Minimalism

UPDATE TO POST: 1/13/18
Since I received comments on my original post about others wanting to minimize and seemingly in need of guidance and I want to know how to do it properly myself, I’ve decided to read Marie Kondo’s “the life-changing magic of tidying up”, which I’m sure many of you have heard of since it was a NY Times best seller and sold millions of copies. I’ve read the first 2 chapters and here are my highlights:

• Magic of tidying is when you experience a truly ordered home, feel your whole world brighten and never revert back to clutter.  This will give you a new start in life because once your home is in order, chances are you will focus on putting other aspects of your life in order.
• The true goal is establishing the lifestyle you want after your house is orderly. 
  • Stop, ask yourself, “What motivated me to want to tidy up?” and visualize the lifestyle you want to achieve.
  • Think in concrete terms to vividly picture what it would be like to live in clutter-free space
  • Then think WHY you want to live like that
  • Ask yourself why repeatedly 3-5 times to drill down to the true answers
  • Do NOT skip this step as it will delay your process and likely cause a rebound
• Most have never learned how to properly tidy a home.  We were usually self taught when our parents told us to clean our room, but they never actually walked and talked us through the entire process of how to do it right.
• Do NOT try to tidy up a little bit at a time. Do it all in one shot to dramatically change your mindset. If you eliminate clutter thoroughly and completely within a short amount of time, you will see instant drastic results that will empower you to keep it in order moving forward.
• The process basically is looking at one item at a time and deciding whether to keep it and where to put it.
  • Discard first – intensely and completely – so you are only surrounded by things you love. Hold the item and ask yourself, “Does this spark joy?”
  • Then organize completely, thoroughly and in one go.
• This is the one time you should aim for perfection!
• Have you ever had to cram an exam or meet a work deadline only to feel the urge to clean up your desk/room first?  This occurs because you need to put “something else” in order, but it usually isn’t actually the physical mess on your desk.  There is something else actually causing your anxiety.  If you are sitting in a clean room and not relaxed, confront your anxiety to find what psychological issues you have been avoiding.
• Storage experts are hoarders.  (OMG this is me!  I am brilliant at storing things away so my home looks uncluttered!)
  • Putting things away is only an illusion that the clutter problem is solved.
• Sort by category, not by location because you likely store similar items in multiple places in your home – for example, clothing will be in your closet, dresser, coat closet and seasonally stored items in bins in another closet.
  • Bring all your tops (shirts, sweaters, jackets, etc.) out and put it in front of you to grasp the true volume.
  • Best category sorting sequence is:  Clothes, books, papers, miscellany, mementos.  This is most efficient in level of difficulty for organizing what is left after discarding.
• 3 types of people:
  • “can’t-throw-it-away” type – this is very rare as those who can’t throw it away run out of places to put things away properly
  • “can’t-put-it-back” type
  • “first-two-combined” type  – this is me!
• 2 types of tidying
  • Special Event: putting your house in order as a once-in-a-lifetime event
  • Daily:  after you use something put it back
• Do not let your family/housemates see what you are not keeping because they may take it since they feel bad you are getting rid of a perfectly good item, but ultimately they may not even use it themselves.
  • This is not to say you shouldn’t give something away that other people actually need or would love to have.  You can give it to them if it is something they would have actually gone out to get and paid for themselves.
• When you have trouble discarding an item, ask yourself:
  • When did I get it and why?  Chances are it’s something you haven’t used, so ask yourself why you haven’t used it.
  • Once you have those answers thank the item for the joy or purpose it brought initially, then let it go.
  • To get rid of what you no longer need is not wasteful nor shameful.
  • If things had feelings and has been sitting in your closet for years untouched, it would not be happy – free them from the prison you relegated them with gratitude.

That’s all for now.  Please do let me know if you found this helpful or if you want to know more detail about any particular bullet above.  If you have been wanting to minimize and don’t know how to go about it, be sure to check back as more will come soon!

ORIGINAL POST:  1/8/18
I am not trying to be a minimalist in the sense people typically think of them, but I am trying to adopt and apply some of the concepts in hopes to achieve more freedom and happiness in my life by simplifying it.  I am definitely NOT one of those people who think owning material possessions is wrong and those who know me well, know I LOVE to shop and I love my “stuff”.  I am one of those people who would go black friday shopping year after year and reveled in the crowds, seemingly endless doorbusters and deals and general madness.

But I’ll be honest, after my brother passed away and I had to move his items out of his apartment, I truly took pause and admired his minimalist living style.  A majority of his things were really necessities and sure he had several decor and sentimental items, but it was minimal and clearly meaningful to him.  And I couldn’t help but think one day when I’m gone someone is going to have to go through all my things in my home and in that already difficult situation, I don’t want to make it even more difficult by making them go through a bunch of crap that I didn’t even use when I was alive!  As they say, when we die we don’t take any of our worldly possessions with us, so I’m reconsidering what I actually invest my money on and I’m leaning away from material things and more towards experiences (like travelling!).  I have constantly struggled with my love to shop and my conflicting urge to purge because I really can’t stand clutter.  I can tell you I am VERY good (too good for my own good!) at organizing things so it doesn’t look cluttered. You will be shocked what I can fit in a decorative chest at the foot of the bed.  For many years I moved homes every couple years and actually enjoyed the process because I knew it would force me to get rid of things that I had accumulated.

People tend to give too much meaning to things, sometimes to the detriment of our health, ourselves, and society.  Looking back I wonder how many hours, days and weeks I’ve wasted online shopping in the past trying to find a great deal on something I sort of wanted and most likely didn’t need. I could have spent that time working out, hanging out with friends and family or even volunteering for my community. I think about the things in my home and know there are many many things that I’ve moved from home to home and never really used – maybe once or twice in a few years.  What a waste of money I paid to moving companies to move it, a waste of time packing and unpacking those things, a waste of space taken in my home, and waste of time cleaning it or going through it while looking for something else.  I realize how ridiculous it all is!

Since my company shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s, I took that time to start going through everything in my home and figuring out what I really need or should keep.  Let me tell you, this process is so extremely difficult and almost painful!  I was silly thinking I could go through my whole house in a week.  It’s been over a week since New Year’s and I can’t even say I’m halfway done – and I have a small home!  I’m sure there are things I’ve gone through already that I kept and probably shouldn’t have, but I can proudly say I have chosen to get rid of several things.

The questions I asked myself for almost every item I’ve gone through, which you may be familiar with were:  1) Do I use it regularly?  and 2) Do I love it and or does it bring me real joy?  I found I was keeping some things “just in case” or “I’ll use it eventually”.  Well it’s been 6 years since I moved to Houston and I hadn’t really used it since so time to face reality that if I still haven’t used it, chances are I probably won’t any time soon.  And if there comes a time when I actually need it, I’ll simply go out and buy it again!

The process is exhausting yet exhilarating at the same time as the piles in my garage continue to grow.  I was going to simply fill my SUV with everything at some point and drop it off at the local donation center, but I think I’ll have a little fun with this blog instead and post some items to see if there is anything my readers would want to take first instead. Maybe someone will actually need and regularly use something I no longer do.  So check back in a week or so as I plan to take pictures and throw them on a post to see if I get any takers.  It would be nice to see someone make use of something, but if not at least it may get a second chance at goodwill or salvation army!  I’d love to hear if you are also trying to do the same – let me know how the process is going for you and if you have any tips, please do share!