The march towards Minimalism continues...

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Hey all, thought I'd make a new thread to encourage us all to keep going on the journey to minimalism!

Ah I think I misread! She's worrying about either her or FiL being left alone and as they use teapots, she's got it into her head that she'll need a smaller one AND it's not that she's worrying about you and your DH being alone....(!) duh.. I really should read things properly!!!

Right, am off to decluttering the kids room (it's a tip) and am already making a list in my head of things DH and I have that can go based on the "it's around somewhere" statement... I explained it to DH and I think he gets now why I feel I have to hold on to somethings even if we don't need/want them. Roll on the decluttering!

DC's bedroom tidied with a bootful to the tip and 2 bags of stuff to charity. Have started the kitchen and have 5 bags of stuff to go to the charity shop including those teapots (even the one my Nan gave me as I realised I haven't used it in over 12mths...)! Am practising my "oh it's around somewhere" response to DH and Dfriend ready for next time I see DM! DH wants us to start the attic decluttering session (which we have been talking about for several years months) tomorrow

I think I need to practice that response too, daisy.

Just popping in to say I'm over halfway through reading Minimalist Parenting. Definitely recommend it, although I think on balance I prefer Simplicity Parenting as SP had much more on the whys and hows of physical decluttering. MP is more focused on schedules and family life in general (which is preaching to the choir for me, as we already live a pretty simple unhurried life and have never been rushing about type people).

lurk
this thread looks interesting
Wonder if any of you guys can help with my thread
here

Well I cleared out my work bag today... yuk

Also have thrown away a few more bits but my goodness it is slow going. I ache like hell at the moment.

But showing the DCs how to put their own clothes away has worked well - so far I've only fully organised underwear/socks/jammies, and so we've focused on that so far. They are very proud to do it themselves. During the week I'll do the rest of their clothes and teach them that bit too (stuff like leggings/shorts and their hanging wardrobe). :)

Hi slowlygettingthere I'm enjoying your thread and hoping to pick up some tips!

We have been slowly (well, more fits and bursts) decluttering for almost a couple of years now but it still seems the same...how can this be?

On a plus point my DP agrees with me that we don't need all our books/DVDs/CDs. So we will do another sweep through them and store what we can electronically.

fuzzpig I think you are right getting your children trained I think I get overwhelmed because I try to control it all myself.

Hi there. Thanks for all your inspiration. I am regularly reading though not participating as much - life is hard going at the moment! However I have decided to do a "get rid of 40 things for lent" task. So far I've found 3 things so I'm already a bit behind!

Jimmy- I think the secret is that you have to keep track of what you bring in to the house as well as what you get rid of!

Fuzzpig, I'm glad you are managing to achieve things with your 15 mins a day approach!

Have been away for a my family for several days with no net access, no tv etc. It's great to disconnect from time to time.
Back with piles of washing but it's good drying weather. Plus during our absence I have received some requests for bits and bobs I had posted on give away sites before we went. And most of the bulbs I received for my birthday last year are in flower so I'm feeling really refreshed and cheerful. Off to catch up on the thread now......

The sun is shining and I finally think that I've shrugged off my cold - yay! I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. I was at my parents' house with the DCs and I noticed 2 things.

Firstly, both DCs are more than happy to play with the small selection of toys there (plastic tea set, some duplo, some very old playmobil) and the television is hardly ever on if we are there during the day.

Secondly, their house is tidy - not minimalist in the 'all white and completely clear surfaces' sense, as they have got a few ornaments and picture frames dotted about but there's no piles of random crap. And even if activity takes place (DIY, crafty stuff, cooking) the room is returned to its original state straight afterwards.

After sitting and pondering about this for a while I realised that in their house everything has it's own place and once it has been used it is tidied away back to said place. My lovely mum is able to keep a clean house because she doesn't have drawers and cupboards stuffed full of crap to the point where things live on surfaces/the floor/stuffed into a carrier bag because there's nowhere else for it to go.

So I really need to do a complete, proper clearout of every bit of storage we possess because there's simply no point in me rearranging the reams of detritus that we keep chez Teacake - we need to create some proper space to keep our possessions in, with some wriggle room for any new acquisitions. This is going to mean making some quite big decisions about 'stuff' over the coming months but I think I'm ready to actually do that now.

fuzzpig thanks so much for your updates on the Minimalist Parenting book. Like you we're not 'full schedule' parents, although the DCs are relatively young still so things are still in our control. However, I'm determined to do more of a sort through of their toys and I really need to do something about the amount of screen time that they have. (I have an ailment, the meds for which make me quite tired and I'm guilty of letting the DCs watch tv when I'm just too knackered to do much else with them. I feel crap about it but while I was at my mum's I realised that they can still play and be content without me automatically reaching for the CBeebies childminding service).

Apologies for the long ramble which is actually me just realising the obvious when it comes to minimising, but I feel better for sharing!

Morning lovelies. I think a nice sunny day on Sunday has invigorated me again! I spent the afternoon tidying the front garden and mowing the lawn while dc whizzed around on bikes. Was lovely to be outside.

Ive finally found the right storage boxes I wanted for under our stairs. And b&q were also doing a shelving unit half price for a fiver - only one of those plastic ones. But really quite sturdy so the butchers block can now vacate the space and leave room for more efficient storage under the stairs. Dd has managed to lose one of her school shoes somewhere downstairs. One! So she's been wearing plimsolls the last few days. It comes to something when dh can't even find it and he has been search trained for work.

Onwards and outwards with the crap!

Glad people are making progress! I managed to ditch a whole binbag of random crap yesterday :)

You're welcome TeacakeMax :) I know where you're coming from re: the screen time. We'd done exactly the same, growing reliant on it due to our health/injuries depleting our energy. But it was totally worth making the changes. I think SP is better than MP in terms of encouragement for reducing toys and screen time - I'd always wanted to reduce screen time and felt guilty (although we shouldn't - we do what we have to do to get by, don't we?) but it was SP that really gave me the motivation to bite the bullet and tackle it. They really do play better without the distraction, so I'm glad we put up with the few days of whinging :)

I'm reducing screen time too - it has been on quite a bit more than normal due to pregnancy tiredness and working from home so having deadlines to meet, but I'm feeling more energetic and have finished this contract so it's time to tackle it. It's been surprisingly easy, a few whinges but ok - I let them have the telly but set a limit in advance "you can watch X & Y then we switch off" and while they're watching find a couple of mins to lay out an activity (literally just fetching pens and a few activity books, or the playdough to the table) so if they need some direction post-telly I have something ready for them. But they often just go and amuse themselves. I've also been watching and worked out the best times for telly - usually the time before dinner is more fractious as they're tired and hungry, so I will save the time to use it then, and then just not even broach the subject post dinner. I'm going to gradually cut back the tv further too now we've established some good principles.

Sounds like everyone has found their mojo again Think I need to reread SP as a reminder.

2 massive baby items gone today and 2 bags to the chazzer. Tonight's fun activity is to finish the filing, fun times!

educatingarti you are right, I keep no mental record of items coming in. It's the silly things like a child's magazine, pre school artwork, post, hair bobbles, random balloons from a party that just seem to grow on my shelves/in room corners. I think I need a daily 'sweep' of these things but instead of random bags of crap I must actually deal with them.

educating - that Lent thing sounds like a good idea
Interested about the minimalist parenting ting too
teacake - agree = have noticed similar thing at the in laws - we have just TOO many toys
have a full class birthday party coming up = want to encourage DS to have a clear out to make room for the presents we will get
I am mindful when I give to others who may be having a whole class party to try and buy either useful or less clutter e.g. clothes for DC or a DVD and some popcorn

My dc are 9 and 12. I've always limited screen time but find it harder now with needing to use the laptop for homework (ds1) and wanting to talk to friends via Skype/apple messenger constantly - I'm limiting their contact with friends apparently if I limit screen time....(?) I don't remember having to have constant contact with friends at their age - esp as telephone use was limited due to cost and I can't use that argument with our internet access! But.. when screen time is limited, I do notice dc reading or playing with Lego etc much more!

Doing well with our decluttering understairs cupboard done today - need to move the 2nd fridge, freshen up with paint, make 2 storage boxes to fit the drawers (one for potato/onion/celeriac storage and one for gloves, hats etc) sort out lighting & put coat hooks/shoe racks up - we are putting a downstairs cloakroom in so need to move things around a bit.

Kitchen is done barr 1 cupboard which is tomorrow's job. By sorting through other cupboards, I've cleared a cupboard shelf for the microwave so it's now hidden away but accessible. I still have a big box for Tupperware - it is all used so don't want to get rid - but the box takes up so much space. This is freezer/fridge Tupperware (I have a separate draw/shelf for lunchbox stuff) - how do you all store this kind of stuff?

Next on my list is bathroom cupboard and our bedroom wardrobe/cupboards. DH next day off will be spent doing more attic tidying/chucking and then I need him to move sofa in sitting room so I can not only hoover underneath/behind but I can get to a shelf of books which I've decided can pretty much all go.

Seeing it all written down makes me realise what else we still need to do BUT... actually seeing it in real life makes me realise wow, how tidy everywhere is looking and I don't know, I just feel the house is becoming an easier place to keep not only tidy but clean - a huge bonus as my Fibro does stop me doing so much (or I do it and then I suffer.. like today with the US cupboard... sigh!). Also makes me realise that I have another reason to be firm and say "no" to stuff being given to us as well as I can actually say "we've passed it on to someone who could use it" with regards to DM and her constant need to know if we kept stuff - I can state that I need a clear house to help me keep it clean and tidy etc...

Sorry, that was long!

I have the same concern with the freezer plastic boxes. When the freezer is full, the cupboard can be kept tidy, but when we've eaten most of the cooked in advance food, the cupboard is full to bursting. It'd be logical to keep the empty boxes in the freezer. But would that work? I may experiment.

I just try to keep my freezer full so the boxes aren't floating around :) Keeping them in the freezer seems like a very sensible idea actually.

The other option is to freeze in Ziploc bags so you wouldn't have a drawer of plastic boxes. I have a book called Freeze which is very helpful on all things freezing (recipes and storage tips) and she suggests using these because you flatten your meals in the bags and freeze them as 'sheets' which means you can a) store more, b) sort through them more easily to find what you want and c) defrost very quickly. I think she did say that Ziplocs can be washed and reused a few times, but it is obviously more wasteful than having multi-use boxes so not necessarily minimalist even if it takes up less space.

I just remembered the other thing she said for freezers which would really work to cut down on plastic stuff and any ceramic dishes you use for the freezer.

Freeze things like lasagne, cottage pie, fish pie etc. in suitably sized flexible silicone bakeware. Once it's frozen you can easily peel the silicone container off it, and wrap the food in foil to store in the freezer. When you come to defrost and cook it, you just unwrap it and pop it back in the silicone bakeware ready to put in the oven.

So you would probably only need to own a couple of silicone containers and as long as everything you made was the same shape then it would be really easy to defrost and cook them.

I like the silicone bakeware idea, I already have several different shaped cake/loaf silicone "dishes" which would work.. I might invest in some large freezer bags and give it a go..... will ponder some more!

That's really clever Everton, I might give that a go.

Hi not been on here for ages but have been doing better at being 'more minimal' and being tougher on clutter.
Will get to have a proper sit down later so will start catching up with you all! Currently helping my Mum on a mass declutter. She actually admitted yesterday that she's got a problem, and even used the word hoarder. Massive step. Really looking forward to helping her make changes to help her & Dad be happier in their home. Tough going, but will be worth it.

It looks like chaos in most of our house as for a DIY project we have had to temporarily dismantle the shelves where we store the Christmas decorations etc and store in different places.

Still we have rehomed a large article which the in-laws were storing for us. It doesn't make any difference to our living space but it's one thing less to deal with in the future when for whatever reason they are no longer in their current house with endless storage.

Rosa - fantastic that your Mum is finally admitted she hoards things! I hope you can make good progress with her house now!

Somme - my flat looks like chaos and I don't have your excuse!

Thanks Arti. Yes it was great to hear her say it to me (in a weird way) and I feel that we're moving forwards. Two massive bin bags to charity, a bin bag of paper clutter burned ceremoniously :) by Dad and clothes that she wears regularly hung up on a clothes rail (not slung over the re-discovered ironing board in a small hill) to be further sorted into her wardrobe in her bedroom. And she didn't stop despite protests about making a cup of tea, will do that bit later, don't want to think of that just now, the dog needs a wee etc etc
Somme- hope the chaos is a bit less chaotic!