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!

Arti well done for sorting that spare doom! And don't feel bad about the new things you've got - they all sound essential anyway and if anyone deserves to be spoilt right now it's you ... sounds like a good day, it's called retail therapy for a reason and you've obviously thought about how to not let your new stuff create more clutter!

Cadence I was on the bargain threads last year - the first two anyway, it wasn't nearly so big back then :o I have had a brief look at some this year but I made a firm promise to myself when I saw the first thread - that I would not get into it this year. I know what my weaknesses are and I know I would have ended up buying stuff just because it was a bargain and because other MNers said it was good etc. I am strong enough not to do that throughout the year now I have minimalism, but I know I am not ready yet when it comes to Xmas! I am very impressed you've been so strong while using the threads! I've only been looking for things I'd already decided on throughout the year.

Oh and I felt rather pleased today as my friend visited and feels exactly the same about Disney/TV based story books (and like me she loooves the movies they are based on) - nice to have a rant IRL

cadence I agree! I think the thought process is more important than the 'thing'. I've bought DS some plastic-light-up-with-noises-and-what-have-you items - they're pretty obvious, we have a jumperoo for starters, plus a Vtech walker thing, and a My Pal Scout that shouts DS' name on a loop... - but I bought each one of those after a lot of consideration and he loves all three, plays with each one daily and doesn't have tons of other stuff on top.

I did attempt to post a reply on here a few days ago but after a wonderfully long rambling post my computer wouldn't let me submit it

So, no real visible progress here (other than the great RO day!) but the feeling inside is growing. I really want to shed just so much, even though we are getting down to so little, because I really want to make it what we need/love. I have hotspots needing tackling - the bags that I've been meaning to sort for a month, a small box of baby stuff and some more RO stuff.

I've mentioned before how we already don't do the holidays or presents etc but I've been thinking about quality time and things like that. Then on my way to work it occurred to me that there are some events that I think we'd both really like, I've always wanted to go but thought, "Nah, I'll save my money, it's not necessary" when actually it would be one of the few things we'd really enjoy. So I've decided that next year we are going to one I also want to do more walks, as in just going for a walk in the area for the sake of it. I like walking but it's usually when I'm on my own, so I'd like to walk with DS and DH.

So-so on the health front so not looking at any major minimalist moves any time soon, but it's looking up a bit, I think.

I definitely think electronic toys have a place for younger DCs delasi. They are very useful when DCs can't do so much for themselves. We had a brilliant bouncy chair which had big buttons under the foot bit so when she kicked it made noises! And DS loved his Little Singing Alfie despite it making me want to hurl it out of the nearest skyscraper. I don't think I'd go totally electronics-free if we had another baby although I wouldn't buy as much as I did before.

It's more the 4+ age that I've started seeing the unnecessariness (is that a word?) of beepy flashy stuff because by that point they are playing imaginitively and building stuff themselves so the electronics tend to be ignored after the initial wow factor.

My goodness - the flat has desceneded into the pit of doom. Clutter everywhere - I cleared off the table last night which felt good, but there is stuff everywhere. It's all falling apart - the kitchen bench top has disappeared. To add the the chaos my 2 DD's are crazy for Halloween so we have Halloween stuff everywhere, half term artwork etc all over the place, and I've 'decorated' the bathroom with a huge spiders web and 18 spiders.

But it's going to be OK. I KNOW how to deal with this. The DD's are going away with their Dad tonight and I shall sort the place out pretty quickly, tossing filing and recycling stuff as I go.

I can't wait to get stuck in. It's slightly stressful for me now - which is an improvement.

and the massive bonus is after I sort out the flat tonight, I will have 3 days of a clean tidy home (As it will be childfree) - YAY!!!

Just went through some stuff from the Cupboard of Doom under the stairs - most of it was from a couple of years ago I think? Old baby clothes not worth keeping. Got it down to just one small box of books.

It's mostly quite frustrating in the holidays though isn't it, I'm desperate to crack on (although epic period pain would make it difficult anyway, boo :() but no way can I tackle the DCs' room with them around!

this article was linked to on another thread recently - it's old (comparatively!) but worth a read

Sorry to all of you whose decluttering and minimalist progress is being de-railed by children on half-term

It is actually the time when I may have a bit more time and energy to de-clutter.

I was nearly passing the tip this morning so made a detour to get rid of random items like old light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, my old bathroom bin and various broken small electrical items. Feels good!

Hmm - shame about the state of paperwork on my desk!!

Lovely article thanks fuzzpig

" In Germany, two public health workers, Rainer Strick and Elke Schubert, persuaded a Munich nursery to pack away all playthings for three months out of every year, leaving the children with nothing but tables, chairs, blankets and their initiative. Then they watched what happened.

Initially, the children were bored but by day two they had turned tables and blankets into dens and were absorbed in make-believe games. They became more imaginative and contented, and in the process learned to concentrate, communicate better and integrate more in groups."

Fascinating

How are people doing? I started to tackle a paperwork clutter pile that I had been putting off for ages yesterday. But I also went to a craft fair and bought 3 things - things I like though!

Slooooowly here due to half term. It's been nice having time together though so don't resent the lack of progress much :o

Hello all. We're back from our trip and I am currently sticking my face as close to the screen as possible in the hope of warding off jet lag and staying awake until 8pm at least.

I have lots to process in my head, many of the people in the country we visited survive with the bare minimum. Plus all the interesting points raised on this thread over the last couple of weeks.

Sorry to hear about all the illness. To my relief, we seem to have survived our trip without catching any local bugs.

I must go and tackle the laundry before I read the links.

Hello! Not been on for a while so will have to catch up with your posts, at a glance there seems to be some fab 'M'ing going on though. I got a Trofast from Ikea last week and love it! And a Billy Bookcase. Which looks fab displaying our culled/best/most useful books with the kids books onthe bottom shelves. Why oh why did we not do this before?!
Had friends & kids round yesterday and it was soooo nice not to have as much manic sorting, tidying flinging in wardrobes and cleaning since we mega decluttered. So true about the fruitless organising & tidying of clutter. It really is lifechanging letting stuff go (sounds dramatic but it's true)
jen You sound like me when I found this thread. Great work. It gets a bit addictive:)

I've found this and the previous minimalism threads so interesting. I've got rid of more than 2000 things from our home this year and have more to go. It makes it sounds like our house must have been like something out of one of this hoarder programmes but it really wasn't. We did (and do) just have too much stuff though.

I have found it so freeing to get rid of stuff and to think more about what we bring into the house. The impact of consumerism on the children really resonates with me too. They are fortunate to have an extended family that loves to buy for them but I have find it hard to balance this desire to show love through presents with the children really appreciating what they have and looking after it.

Which brings me to my reason for posting. The toys really do need trimming down but I find it very hard to get rid of toys and books that have sentimental attachment for me (even if the children aren't bothered and don't really play with it!) For example, the wooden train track or wooden castle. They seem to represent a certain stage in the children's childhood and are lovely, traditional toys but they don't play with them so they should go. I guess I need to find a good home for them to help me feel better about passing them on.

I also have tonnes of bastard bloody Playmobil. The children love the figures but the bigger buildings (school, fire station, police station) have all fallen apart. Just looking at it makes me feel stressed, 1) because it represents wasted money and 2) because I feel guilty about just throwing it away but I just don't have the wherewithal to build it again (even if I did have the all bits but some have probably got lost or been hoovered up. What to do?

IME, fayrazzled, Play Mobil sells well on eBay. I sold all DS' s old Play Mobil on it last year.
However, if you can't bear the thought of eBay and all it entails, why not donate it to one of your local children's centres, playgroups, or even a Nursery bor Reception class in one of your primary schools?

clear Ooh the mystery amazing trip! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it!

Polka I have Trofast I think they're so cute and cool, but I have nowhere to put one and am currently making use of a less cute and cool kids' storage unit for toys. Well, actually it is cute. But it was a right hassle to put together and left me with several minor injuries so I think I'm just directing some bitterness at it!

Fay That sounds fantastic, keep it up.

Thanks to all for the recent links and posts - I found the one about imaginative play so useful, and it has really made me feel confident about my plans to start chucking some toys that I don't think we need. DS only plays with about a maximum of 10 toys, but he's been given lots of other stuff, so I might as well give it away now whilst he still doesn't care. I've also made little decisions - eg, we have 4 mugs that we never use, so they're gone. I don't care if it means we will only then own 4 mugs in total, only 2 adults live here and we rarely have guests so we don't need 8 mugs! Up and down on the health front and major busy on every other front, but I feel like my mentality is much more minimalist and I can see what a positive impact that it's having on how we organise ourselves and run our home. Even our laundry is lighter because there's less to wash, because we only wear the stuff we like and then wash when it's time to, instead of having kilos and kilos of the stuff piling up of multiple t-shirts, pyjamas etc. Feeling really positive about the end result, instead of feeling like I'm far from perfection. I have goals too, which involve a new empty home, shiny new furniture and lovely linens but not too much, that would be counter-productive

Bought more Lego - went to stay with friends but forgot their bag of Lego. So they have the letter set now which has gone down rather well.

The fabric bags I ordered to store toys in arrived at the weekend too. They're great. No more broken toy boxes and I can hang them up on pegs out of the way. I will regain my lounge!

Hello. I would love to join your beautiful minimalist thread please :)

We have been ambling towards minimalism for a while now really. We moved to a rather small, rented, 2 bedroom flat about 4 years ago and ever since have been in a constant state of stuff reduction to stop the place feeling tiny. We are now in the process of buying a flat pretty much the same size but with a lovely garden with the planned move date of mid-feb. We have had a talk and decided to commit to minimalism and reduce our stuff before we move so that we have only what we use or can't bare to be without.

What made us decide to go for it was that when we went to view the flat we are buying it looked horribly dark and cramped. We ended up going home and measuring out all the rooms, as we couldn't believe it was as big as our current place, only to find that a couple of the rooms are actually a few feet bigger. The person there at the moment just has so much stuff and loads of huge pieces of furniture to store it all that the whole place was filled up. It made us realise how much difference excess stuff makes to the feel of a place and we are determined to make it as light and spacious as possible when we move in.

So far we have done the bottom of the wardrobe and reduced our 3 bookcases of books in the living room to 2 (it has made the room so much bigger!). DP has gone through his clothes and got rid of loads of things I have been trying to persuade him to part with for years [super impressed face]

Welcome Roar

Having a difficult day trying to motivate myself to do the basics - need to just try and plough on!

One child down. 3 to go! Which actually means 2 going for a nap and trying to tidy round a whirlwind. Glad school's back so I can crack on. We're sinking under a pile of toys, outgrown clothes, paperwork and heck knows what else. I can't move down the hall properly for boxes of Rainbows stuff so really, really need loft empty.

Onwards and upwards. Literally!!

Good luck Sok! I feel the need to get on with stuff now too. Only just woke up at 9

Hello everyone. Desperately need to declutter my ironing pile but feel on my day off I should, and of course want to, spend it playing with my bambinos.
I wish I was more organised with our clothes. I've given, sold & recycled so many but I find managing the day-to-day laundry & clothes organisation a pain. I want to be able just to get up everyday, open wardrobe, get dressed! I need an ironing plan lol (or just to radically minimise to one outfit each!)

On another note- how have you minimised your kitchen/dining ware? Anyone gone for the 1 cup/plate/dish each scenario?

We've not minimised our kitchen as such. We have 8 plates/bowls/side plates. We've got 4 pint glasses and two smaller glasses for general drinking. Then 8 wine glasses (all the same size), 4 champagne flutes and 4 tumblers. We do like entertaining though and often have friends round to eat so glassware is often needed. Dinnerware is technically 1 each plus a couple of spares as there are 6 inc the babies. But we also have two complete, identical boxes sets ready for when we break some! Sounds cluttery but I hate mixed dinner sets and they were £15 each set down from £60. We've got a lot of plastic plates, bowls and cups for the dc which I really need to cull. Although I've lent quite a few out when sending cake etc round neighbours and they don't always come back so that's decluttering the slow way.

We haven't completely minimised our kitchen/dinnerware but we have cut down a lot. My DSCs often stay at weekends and holidays so obviously need more then! We have got rid of a lot of barely used things like side plates and some really shallow bowls, little tea cups and loads of plastic stuff. The DCs still have some melamine that they usually use - a set each from a couple of Easters ago, and my mum bought two gorgeous little plates on a recent France trip so they use them for dinner most days. I have to say what's really helped is that DH (who does most of the general housework due to my health) is now in the habit of washing up every day so we don't need as much anyway. Same with clothing although I still have a bit to cull I think.

We've achieved a lot today - went through more random boxes of crap (mostly toys) and got rid of loads. Also sorted lots of things, using a few of the Really Useful Boxes I unearthed a couple of weeks ago. Things are definitely looking up!

Got so much more still to do but it's getting easier every time, well mostly anyway. There's still some "I don't know what to do with that so I'll just shove it in a box" going on, but hopefully once all the easy stuff is out of the way I'll be more able to deal with the tricky things.