Minimalism to reduce housework?

[IWipeArses]

I got rid of all our ornaments, so no ornaments to dust! Highly recommend.

But what else? I love all the hardcore minimalism blogs but can't imagine applying some of it to a family, but seriously, do you think I could get away with getting rid of all but one plate, cup, set of cutlery per person?

How much 'spare' of anything is really necessary?

For instance I got rid of all the older tatty towels, leaving just the nicer ones we'd received as wedding presents. We still occasionally run out of towels, but now when we do there aren't 4 loads of towels to wash, and we always use them more than once. But could I realistically cut down to two towels per person?

Clothes - One way to be minimalistic is to have enough clothes to only do laundry once a week/month, alternatively I'm attracted to the 'Six Items Or Less' capsule wardrobe, but this would involve doing a wash every day without fail to keep up. But as I do a load every day anyway, this would just keep the piles down wouldn't it?
I've bought five complete sets of uniform for DS this year, as they always get mucky and I spent all winter last year trying to dry the two jumpers I'd bought. Makes life simple, minimises amount of time spent thinking about and cleaning uniform, even though theoretically two sets could do.

What have you done minimalistically to reduce housework?

No advice but watching with interest. My home is far from minimal but we are getting the kitchen/dining room redone in the next year or so and I seriously debating whether to have a traditionaly farmhousey room or a very decluttered tons of built in hidden storage minimalistic room

I try to have nothing out at all. We do not manage it in all rooms (5 children).
I try to ensure things are put away. The children have always just had one set of uniform. People have far more things than they need.

Even so I spent 6 hours last weekend on Saturday clearing a room - we filled about 12 storage boxes of things to be stored.

Thing is about minimalism......does it make dust etc more obvious as everything looks so perfect so you have to be more fastidious as it shows quite obviously when things aren't perfect?

Some tips:

• don't have any storage under the beds (unless they are built in drawers). Any storage just gets filled and then you end up shoving a few more things into the gaps. Looks messy and you can never hoover it properly.
• have one place for all pending paperwork - doesn't matter what it is, it should all go into the same place. Once it has been dealt with (bills paid, catalogue read, whatever), it should be binned or filed (I do have a filing drawer but again, just one place for all filing).
• I have one storage box for magazines - once it starts to get full looking, I ditch them, tearing out recipes that I like (or even better taking a photo and uploading the image to Evernote, which then OCRs them so that you can electronically search for the recipe in the future - this is genius!)
• get rid of duplicate bottles in the bathroom.
• do you have a messy stock cupboard? If so, tip it all out, check for ripped packages/stuff that is truly so out of date they can't be used. If something has been hanging around for ages, then make a commitment to using one tin/bag/box per week from now til christmas - make sure you include it in your meal plan/work out a recipe that will use it though!
• have a charity shop bag/box in the bottom of your wardrobe so that you can quickly make a decision to ditch an item without having to go searching for a place to put it.
• clean out your medicine cupboard - again, I bet there is loads of stuff that is out of date/you'd never use and then you can never find the plasters when you need them.
• we have only two sets of bedclothes for each bed. Full set gets washed and put into one pillowcase for easy storage. I've never changed only eg a duvet or the pillowcases so don't see then need to have more spares than that.

Lots of storage reastie! Bring colour in with paint, pictures and tablecloth.
I don't think it looks worse, easier to clean means more likely to clean.

One set of uniform Xenia? Wash it every day?

Good tips FreeB.

I'm considering buying 3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/shower gel to eliminate excess bottles on the side of the bath.

For the 20 years I have had children at schools with uniforms we have washed their trousers and school shirt and ties once a week on Friday night and the children don't smell. When they get to be teenagers or earlier when needed (visible paint spills) they will change shirts at the frequency they choose so yes we have more than one of the shirts but that's all. Genuinely they are not smelly children. It might be a family thing. We do obviously have showers every day. I don't really much sweat at all which is in some ways a bad thing as sweat keeps you cool. I think being sort of ginger/very white I was developed for cold climes perhaps.

Anyway my joke when we moved to this 5000 sq foot house which seemed so lovely and vast and full of storage was I wanted to empty it. Instead we had two more babies (twins) and then 3 children went away but came back from university two to to do post grad studies so the house filled even more. I work from here with loads of files on shelves too so I do spend a lot of time keeping things clear but it's never quite a clear as I like. I suppose like most tidy people I do it automatically and as I go and all the time. One adult child has gone abroad today on holiday so I have been putting some of her stuff out of sight as she is not back for a week.

If you cut down on crockery - what do you do when people come over?

I don't think you need to reduce crockery hugely but just don't have more than you might need. We got rid of a lot of glasses recently which weren't often used but I kept a good few spare ones for when we might have a party. I am not sure why I am on this thread as I have a second garage here full to the brim with stuff including from when my parents died as my daughters said they would want it for their own first flats. We have just agreed a deadline of next summer which will be 5 years on....

I suppose its not clutter if there's a real purpose to keeping it.

My 4 year old DS is very messy, I can never get him to wear an outfit more than once as it will undoubtedly have some dinner or muck on it.
DH has the most clothes, but he's occasionally away for a long stretch at work without much laundry facilities, so may genuinely need 30 t-shirts.
I think I could make it work without a minimal capsule wardrobe for us all and daily laundry.

We don't really have people round that often, but good point.
I could store the spares in the garage that way it's still available when needed, but easier to wash a plate than get another one out of the cupboard.

I think minimalism in order to minimalise housework is a really good idea. I've been trying it recently by beginning to get rid of all the stuff that we don't and won't need or use. I eBayed lots of things, gave lots of things to Oxfam, and threw away some junk too. I have a constant charity bag on the go now, which I take to Oxfam when it's full.

I've just realised that minimalise is not actually a word .

I've just gone down to two pairs of PJs and I'd also like to go down to two towels per person (plus hair/hand towels) and two sets of bed clothes per bed. 'Spare' linen just takes up space.

I always try to throw or give away old stuff when new stuff is bought but unfortunately DH is a 'keep it just in case' person - grrr! drives me mad!!!

If i could only persuade DH to throw away every pair of shoes he's not worn in 12 months we'd have sooo much more wardrobe space.

I am a mad de clutterer I do clothes and books and mags several times a year.Any broken crockery or old kitchen stuff just gets dumped. I don't keep things I don't love. I have a huge collection of interiors mags and books which I keep stored and in order! Believe it or not I am quite haphazard around the house and a bit lazy but I have no clutter to contend with so everyone thinks i am highly organised .Religiously clean out food cupboards and fridge.

It's a good year since I got rid of the old towels and no problems so far!

noddy, sounds great!

maybenow, I have two nighties that are only for use on holiday or when it's a cold morning, but I have dressing gowns so I may get rid of them too.

Now, I'm all for decluttering - I've taken six bin liners full to the tip today - but surely having plenty of things like towels and uniform make life easier, not harder? As long as it all has it's own place? Uniform in uniform drawer, towels in towel hamper here, no worries.

some stuff is needed. some stuff is good.

Oh we have plenty of towels. There must be 6-8 towels between the 2 DC and about 6-8 bath towels for us, we had at least as many again before I purged the tatty ones. But they still all used to get used up and there would be a trillion soggy towels waiting to wash.
We have no tumble dryer and dirty children, laundry is always an issue here.

Same with the pots unfortunately I always have to wash every single plate we own.

I like the theory but one set of uniform just wouldn't cut it here! DS gets filthy and needs a complete new set each day so he has several. I couldn't be that efficient with laundry. We have 3 sets of bed linen each. 2 would normally be enough but what if someone is ill in the night? What if DS wets the bed?

I don't keep it if it's not used at all, but there are a few things that, even though they are only used occaisionally, are needed.

Oh yes, the one in, one out policy is very useful. We've used it for pants, socks, DH's work shirts and bed clothes so far.

And today, we sent FIL home with some of his things that we'd borrowed, and some things of ours that he'll hopefully use too.

I put away everything. Only have half a
dozen of each type of cutlery and keep the remainder in a box, stored. So only
Come out when needed. No ornaments to dust. Very few pics on the walls. Only the odd 'pieces'.
Re towels, I have stopped using conventional fluffy towels. I went to India recently and picked up thin towels there made
Of cotton.
They are like thick sheets. They are so much easier to wash/dry and very absorbent (I think Kara weaves). But lots
Of other good brands available. Take so
Much less room in luggage too.
We don't buy thugs on impulse either for the house. That way u don't get tonnes of stuff to dust. All
Surfaces are clear of clutter. If its easy to clean, buy. If not, we don't.
Kids toys are a nightmare.
We no longer buy CDs or DVDs. No table mats (oak table to fine). No plants inside the house. Therefore no need to dust or water. Clean tiles on floor. Simple decor.

Minimalism doesn't reduce housework; sufficient cupboards reduce housework.

I thank you.

Which is one reason older houses are better as they have attics, cellars and lots of space.

I suppose in theory if books and music go to kindles etc then we will need less storage space. I still have photo albums as well as electronic storage but I will be unusual in that.