Minimalism: Having Less To Enjoy More

It doesn’t seem to matter how many car loads or how often I declutter to donate or sell, it ALWAYS seems to come back in. Not the exact same stuff, obviously, but stuff always comes back in. I’m sure this would be bad enough if it were just me (hello craft supplies!) but with two kids… I swear their toys are reproducing during the night.

Minimalism seems like an ideal to me. Some days, many days, I would love to just sell everything and live in one of those retro buses or campers. How fun would that be?! But then the reality is… I have kids, I’m a little sentimental, and I’m a crafter.

I’ve been reading things on a minimalist lifetstyle and capsule wardrobes for some time now. In writing and in beautiful photos, it appears absolutely delightful. My closet and shoe collection is probably much more modest than most and I try not to have things I don’t really use or need, but, like I said, stuff always comes back in. It doesn’t stop.

So last night I watched a documentary on Netflix. You may have heard of it — Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things. It’s so good! The guys in the documentary are so inspiring and charismatic about this lifestyle that I had difficulty sitting through the movie, because I wanted to get up right then and start purging everything.

It’s ridiculous how much stuff we can acquire. For instance, last week I started going through my kitchen. Why does a family of 3 need 25 cups and 7 lunch bags? I don’t even know where they came from! We have board games coming out our ears, yet many of them require 4 people to play and we almost never have people over long enough. And don’t get me started on art and craft supplies. Granted, I enjoy it immensely, but lack of space makes it a bit overwhelming. I’ve actually, on more than one occasion, considered turning my bedroom or the living room into my art studio. Who needs to sleep, right?

After watching the documentary last night, I knew some things had to go. The first thing I tackled were our board games. About half of them are now stowed away for our church yard sale this Fall. Next, I did another swipe of my closet. Not sure what comes next, but the toys are looking VERY tempting. My main goal here is to minimize the clutter and the stress and to fill our home with things that are useful and that bring us enjoyment.

 

“Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.” – The Minimalists

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