Minimalism: Where to Begin.featured
It’s that time of year again! The Christmas season, appropriately full to the brim of feast days and celebrations, is beginning to find its natural balance in a season of less. Of paring down, refocusing, returning to routines.
I’d also venture that the sudden white space created for many by taking down the decorations and Christmas tree is a bit intoxicating. We crave more space. More clean. More empty.
Never missing the opportunity to capitalize on a season of transition, the marketing push toward holiday excess has shifted to new year’s methods and products to organize or eliminate that excess. In the midst of the annoying marketing gimmicks, there are many shows, books, classes, and articles circulating that deliver on successfully simplifying.
While many are worthwhile and can offer a good starting point when you feel stuck, I want to encourage you that the best starting point is wherever you start. If you don’t read a single book, never watch an episode of Tidying Up, or declutter your kitchen before your clothes, all is not lost. You aren’t doing it wrong because there is no one right way to move toward simplified living.
If spending a day piling all of your clothes on the bed and going through them one by one gives you hives of anxiety knowing your children will tear through the piles with reckless abandon, start while you do laundry. Make a pile for donation each time you fold clothes. As your closet and dresser begin to breathe, grab other items you notice as you put clean clothes away.
If going through rooms slowly one at a time isn’t satisfying your need for calm, tackle the first layer of noticeable clutter in each. All it takes is a few minutes of glancing around and noticing what is in a space to make quick decisions of what to release.
If your kitchen is the place in your home that brings you the most anxiety, start there to feel an immediate effect. This does not mean you need to go through every drawer and cabinet right away. Doing a first run-through and removing obvious items that are no longer used, expired, or broken can ease your stress without the pressure of going through every last item right away.
Four years ago, my minimalism looked like grabbing a box or bag and walking around the house night after night. There were many, many things in our home that I could quickly remove without a second thought. The more I did, the lighter I felt. That momentum, seen in areas all of our home at once, pushed me, and eventually us, to keep going even when the decisions became more challenging.
Today, with three young kids and one on the way, one box through the whole home is still my go-to method. We focus on a closet or room if necessary, but most of the time if I begin to feel the clutter creeping up, an hour in the afternoon or evening and one box will offer a quick reset.
Take a deep breath. Embrace the momentum of the season. Start wherever you want and move as quickly or slowly as you want. You won’t regret it.
If you’re interested in more of our story on becoming minimalists, I have written about my minimalist “aha” moment, how we got started, decluttering difficult items, minimalism and babies, and how we engage our children in the process.
