Since adopting a more minimalist lifestyle a little over a year ago, I’ve found that the saying “less is more” couldn’t be more true. I never really considered myself to be messy or a hoarder as I always liked to keep my stuff organized, but even with all my stuff being organized, I still just had too much.
If you’re someone who enjoys organizing but is still stressed out by having too much stuff, this can be a problem. It’s easy to just shove things into a drawer or box, knowing that everything is placed somewhere, but what I’ve learned is that it’s better to eliminate that clutter (or even the boxes themselves) to help reduce that feeling of stress. Now If you’re someone who likes to collect certain items or knick-knacks, then that’s totally fine.
Collecting items comes with a price, and that price is usually money we’ve either earned or saved over time. Now I’m not saying that you’re not allowed to have collections of certain items, but what I would say is consider whether or not they’re of actual value to you. I myself used to collect handbags, Bath & Body Works products and DVDs, but nowadays, I find it’s best to either place a limit so I can get full use out of what’s already available, or to just downsize my collection to what I absolutely love and use most.
The next clutter enabler that I want to talk about is unused furniture. If you have a dresser, chair, bookshelf or end table laying around that’s filled with stuff you’re not using (or things that don’t add value to your life), then perhaps you should consider donating it. One thing to consider is that the more open surfaces you have in a home, the more likely you are to start piling stuff onto them. One alternative that you could implement for reducing visual clutter is to do what’s called the “one touch system”. This simply means that once you’ve touched something once, it needs to be dealt with in that moment. It can also mean that instead of keeping your coat and other belongings in the front hallway or family room upon entering your home, you put them away in their proper spot.
I feel like it’s no secret that most people either have a closet, kitchen drawer or even a garage that continually gets cluttered, leaving it to be under-utilized for its original purpose (whatever that may be). Our homes aren’t going to be perfect all the time, but I feel like the concept of having a junk drawer or closet is something we should try harder to maintain. One of the biggest ways you can change this is to simply be more mindful of what you bring into your home when you go out to buy things. It also helps to do regular sweeps to see what’s not being used, and then find new homes for the things that are being used.
If you’ve noticed how most people these days don’t use their garage for parking their cars, it kind of makes you wonder why that is sometimes. I personally think that the less cars we see on the side of the road, the better we’ll feel when we try to park our own cars on the driveway or in the garage like a normal person, haha! :P
Now I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to park your car on the side of the road, but if your reason for doing so is because you don’t have enough space inside your garage, then perhaps it’s time to declutter it.
I hope this post provided some motivation for you, or that my insights were helpful in some way. And even though it’s been a while, I do still enjoy making these minimalism posts as they can help give me that boost to declutter whatever is not needed or isn’t essential to my life. Have a great day and stay safe!
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