Minimizing
This past month my husband and I did one of our approximately four times per year house declutter and minimize. We’ve tried to create a sense of minimalism in our lives over the years, being cautious of not holding onto unneeded items or creating clutter in our home. Minimalism, to me, is not owning only a certain amount of things but more about being deliberate in what you own. Even as I write this, I err toward viewing what we do as deliberately owning.
Over the years, we’ve watched different shows or read books promoting the minimizing of items in your life, and each time we become reminded of the satisfaction we gain every time we declutter. So we choose a day, open our drawers and closets, and begin to sort through it all. Some items take a couple of times of revisiting and debating before they head out the door, while others are obvious choices to toss. When we do declutter and get rid of items, we try to be as least wasteful as possible. I look to either donate or sell as much as possible, only throwing things out if they are no longer useable or in good enough wearing condition.
We each have our weak spots. My most difficult areas have consistently been books and greetings cards. Since my view on minimalism is not necessarily to only own scarce things in my life, I give myself some wiggle room in these categories, but I have been trying to get creative about filtering here better.
Greeting Cards. I’ve realized that the card itself that I received from a loved one is not what is important to me; it is the memory from the occasion or the note and name inside. I’ve been considering trying to scan those messages as a keepsake instead but haven’t yet bit the bullet.
Books. I have a couple of main rules for books. First, if I have read it and know it’s not something I will re-read (typically a thriller with a reveal or if I didn’t like it enough), it goes. Second, if I have not read it but have given it at least two chances, it needs to find a new home. My struggle with giving up books is twofold. I hold a lot of sentimentality for books, I feel a tug at my heart when I give them up, but also, books are expensive! When I get ready to give books away, I feel some disappointment in the “lost expense” of the one-time use. I have recently discovered that a local bookstore will accept second-hand books, offering store credit for the trade-ins, and I am expecting this will be a great middle-ground for me.
Each time we declutter, I feel a deep sense of satisfaction, having lessened our ownership of items that no longer serve us. It also creates an opportunity for re-organizing and maintaining a home in which everything has its place. Having a space that feels clean and organized and holds only the things I sense I genuinely need is calming and pleasing to me, so the routine of minimizing is something I hope to continue.
Below are some of the shows, books and podcasts I’ve enjoyed. I don’t think that I have felt any of them precisely capture what minimalism looks like for me, but I’ve pulled elements from each.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (Netflix)
The Minimalists Podcast with Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo (Netflix)
March 20, 2021