Moving Forward With Minimalism

[MinimalistMommi]

This is a new thread following on from the previous 'm' thread on Good Housekeeping!

All Minimalists or aspiring minimalists welcome!

I don't think there's anything wrong with holding on to things that are special to you. Each of my dc have a big box in the attic where we put anything that is treasured but not needed downstairs - so their special bedtime teddy for eg, a DVD or toy that they loved, a card or present from someone special, a souvenir from a holiday or special day out we've had and any special clothes - a party dress they adored, a bridesmaid dress...

With my youngest two I tend to watch what they play with and if something remains untouched for a while I put it away - under the stairs/in the spare room - and see if they notice it's missing. If they don't notice after a month, it's gone. If I tried asking them what they wanted to keep I'm sure they'd want it all! (They're 3 and 7). They have on occasion asked for the toy months down the line when it's long gone and I've just said 'oh I think it's in the attic, I'll have a look next time I'm up there'. - but by then they've forgotten.

My mother got rid of every single thing I owned as a child and what I wouldn't give to have a treasured doll, game or book to pass on to my dc. So don't feel bad about keeping some things.

I just want to echo that it's not a bad thing at all to find it harder to let go of some things or to hang on to something that isn't used/needed. I had a bag of baby clothes the other day - ones that weren't practical or that MIL bought before we were even ttc but were a bit tatty - when I went to take the bag out I looked through it again and there was a single babygrow that I just couldn't bring myself to part with. It's pink (I don't normally do pink and we have a boy) and it's fleecey (so only really suitable for a winter baby), but I just like it and can't help associating it with a potential DD in the future so I don't want to give it away. If I never have a girl, or have one in warmer weather, then I'll part with it, but for now it has gone into storage with the other small baby bits Likewise I have kept onto all of DS' snowsuits, we used a carrier a lot and he was a winter baby so we found them easiest; future DC may not be winter babies and may never get use of them, I know people who could use them this winter, but you know what? I don't want to give those away. I don't know what it is about them, but it's just not time to relinquish them yet.

Shoe storage arrived today and it's rubbish Would have once considered trying to 'make it work' but nope, I'm off to get my money and will continue the hunt for something suitable!

Thanks everyone. Am feeling better about it today. Just need to be careful next time. But I did successfully take a huge bag of things to the tip so I am not beyond redemption. .

Have cleared quite a lot of our converted loft floor now. I am so pleased with the progress. It is horribly dusty and unhoovered up there so need to do some proper cleaning, then it will del like a much nicer space.

I also have loads of pictures, frames, magazine clippings, etc that I need to go through but currently they are just in a pile and not too offensive. Another day.

I'm making no progress at all here. Free time is spent in the garden or dozing (had a rotten cold) and preparing for a two week family trip of a life-time in October.

The calendar is packed with activities, appointments and reminders to do things up to our departure date and then blissfully clear afterwards for the period we are away. It's like a microcosm of the house, we are maintaining the areas I properly 'minimalised' earlier in the year but the rest is still cluttered.

Somme - maintenance is great I think at times like this!! I'm just about maintaining my bedroom calm though circumstances have meant I haven't made so much positive progress lately!

Ooh clear I'm now curious as to where you're going! It sounds fantastic, have a great trip and forget all about the clutter nonsense! If you have the opportunity/extra hands perhaps in the house, and if you have visible clutter (eg things on shelves), then my own personal opinion is to shove it all into a box or bag and hide it. Not forever! But so that when you get back from your lovely trip, you walk into a home that doesn't appear as cluttered even if the stuff is still there. Then you get on with repatriating your toiletries etc, tons of laundry perhaps, and once you're finally fully settled you can bring yourself to look at the clutter again. At least that's what I do

Nothing done yet today, except a lie in, some toast and a very good coffee DS just woke from his super long morning nap (oh please don't tell me that this will go one day, I don't want to know!).

Think I will crack on with organising shoes and some bag sorting after making him some lunch.

I got a refund for my not-so-useful shoe organiser and the seller let me keep it, so I figured I'd see if I could repurpose it. It now serves as a pretty good organiser for accessories (ties, belts, scarves etc) Glad to finally have a proper place for those things and it's very convenient. As for the shoes, I brought one of the previously useless shoe racks back in (another vote here for holding onto something until you're sure to chuck!). I found a door mat in the wasteland small second room and that's our 'boot mat' next to the shoe rack. All looking nice and simple. Reorganised some bedding storage in the wardrobes, put our framed photos on one of the empty shelves. Did a deep clean of the carpet in there. I think the bedroom is actually finished

What I would like to do now is get a new jewellery organiser - my box is just not practical. I also want a candle or diffuser. My mum is very tidy and organised (she has exclaimed on more than one occasion that I couldn't possibly be her child given my approach to tidiness I definitely follow my dad and his family in this regard, they're all so disorganised and hang on to so much stuff)... anyway, she hates air fresheners but has always had an oil burner or candle with a simple, lovely, light fragrance for her room, she lights it in the evening for a little then puts it out and it has this wonderfully cosy effect. I've always wanted something similar, to have a bedroom that feels warm and relaxing in that way. So I'm on the lookout for something - read good things about White Company candles and diffusers but they're like £20+ or £50+ or something I know where my mum gets hers and it's definitely not in my price range

I've been feeling all proactive lately too, which is great and novel! Noticed that the two storage bins in the bathroom (one for medicines, one for surplus toiletries) were looking a bit crazy, so sorted them out, chucked the useless stuff, put all the unboxed blister packaged meds into a container, it's all nice and neat now. Got out a small table from storage and it's now my little 'study hub', and I dusted in the living room! Turned a lovely but unused carved bowl into Nespresso capsule storage, it's been a day of repurposing.

DH turned to me today and said, "You've made our home look really lovely". It isn't even finished yet, but that made me feel all nice, and I look at it and think actually, yes, it is lovely. It's only a small 2 bed flat but it feels so much more spacious now, and I enjoy it and I enjoy maintaining it. I'm not used to liking my home!

Sorry for the long ramble...

delasi so pleased for you! I've been having moments of really enjoying my home too...so lovely and a bit unusual for me. .

Ooh, I'd love to get to the point where I enjoy maintaining my home!

In one of our previous homes we had a bathroom which had to start from scratch so we designed it and was exactly how we wanted and I was actually proud of the way it looked when I'd just cleaned it (as well as glad the chore was out of the way for a week!).

I'm content with very little and have never really prioritised the way things look, so it doesn't get me down when the place doesn't look it's best and that the furniture doesn't match. I'd always rather have fun with DH or the kids than save money for new furniture or spend afternoons choosing it. But I do really love the bits of our house that look good and where we have furniture we chose rather than inherited.

I started on these threads because we'd just moved a huge amount of stuff and it seemed wrong to apparently need so much and because it bothered me that we have bought things unnecessarily because we'd forgotten or couldn't find the ones we already owned. But maybe I'll end up with a home that looks really lovely like yours Delasi.

Fantastic building ! It was actually one of your earlier posts about the vision becoming a reality that made me go, "Ok, another push, make it happen!".

clear I would be surprised if your home, and most people's, didn't look as good as ours - ours is so basic! Thank you all for the kind words

We also have lots of mismatched furniture clear and we're not too bothered by looks. We rent (usually part-furnished properties) so there's only so much we're willing to do to a property and to haul around with us and the rest is the LL's dodgy choosing. However the stuff that is ours is really nice (to us, of course!) - a restored antique rocking chair, a 70s slim tile-top coffee table (the tiles are crazy colours and patterns), a 70s modular unit... I lean towards antique and retro with a bit of hand carved wood stuff thrown in for good measure and am happy to have a mish mash of things (I believe Frasier calls it 'eclectic' ).

I'm still waiting for the day when I can have a super kingsize bed. I don't care if it's a ridiculous size for the two short people that DH and I are, I want one!

Feeling spurred on I decided to a do a few more bits, more attention-to-detail things. Got rid of 11 more DVDs, rearranged some small bits in the living room and taped down some wires (there seem to be far too many flying about in this place). More to do as usual but I think I might just stop there for today...

But it looks lovely to you and your DH! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.

Even if you are short, a wide bed is most useful. You can welcome a child that has just had a nightmare and still get a good night's sleep.

Must get off here and find something put in the 'rehome' box before bedtime.

clear That's very true - only matters that we like it! The child welcoming is one of the big reasons I want one now, DS is only a baby but even when he sleeps with us now it's difficult to sleep well, I can't begin to imagine what it'll be like in a year or two when he's bigger and maybe if there's another little one joining him... .

I've added 3 out of date travel guides to rehome. If I ever make it to any of those countries again, I'm sure I'll be able to stretch to an up to date guide.

(I wonder if they are any use to anyone? Do charity shops get money from books they pulp?)

Now I can go to bed

Clear - don't know about other charities but British Heart Foundation get about 50p a kilo for recycled books - adds up pretty fast. So worth donating there if you can :)

Delasi, do you have a tealight/oil burner? Waaaaay cheaper than a gadget or posh scented candle. I love ours - you just put some water with essential oil in, and the oils are great for other uses too - tea tree for spots, eucalyptus for steam inhalation, lavender for pillows/baths etc. I love the smells of lemongrass, peppermint and mandarin too. My mum was really into aromatherapy when I was young.

Also a really good thing for eliminating kitcheny smells is the Chef's Candle (got mine on amazon)

fuzzpig My Chef's Candles are currently en route from Lakeland I don't have an oil burner - used to have about five as a teenager - that would be a good idea. I have tea tree oil for my spots but don't fancy burning it - where do I find essential oils? Sounds silly saying that, but I live in inner London, you'd think you can find lots of stuff here but it's actually stupidly hard sometimes so I do a lot of online shopping! I got the tea tree from Body Shop and I know they do others for home fragrance, maybe I'll have a look, they always do a massive discount so it would most likely be a reasonable price but hopefully smell good too.

Before bed last night I decided to do a final few things last night - rearranged in the living room a tad more (moved a lamp, a storage tower, lots of sweeping under the sofa etc), much neater now, found a home for my CDs (I only have about 10 so I don't need a lot of storage), taped down some more wires so no more tripping in the hallway. Also finally decided to hang two paintings - they were a wedding present (3yr ago...), tbh they're not particularly special, but they go with this living room quite nicely so whilst dinner was cooking I whipped out the hammer and picture hooks and just went for it. No ruler, no spirit measure, was feeling a bit cavalier, but they actually look good!

Today I'll plug in the new router and organise the wiring for that and then the wiring around the desk. The desk is ok atm but whilst it's still visible I'm going to give it a quick tidy (it's largely DH's domain, he insists it's lovely as it is).

You're probably better off hanging pictures without a spirit measure!

Spirit levels can come in handy for DIY though

Fuzzpig, thanks for the tip on the books.

I get essential oils from boots - big stores usually have a pretty good range and they are often on 3 for 2 as they count as healthcare.

I might treat myself to some as I haven't bothered for ages while the house has been so messy as it seemed a bit pointless.

Might ask mum if she's still got her books on it, she used to do mixes of various oils that smelled lovely. Another thing you can do with the oils is making salt scrubs. And a really nice soothing bath particularly after giving birth is mixing a cup of milk with some lavender and tea tree (the milk helps it disperse more evenly) and pouring it in.

And that's ok clear. I volunteered in a BHF shop a few years ago :)

fuzzpig Thanks so much for the info! I didn't even know Boots did essential oils and I shop in there loads I love the idea of the salt scrubs too, I like home made toiletries/cosmetics, I'll be looking in to this!

As an aside I also really like BHF shops, they always have really good furniture (around here anyway)

I was really pleased when I found out the branch I'd been volunteering in was actually the most successful one in the country. I think it's because they have really high standards of what they put out. Other local chazzers are pretty slack - eg I've bought board games in the past that have bits missing, whereas I've sat in the workroom at BHF counting every single piece of games and if it ain't complete it ain't sold.

I'm actually really glad you mentioned the scented candles etc as now I've realised that the oils are what I can use some of our advantage card money on! We've got over £40, and in the past we've got loads of our Xmas shopping in Boots as DH worked there, and out of habit in the two years since he left. But we've agreed this year that we will absolutely NOT be buying toys in there for the sake of it. A lot of what they sell is a bit young anyway but basically we don't want to change our well thought out presents just because we can get them free, IYSWIM? So the minimalist principles are certainly being applied here! :o

We will get a catalogue and look through to see if there's anything we already wanted (and I'll ask my mum if she needs more No7 serum stuff as she loves it) but if there isn't anything, we will just keep saving the points. And use them to get essential oils :o

BTW the oils are kept by the vitamins/pain relief etc in our local store.

And our amazing huge beautiful game unit (slightly cluttered ATM but we are getting there!) came from BHF too - thankfully while I still had discount, it cost £43 delivered!

Homemade salt scrubs make lovely Christmas presents... just a thought...

Hi all,

delasi, I have to say, I love the sound of your mismatched retro house :) I love homes that have a unique, eclectic vibe, I really do. We have a kingsize bed and I can thoroughly recommend you getting one, it's great.

Today I listed some clothes on eBay. Was hoping to wait for a free listings day but it's been ages since the last one and I can't be bothered waiting so I've listed everything at 99p, hoping people will bid higher.

Also added some belts, shoes and costume jewellery to my charity bag and threw a pair of shoes out- the sole was coming off but I held into them because I loved them