Anyone want to join me in a minimalist journey?

[lucysnowe]

I've been reading a load of minimalist mum blogs and have been brainwashed inspired . We are undergoing some building work at the mo and the amount of stuff everywhere is absolutely doing me head in. Once it is finished I want to have a ginormous sort and throw out. We are getting a tumble dryer and I plan to start culling clothes, sheets, towels etc, with the aim of getting ALL washing done each week and not have massive full up bins cluttering up the place. Next: toys, ornaments, and random bits of paper. Anyone fancy doing the same for the New Year?

Would anybody mind giving me some ideas/inspiration about bathroom storage please? We had a new bathroom fitted and it's lovely but there's currently no storage at all in there as we got rid of the grotty shelving thing that was there before, so it couldn't lower the tone of the nice new room! The bathroom is absolutely tiny, so I can't get much in there but I need to be able to find a way to keep the following tidy/uncluttered looking.
2 lots of shampoo and one of conditioner (can't reduce this as I need special scalp stuff)
2 lots of shower gel (one girly and one manly!)
2 lots of face wash (one for dds and one for me)
1 bottle of bubble bath
All of the above are just currently grouped on the side of the bath.
And the worst thing - where to put sanitary towels? I keep them in a drawer in the bedroom except when I or one of the dds are actually 'on' but then currently they just sit on the top of the loo for when needed. Any better ideas please?

Help! I am so overwhelmed by the toys. I have just sorted through three tubs, binned a whole bin bag of rubbish, sorted what I could into like things (eg Lego, building blocks etc) and should feel like I've made some progress but all I can see is the enormity of the task still left. We've got three children and periodically I go through their stuff and charity shop some things, but ultimately I feel like its their stuff and they're not bothered by the chaos so why should I be? It all gets mixed up together and spreads all over the house and they get so upset if they think I'm getting rid of anything (even though I only ever chuck broken stuff or things they never play with.)

I've tried getting them involved (making space for new stuff before Christmas/birthdays, or giving things to charity or the local refugee service) but they are dig-your-heels-in resistant. And every couple of months it comes back to me just about tearing my hair out at piles of lovely expensive toys all jumbled up all over the house.

Advice needed from those who've come out the other side. Thanks in advance xxxx

Remus I have to declutter my bathroom too, but I have found a great place for tampons etc! I bought a minimalist looking box (a strong one cardboard one with a lid) and keep it right next to the loo - between the loo and the wall. It is completely hidden and so convenient.

As for the other things, I'm still working on them too!

Oops, meant to explain the wall to the side, not behind the loo.

Oh graceless, DD isn't even two and I'm starting to despair about the amount of plastic tat around the house. And puzzle pieces. And wooden blocks.
In better news, have put more stuff on freecycle. This should allow me to see what is actually in the understairs cupboard once it's been collected!

Remus-I keep my "monthly" products in a plain bag hung on the back of the bathroom door so unless you have really nosey visitors no one knows what in there

Remus do you have space under the sink? Perhaps for a shelf, storage box or better still a cupboard. We had the smallest and most awkward bathroom imaginable in our last house, and we coped by putting in a cupboard under the sink, otherwise the space would've been wasted. We took inspiration from the interior of yachts/caravans when planning it!

With kids stuff, I tend to do a monthly clear out and organise, filling a bag with crap which I then keep for a week before I ditch (just in case there is anything of any import). Mine are just 5 and 6 though, as they get older I just plan to use their bedroom door to screen the chaos!

Has this blog been linked to before...some good tips for those of us starting out. My kitchen is now pretty much done and clutter free, and I am amazed at how resolute I am in my determination to keep it that way. I really hope I can make these changes last (hence checking in to the thread again).

Remus I have one of these in my shower:

www.johnlewis.com/149893/Product.aspx

And graceless there is no easy answer! I usually start stashing things in a bag in the utility and then every three months or so charity shop it. Then on the one in ten occasions that DD actually notices something is missing, she can have it back. She knows I do this which helps.

Blimey you lot are busy decluttering - hello to all the new names!

Our living room is almost completed - have sorted everything into 'keep, sell, donate, keep but not in this room' piles/boxes and got rid of most of it. A few items waiting to sell or until I can next get to charity shop (no car makes it harder, only so many books I can fit in bottom of buggy!) but basically the hard bit is done. As a treat I bought simplicity parenting and banish clutter forever - hoping the former will inspire and latter will guide me through the next rooms which will be harder. Thanks for blog link shirley, also good inspiration.

Mrs I am similar on clothes - still breastfeeding so have a large part of my wardrobe I can't wear now due to access issues but don't want to declutter things that I may love again when feeding stops. Thinking of doing project 333 soon, though, and will just box up as much as I can and put it out of sight (ie under bed storage or vac packed at top of wardrobe). I think this will give me some of benefits of a simple wardrobe and an idea of what I love etc, but without the LT commitment. Do you have space to box up things you definitely won't wear for next year or so, and clear your clutter temporarily so you feel less opressed by it?

antoinette I like the idea of timetabling things in, I know our house will be a months-long project especially once my rate will slow down when I'm back at work. But 2013 will be the year of simplicity...

Remus you and your DDs should switch to mooncups-much more minimalist ;) and, in all seriousness, so teeny that in its little bag it takes up no room at all in a cupboard or drawer.

For shower gels etc I have a plastic tub with a handle from Lakeland-I've just looked on their website and can't see it, which is annoying, but it's great because it means for cleaning I can just pick up the whole tub by the handle, wipe underneath and everything's clean and tidy. I actually use them all over the place-e.g. on high shelves with herbs and spices in the kitchen, and also for bathroom cleaning supplies which are in a kitchen cupboard so DD can't drink them. I recommend them, if they are still made!

Found it! Lakeland genius

I can second the mooncup. Simple, environmentally amazing, feminist, effective and all round marvellous!

If anyone still wondering where to start try this www.wisebread.com/25-things-to-throw-out-today

Some progress being made here. I've farmed the bigger kids out and ds has allowed me a bit of time to get started on the mountain of stuff. DH is resistant to the idea of CDs going, even though they are on hard drive and boxed up in the garage. And he won't throw out books. But he has done a great job in tidying the garage so at least we have somewhere to store stuff on its way to the dump/charity/eBay.
We cleared the living room of toys and got rid of a good chunk of them. I've been inspired by Simplicity Parenting but DH hasn't read it so instead if giving them away, many will be decorating the garage until ds is too old for them and we discover them on another mass clear out . I just love being able to get to the table without tripping over things!
I cleared out the girls' wardrobes so that their clothes actually fit in their drawers now, got rid of the millions of spare hangers (glad we aren't the only ones!) and made a start on my clothes. Does anyone know if the Salvation Army clothes bins take worn out clothes for textile recycling or just resaleable clothes?
I'm being frustrated by my 10 item limit on eBay. I need to take advantage of this purge surge!

Oh, and Iwipearses have you heard of Enjo? They are a brand of environmentally friendly cleaning cloths which work with only water and they do a body glove which is supposed to be excellent for eczema sufferers. It is £££ but I have a couple of cleaning cloths and they really are super. A great way to declutter the cleaning cupboard.

Thanks for all these ideas, everybody. I particularly like the bag on the door suggestion and am such a muppet that I never would have thought of it myself!

Can't get my head around mooncups. I have v heavy periods and just can't work out how I could get through a day at work - the loos don't have sinks in the cubicles, so I couldn't sort it out in total privacy.

Remus I have v heavy periods too, since I stopped feeding the littlest child. I have to use a sanitary towel on day 1 but I still love my
Mooncup, and you can just wipe it with loo roll if you're not near a sink to give it a rinse. I'm lucky that my workplace loo does have a sink

Not sure how much you've investigated them, but a mooncup will hold about 17-18mls of fluid, loads more than even the most absorbent tampon or towel.

Xx

My favourite minimalist quote:

?Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.?

I don't want to sidetrack the thread, but I have v heavy periods too and have no problem with a mooncup. I used to use super tampons and have to change hourly or every couple of hours-now I empty the mooncup 2 or 3 times a day. Incredible! And you don't have to rinse it every time-as graceless says, a wipe is fine.

Search them on here and you'll find lots of women extolling their virtues

Thanks both.

Link please suffolk! Tempted to start a similar one...

hobnob how about selling elsewhere...there are plenty of fb groups for selling children's clothes, you could put books on Amazon, various bits on gumtree, etc etc. Or the for sale or trade boards on Natural Mamas forum (if you can get past the lentilweaving parts) are quite good especially again for baby things.

lucy I have used foldable baskets fro my laundry for years. I can't imagine having the space for a big basket anywhere.

Antoinette the diary idea is interesting and I will think about it. I know this will be a very long term thing for me so don't want to tie myself down too much then feel bad if I'm not managing to stick to it.

Also those lakeland baskets you linked to are great. I have similar cheapy baskets from poundstretcher but without the handle. I use them in cupboards to store medicines, batteries, lightbulbs, herbs and spices. All sorts of small things that are a pain in cupboards if loose.

Yes Suffolk would love a link to your blog. I have started following Minimalist Mom now but another would be great.

We have a great local sales page on FB here. There are baby ones then a general local one. I've sold a fair few things, and almost immediately. It is great, a quick way to make money with none of the hassle of ebay, no postage or anything like that. Although I do have to try and not buy too much from their too.