My Slow Journey to Minimalism

While I have embraced zero waste living, my journey to minimalism has been a little bit more of a challenge.   Just like for my clothes, my greatest fear is that I won’t have enough.  I think that owning extra of things is like a security blanket for me.  Having more brings me comfort.  Also, I was taught to keep things “just in case”.  A little secret: just in case rarely comes. However, having overflowing cupboards, no space to add one thing or difficulty in taking something out because there Is so much stuff in front of it is frustrating and time consuming.  I always say more stuff equals more stress, but I still have a hard time getting rid of stuff.  My husband has no attachment to items and he is always a good arbiter of what should stay and what should go.  Because I want to simplify my life, removing the unnecessary items in my life has become an objective.  

After binge reading a number of decluttering and minimalism books that I borrowed from the library (my favourite is Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker),  I became inspired to rethink the things that I owned.   I already have quite a tidy home.   In fact, one of Joshua’s first premise is that a messy home is a sign of home with too much stuff.  I couldn’t agree more.   But Joshua’s book made me look more critically at the stuff that I own.   The questions to keep in mind are: Do I use this? Do I love this? Do I need this?

I decided to start minimizing in the bedroom.  It wasn’t that cluttered but I wanted to try having less in the room to see how it felt.

Before

After

The result?  Less stuff to dust and more breathing room.  I was surprised at the amount of stuff I removed from this one area:

Extra stuff from my bedroom dresser

Like most people, I still have too many books.   I went through the house and picked out several books that I already read and had no intention of rereading.  I also finally got rid of my university textbooks.  Can you actually believe that I told my husband that I was planning on rereading my heat transfer textbook when I retired?  He looked at me and sighed, “really?”.  The book got recycled.

In the kitchen, I have multiples of things.  Joshua suggests have you have only one of each item i.e. one mixing spoon, one spatula and so on.  I went through my kitchen with renewed energy and cleared out several extra glasses, dishes and plates.  I realize that I rarely entertain and if I do, I have no more than 2 couples over at a time. Of course, that was in pre-COVID times.  I put these away for my daughter.  I also have a blender, food processor and mini food processor.   Since I rarely used it, I decided to get rid of my big food processor and keep only the mini-food processor.  I sold it to a young vegan who wanted to make soup.  Unfortunately, three weeks after getting rid of my food processor, I wanted to make falafel.  It really didn’t work with the mini food processor.   I went back to Varage Sale to buy another food processor.  It was older and had fewer parts than my original one but it worked.  It also showed me that even if I declutter something and realize that I need it later, I can still find what I need rather easily.  Hence, the need to keep things for “just in case” is not necessary

For my nemesis, clothing, my new strategy has been to put things in “quarantine “ first. In the past, I have decluttered and then regretted some of my decisions. By putting items aside and revisiting them in 6 months, I can more safely discard or give away items.  Since I intend to retire in a few years, I need to slowly get rid of my many suits, especially since my job no longer requires them.   After this most recent closet declutter, I was able to give away some clothing to a young woman who was just starting in her career.  It felt good to give it to someone who needed it and I am really enjoying having a little extra space in my closet and cupboards. 

Decluttering my clothes feels great…even if it is a little bit at a time.

My 5 lessons learned on minimizing:

1. Take it slow.  We didn’t accumulate everything at one time and decluttering needs to be done slowly and probably more than once.  I think the best way to start is to start small, with an area that bugs you.  I almost always start with my junk drawer in the kitchen.  It has certainly gotten more organized but it definitely tends to disorder quickly.  I can usually fix it up in less than 15 minutes and it feels good to go back into the drawer and find things easily.
2. Minimizing is a process.  This is my third pass at decluttering and each time I revisit different rooms of my house, I see more things that I can get rid of.  At first, it is easy to get rid of things.  Over time, you can challenge yourself more and more and ask yourself the same questions.  Do I use this? Do I love this? Do I need this?  If there is any hesitation, it probably means that item is not essential to your life.
3. Be honest with yourself.  Will you really wear that evening top that is sparkly but scratchy?  If it isn’t comfortable, your probability of wearing it is low.  Will you use those flower teacups that were your grandmother’s?  I asked myself this question and just kept 4 of my favourite ones.  My daughter and I use them for our Sunday morning coffee and croissants.
4. Focus on the benefits of having less stuff.  Yes, I am giving up my just in case items but it is freeing to have space in my cupboards and closets.  Decluttering usually leads to more time because we have less stuff to maintain and clean.  And more time means that we can spend our lives doing what is most meaningful to us.  I think it’s a pretty good tradeoff.  Plus less stuff means less stress.
5. Buy less.  Consumerism is what led to too much stuff in our lives and we have to be vigilant in terms of  limiting the new items that we bring back into homes.  Not buying helps ensure that my decluttering efforts are not wasted.  With Black Friday on the horizon, we all have to resist the impulse to buy things that we do not need.

Challenge for the Week:  

Depending upon your level of ambition, declutter one drawer or closet or room in your house.  I hope that you will see that having less leads to less stress and a happier, calmer atmosphere.  And buying less is good for your wallet!