Thoughts on Minimalism

I’ve been asked many times if I’m a minimalist. I think when your specialty is decluttering and you’re in this space long enough, most people assume that you must be a minimalist.

However, I have to share with you that I am not a minimalist. I probably have a lot more stuff in my home than someone who is considered a minimalist. Do I have less stuff in my home than the average American? For sure, but definitely more than a minimalist.

Generally speaking, I don’t like to conform to labels. I feel like labels box you in. There’s not really room for interpretation. You end up with an “all or nothing” mentality. 

Sometimes people even end up doing things they don’t agree with or that don’t align with their values simply because they’re following the rules of whatever label they’re trying to fit into.

That’s not what I’m about. And if I had to guess, I don’t think that’s what you’re about, either.

For the record, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with being a minimalist, I’m just saying I don’t think I fall into that category.

Personally, I like to take a hybrid approach to most things in life. I glean bits and pieces from different influences and beliefs, and then use that to form my own systems.

So I’ve borrowed a few ideas from minimalism and applied the ones that fit my lifestyle and tossed aside the ones that don’t. That’s the beauty of life. You are free to make your own decisions about how you’re going to live.

My home is very much lived in. It is full of life and stuff. (Useful stuff that we need and use, but still stuff.) We try to keep it to mostly just the necessities. But we also have two kids. (And have you seen how much stuff kids have? Spoiler alert: it’s a lot!)

That said, I have carefully curated the things that we keep in our home to ensure we’re not overrun by clutter. We live in a small home with not much storage space, so it can become crowded very quickly if we’re not careful.

Here is what I do to keep the stuff in our home to a minimum so we can enjoy the space we have without being overrun by clutter:

• Keep only what we need and use on a regular basis.
• Declutter things as they’re outgrown or no longer used.
• Say “no” to stuff coming into the house that we don’t really need or wouldn’t use.
• Only buy things we truly need.

Do you see a common theme here? Things we need and use. That’s it.

I think it’s easy to scroll through social media or magazines and see these beautiful houses that look pristine. But honestly, it makes you wonder if anyone actually lives there.

The next time you see something like that, I want you to stop. Take a step back and remember: That’s not real life! Real life is messy and dirty. And that’s where the true beauty lies.

Living with less stuff doesn’t mean there will never be messes. It means that those messes will be smaller and take less time to clean up. There will be fewer messes and less piles of clutter taking up space in your home.

You will feel more at peace and be able to spend your time doing things you enjoy, instead of constantly cleaning up messes and dealing with clutter.

And that, my friend, is the beauty of simplicity. If you feel that you would benefit from simplifying your home and life, grab your free starter guide here.