To ask has anyone gone minimalist…

[Merryoldgoat]

… and can I have tips?

My house is driving me mad. Have you gone from a more ‘maximalist’ house to minimalist and do you prefer it?

I have kids so it will never be a scandi paradise but I can deffo get rid of sone rubbish but I want to keep sone warmth.

How do I go minimalist but keep it feeling like a family home?

Compared to others we know our house is fairly minimalist. No photos, no shelves full of ornaments, do have a matching set of vases on the unit in the dining room, books live in a unit in the office.....

Yes although I have to review and declutter on a yearly basis!

I focus on only having in each room exactly what I need and actively use. This can include soft furnishings, for example a blanket on the sofa to keep warm.

Once you've done that you're generally left with easy to categorise things:

• needed rarely, once a year or less = typically chucked unless hard to find, expensive to rebuy or can't be borrowed

• things that are sentimatally important

• things to make a room feel more _ = for example, decor for visual warmth and interest,

• a place for everything and everything has its place. = if you can't find a place for something then chances are you don't need it and it can go

Start by getting rid of everything that you neither like nor need. You have to be a bit ruthless and in the right frame of mind.

I did our whole house over a period of about a month and now I do a big clear out a few times a year to keep on top of it.

I decide on an area (daughter’s bedroom was the most recent). I get three bin bags - one for charity, one for bin and one for selling. I go through every draw and shelf until there’s nothing left that isn’t wanted. Obviously my daughter makes the decisions in her room.

We are all so much happier in a clutter free house, the kids have even asked for less for Christmas because they don’t want loads of ‘stuff’ cluttering up their rooms. We were keeping things because we thought we should - like gifts from grandparents or things that were sentimental. I keep a box of baby things for each child and I keep their artwork in a file box. I have a Welsh dresser where I keep ornaments (antique plates and teapots and things the kids have made) but I don’t have any cluttered surfaces.

It still feels cosy because we have candles, plants, beautiful rugs and cushions - just no clutter and mess.

Yes, we got rid of about a third of our possessions about ten years ago. It was brilliant.

My advice is: read blogs and just start. The space it releases, both physical and mental, is very refreshing.

I'm a pretty hard-core minimalist. With a family you can never truly manage it. At first it's challenging but as you revisit each space it becomes surprising how quickly space gets sorted.

Pretty minimal with a toddler also. Works fine tbh.
Any ‘big‘ toys I aim to be garden toys. And he’s at nursery now so he gets loads of other stuff each morning

The other toys and child related stuff go in cupboards or drawers or baskets and ottoman’s with lids, so everything hidden when not in use.

But you can only do this with less ie we have a nice little old ottoman in hallway. It holds all three of our hats/ scarfs/ mittens / umbrellas/ toddler nursery bag etc. If it gets too full, we have to de clutter

Yes, our house is minimalist, but homely.

It's not stark white walls and bare floors. I've got nice bits and pieces that I have on display, but EVERYTHING has a place, everything is organised, and I don't add anything without serious thought.

For instance, in the living room we have a cabinet. There are 4 items arranged on top of it. Open it up and all of the drawers are organised and categorised.

In the hallway we have a cabinet with just one lamp on it....

And so on.

We're minimalist with clothes - DH and I both buy good quality items and not many of them. If I go shopping, it's with a clear purpose. I've been looking for a perfect camel-coloured cashmere sweater for about 18 months!

We have a one-in-one-out policy for every item. So I can't buy a vase without getting rid of one (and I only own 2 - one tall, one short - to start with!)

This is the result of about 5 years of non-stop declutteting, culminating in a 3 month period of really intense decluttering and organising when I was between jobs.

Get a glass fronted cabinet and put all your purely decorative objects in it so that you can see them, but they don't visually take over the room or collect dust.

Keep surfaces bare or nearly so.

Hang photos on the wall rather than putting them in stand-up frames. Pick a simple frame style and use it for all your photos and pictures.

Never store anything directly on the floor. Find space in a cupboard or manage without the thing.

Houseplants are the obvious exception to these rules and you should definitely have some.

@carriedout a third of your possessions? I'm impressed

Some really good ideas here. I’m feeling overwhelmed now with the sheer quantity of work trying to keep the place tidy.

I’m sure it must be much easier to keep tidy if I have less stuff.

I’ve just picked an argument with my husband over the mess in the kitchen. We’ve got a load of ‘COOK’ stuff in to try to keep the mess to a minimum and there is still shit everywhere because he can’t ever just eat one fucking thing.

But that’s another thread.

I've been running down our kitchen cupboards and the freezer since new year.

Now I'm thinking I should stock them all back up to the maximum as costs are constantly rising!

I watch ‘The Minimal Mom’ YouTube videos. She’s got 4 kids, and got rid of most of her stuff, but she isn’t all zen like and annoying with it, she’s just really down to earth and practical and relatable! I find it quite inspiring to hear how minimalism has improved her family’s life, and her tips to get there are genuinely helpful. I’ve got rid of so much now, and it’s so worth it!

Minimalism isn’t necessarily about having no stuff. It’s about having the right amount of stuff for you and your space.

When you declutter, don’t pick the things you want to get rid of, pick the things you want to keep, and when you’ve decluttered, everything must have an easily accessible storage space. If something is hard to put away, it will get left out. Try and have empty space in cupboards and drawers.

We are fairly minimal, but we still have things out. Candles, cushions, blankets plants etc but because there is no clutter the things we do have out look purposeful. Books etc are in a cabinet behind doors. We still have dvds and cds because DH won’t contemplate getting rid of them, but they are very well organised and stored in the same cabinet as the books.

I choose things with texture. Wooden furniture, velvet upholstery etc to bring warmth to the house.

Definitely minimalist here. Open plan while ground floor of the house and no visible shelves or ornaments or mantlepiece. Lots of plants but no clutter. DS's toys are in the kitchen cupboards. Works fine for us. No clutter in the bathroom either. Nothing stays on the sink except soap. Everything else is in a drawer or cupboard.

My house is pretty minimalist. My last house before I met DH was very minimalist too. Like white high gloss flooring, pale grey walls. I added splashed of colour in each room to stop it looking too clinical. I loved it but must admit it wasn't thr most homely house and it never had that warm cosy feel.

When we moved into our current house I still kept it minimalist but opted for warmer tones have have thick fluffy carpets throughout. I also went for wooden furniture to give it a more cosy, homely feel. Good storage is the key. We have 2 big cupboards in the upstairs hall and I got DH to put extra shelves in them to maximise the storage space. In the livingroom we have unit under the wall mounted tv with loads of drawers which is great for tidying away DSDs bits and bobs.

We don't have loads of pictures up just the odd one here and there to break up the plain walls. We have our wedding vows framed in our bedroom and nice painting of Glasgow in the dining room. Everything on the walls was thought out or is sentimental. We have a few family photos on the livingroom unit.

I discovered minimalism about 3 years ago. Previously I'd decluttered. But minimalism is a step further, with a change in mindset. Which meant not only I decluttered more ruthlessly, but also stopped things coming in. And as a PP said, anything that comes in has to be perfect. I no longer buy clothes that are "ok except for this little detail which means it'll just hang in my wardrobe for months, being passed over for clothes that I prefer".

I second the minimal mom. And add Joshua Becker. I actually preferred Joshua Becker on youtube at first cos he did very short, concise videos that got straight to the point and really inspired me.

I love our home now. We have lovely original paintings on the walls, as well as photos. We don't have knick knacks and ornaments. Our surfaces and floors are clear (so much easier and quicker to clean).

Also important- our drawers and cupboards are only filled at max 50%. So easy to see what is there and to tidy things away.

With fewer things, there's fewer decisions to make (e.g. between different coats, which saucepan to use etc etc) and my brain really appreciates it!

Its important to do your things first before starting on the kids/DHs. I felt immediate benefits after doing my clothes, shoes and bathroom/make up stuff.

Another quick win is the medical box/cabinet. Get rid of out of date stuff (responsibly), things you never use etc.

Also towels and sheets. Some people just have 1 sheet per bed but we have 2 per bed in case of illness/accidents.

Before DC, yes and it was great. Basically when we moved I didn't unpack most of it. Hardly any ornaments or knicknacks, photos that kind of thing. It makes a big different as it there's no clutter to look at or gather dust and also much easier for cleaning. It always looks tidy (well did before DC! But even then I only need to put his toys in a box and it's tidy again)

There is a difference between minimalist decor, and lifestyle. You can enjoy a cosy home but still follow minimalist lifestyle principles.

A few things I found helpful...

As some posters have mentioned - ‘The Minimal Mom’ YouTube videos. Some very good ideas there.

If you're stuck with where to begin, start with your car (if you have one). It's a small space that can clutter up very quickly. Keep the absolute essentials in it, and remove everything else. Every time you drive home, clear out anything that doesn't belong in the car before you go inside. Conquering this will give you a boost to begin to tackle the house.

Imagine that everything you own is silently communicating something to you. 'I need tidying' -'Clean me'- 'Fix me' - 'I don't belong here' - 'I need mending';- 'I'm too squashed in here'; -'I need a wash'; -'I'm waiting for you to sell me'; - 'Why have you left me here instead of putting me away?' Before you buy or bring anything new home, think about what it will likely say to you week after week; and is it worth owning it (or keeping)? Based on the idea that what you own ends up owning you.

As you declutter, don't plan to sell the stuff on ebay etc. You're unlikely to get around to it, and it will cause you more stress. Either bin it or donate it promptly to a charity and feel good about your generosity. Eventually you'll realise that the space and clutter free environment is worth more to you than the proceeds of a sale.

The thirty day challenge is a quick way to start in the home. 1st day of the month get rid of one item, 2nd day get rid of two and so on. By day 30, you will have disposed of 465 items. Next month start again with one item. Continue for a year and you'll be 5585 items lighter.

I have a very minimalist mindset but my husband is very much a maximalist. We also have 5 children, so our home will never be the utopia I want it to be- at least not for another 16 years or so.
I do declutter regularly. I find that using sites like Olio, gumtree freebies, Facebook bartering pages etc make that easier as you don’t feel as bad knowing things aren’t going to landfill waste.
I genuinely think minimalism is better for the whole house too. Cleaning/tidying is significantly easier and the kids don’t feel as overwhelmed about helping.

My kitchen is a thousand times easier to manage since I got rid of endless bits of equipment.

Op I'm a single mum working full time. There is never enough time. At the weekend I'm going to get rid of at least 10 things from each bedroom and the garage. It isn't that anyone will notice. I just can't dedicate a day to an overhaul the way I used to.

DH and I are pretty minimalist. Inspired by the interiors in some of the houses when watching The Bridge!

It helps that neither of us are ‘knick-knack’ people. The only things out on surfaces are a few statement houseplants and accent lamps. I can dust the entire flat in less than five minutes.

I like:

• Clever storage for the things you do need
• Lots of tech (so streaming instead of Blu-rays, an e-reader instead of books etc)
• Blond-toned woods and textured surfaces (warms up open spaces and stops rooms looking like warehouse space)

It was surprisingly easy once I had made the decision.

There is only one thing I regret getting rid of - a second radio alarm clock (our first one broke and I had to replace quite soon after the clear out).

Take glasses. We used to have a cupboard full. Now I have eight. In the ten years since I did this I have never needed the glasses I got rid of.

Everyone has to look at their own lives - if you have twenty people round every weekend you would possibly need more glasses than I do. But many people have a lot of stuff in their house they don't use or only use very rarely. Giving it house room costs energy, time and space, and in some cases money (there are many people paying for storage for items they don't use).

@coodawoodashooda

Start with drawers first , your bedroom and then the kitchen .