and simple, and no more containers! I'm getting rid of stuff that I don't need, not storing it for some possible future use.
For the last few months, I've been taking 5-6 black hefty sacks full of STUFF (that's too good to throw out) to the Salvation Army or someplace like that, every week. Amazing that I have that much stuff to get rid of.
I've made a lot of progress but sometimes the idea of really getting rid of so much stuff seems impossible. I don't know how we ever accumulated as much stuff as we have, but we have way too much...more than we ever really NEED.
Extra stuff in the house is a burden. It gives you one more thing to manage and clean up. Every time I remove one more bag from the house, I feel like a burden is lifted from my shoulders. It's just one more bag of stuff I won't have to look after and pick up!
The biggest problem area in our house is laundry. I doubt I'll ever have my laundry minimized to the point where I'd like it to be, but I am working through it little by little.
I am reading through websites like "Becoming minimalist" and other minimalist blogs...even though I don't necessarly believe in everything they do (lots of earth worship talk in most of them), I totally agree that we have too many things and that life would be so much simpler with LESS.
I've been going through everything in our house, asking myself WHY am I keeping this. How much do I really need it? How often do I use it? Is it just taking up space that I could be using for something more important? Do I LOVE this item? And is this item a blessing or a burden?
It's surprising how much you can get rid of by asking these questions to yourself. And using the black bags is much better than the white, because it's easier not to change your mind later, if you decide you do want the items again, since you can't see inside the bags.
Is anyone else trying to minimize their house, or has been successful trying to do so, especially with young children in the house. It's not easy but I think in the long run it will be so worth it, if I just keep going at it, slowly and steadily.
Why it took me this long to figure something so simple out, I'll probably never know. I've tried to minimize before, but never to a point where it made much of a difference (and I just kept buying more containers to organize the stuff I own!) and I've always tried to do it all at once, and then I get burnt out before ever finishing.
This time, I am going to do it slow and simple, and no more containers! I'm getting rid of stuff that I don't need, not storing it for some possible future use.
For the last few months, I've been taking 5-6 black hefty sacks full of STUFF (that's too good to throw out) to the Salvation Army or someplace like that, every week. Amazing that I have that much stuff to get rid of.
I've made a lot of progress but sometimes the idea of really getting rid of so much stuff seems impossible. I don't know how we ever accumulated as much stuff as we have, but we have way too much...more than we ever really NEED.
Extra stuff in the house is a burden. It gives you one more thing to manage and clean up. Every time I remove one more bag from the house, I feel like a burden is lifted from my shoulders. It's just one more bag of stuff I won't have to look after and pick up!
The biggest problem area in our house is laundry. I doubt I'll ever have my laundry minimized to the point where I'd like it to be, but I am working through it little by little.
I am reading through websites like "Becoming minimalist" and other minimalist blogs...even though I don't necessarly believe in everything they do (lots of earth worship talk in most of them), I totally agree that we have too many things and that life would be so much simpler with LESS.
I've been going through everything in our house, asking myself WHY am I keeping this. How much do I really need it? How often do I use it? Is it just taking up space that I could be using for something more important? Do I LOVE this item? And is this item a blessing or a burden?
It's surprising how much you can get rid of by asking these questions to yourself. And using the black bags is much better than the white, because it's easier not to change your mind later, if you decide you do want the items again, since you can't see inside the bags.
Is anyone else trying to minimize their house, or has been successful trying to do so, especially with young children in the house. It's not easy but I think in the long run it will be so worth it, if I just keep going at it, slowly and steadily.
Wow! Congrats! I've been minimalizing lately as well. It is so refreshing and allows me to keep my room clean and organized easily. With kids it is especially relieving to get rid of things because everything just piles up so quickly! My brother has actually been working on a minimalist e-book for christians lately, because there are a lot of good reasons to become one that tie into christianity.
Good Luck in your endeavor!
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Bethany I had definitely been guilty of it. The best thing I ever did was MOVE. I moved out of the big house I had and downsized. I had gotten so many toys over the years for the kids and they were more of a headache than they were worth. I bagged and bagged it all up. Some were thrown out, some were donated. I threw away clothes we no longer wore or donated those. Sometimes frankly it was just easier to throw it out than to wait and donate because I'd change my mind. I have gotten so much better over the years. Even now when I catch myself constantly just rearranging the clutter I stop myself and say that's it! It's gone. I actually got my laundry under control too. After I got rid of all the unnecessary clothes and started getting my girls to contribute it made all the difference in the world. I don't feel cluttered anymore but definitely not perfect. Still my house looks clean, my laundry is done and I feel much happier.
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I also in a fase of cleaning up and get
organized. Our house is always clean but most days a mess with toys , papers
ect.
But I have no intention in becoming a minimalist. I love things,with memories connected to them. Things with a history. Ikea is fine for some needs, but I rather have an old chair from my greatgrandfather, than a new from Ikea
To get organized I use 4 containers.
1. save
2. get rid of
3. Donate
4. Unsure ( in this container i put all the stuff that I can't put in any of the above. Then I write the date on it and store it for one year. The things I take from this box I'll keep. But the things I havent used for a year I don't need
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Good for you Bethany!
I am always getting rid of stuff, but even with somewhat minimal, I still have too much. I need to just do more and be done with it.
You are going to feel so much better once it's all gone!
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I'm in the "thinking of" stage! I really want to do this, but taking care of 4 kids and trying to fit in exercise, etc keeps me busy and I can't seem to make any headway. :/ I'll be checking in here!!!!! More tips please!!
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Good for you, Bethany!! You have inspired me to get going! When all of the cherubs start school it is easier for me to toss "stuff." Like the McD toys and broken pencils and shredded paper they just HAVE to keep.
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I accidentally deleted Andrea's comment, and possibly someone else's while I was deleting spam...I'm sorry!
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Hi Bethany
I read somewhere that we should not have anything in our homes that we do not either know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. I like that! My husband loves to streamline and get rid of clutter, so I've had to try a bit harder in that area! Here in South Africa I think it's easier to avoid having lots of stuff because stuff is just more expensive here - sometimes I think it would be nice to live in the USA where things are so cheap, but actually it's better when stuff like toys, appliances, clothes etc are a bit more expensive.
And don't you also find you have to clean out when the kids are not around - otherwise they won't let you throw anything away!
Have fun with the rest of the clean out!
Love Kate
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