Any (aspiring) minimalists about?

[HereticFanjo]

I am a natural clutterbug but aspiring minimalist! I'm about to have a couple of months off work between jobs and with no holidays planned this feels like the time to really go for it on the minimalism front! My income will be dropping substantially so I may need to sell some stuff rather than just donate.

How did you get there if you made the leap to minimalism? I find books and household stuff especially difficult to part with.

Follow the Minimalists on Instagram (they also have a show on Netflix) and try their 30 day challenge! Good luck!

Hi OP,

Don't do it all in one go. Just part with some items you really do not need or want first.

Start small - go with one room and or your wardrobe or your bathroom cabinet and make that your minimalist haven. Then if it makes you feel happier, move on to some other area.

Household items - do you use them? Have you too many of them? Have you some other item that will do that same job?

Books - I love to read, I read about 80 books per year. I used to keep lots of books. Now I don't. I have a kindle. Unless you have a library full of first editions, you don't need to keep loads and loads of books.

I only keep a few books that look lovely in my antique book case (this is not as pretentious as it sounds, I have a small 1930's glass fronted bookcase in my sitting room). I picked them by selecting

Books I love to read again and again
Books that were given as a special gift

Books are so cheap that it will cost you more in terms of maintaining your house to keep a book than to buy it as a present for someone in the future (if you are holding on to a book to pass on to a child)

I did Marie Kondo and when I need a quick refresh I look up minimalist posts on Pinterest.

I did Marie Kondo to begin with and just top it up every now and then. I am more sentimental than Marie Kondo so still have lots of personal memorabilia stashed away.

We are by no means very minimal, but we don’t have CDs, DVDs, books etc as they can all be electronic or rented from the library.

We don’t have too many ornaments and clutter on surfaces around,

I like tidy drawers and cupboards too, because things need to be easy to put away.

It has taken us a good few years to keep it up though.

The main thing that helped was kindly asking family (specific members) not to get us anything for the house for Christmas or birthdays and then to be really mindful when purchasing things for ourselves. I go on a “one in, one out” philosophy with clothing if I can.

As PP said, following inspiration on Instagram helps, i love seeing the calm pictures

Thanks all! Part of the problem is that DH will not be on board and regularly buys crap for DC. I might end up binning him too!

I decided to adopt minimalist principals out of sheer frustration with feeling unable to cope with keeping on top of everything. I have health issues that make me quite tired and 2 of my children have special needs, one severely. It has honestly made such a difference. My husband wasn’t on board at first either but now is at least as enthusiastic as me. I started to see my possessions in a different light and resented them as I came to realise how much of my time and energy they were taking up, initially I was very sentimental too. My home definitely doesn’t look particularly minimalist, probably because we are a family of 7 living in 11000 sq feet, but I know that everything I have now is used or seriously sentimental. I got a lot of inspiration from YouTube family minimalists. I particularly like Small Changes and the Minimal Mom.

My DH didn’t really understand at first either, but when he started to see the changes, he got on board (maybe a little too much - he’s also less sentimental than me!)

www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Less-Shopping-Belongings-Discovered-ebook/dp/B0767XNB47/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?hvlocphy=1006926&hvnetw=g&keywords=a+year+of+less&hvadid=259101646951&qid=1624652553&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_dWGBhDAARIsAMcYuJzhjayZjv8OG9mbN1DaO-gplAtjR-93dRKB5FQIz4fiwQWlisnCDB0aAl6oEALw_wcB&hydadcr=21643_1763701&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-399469077345&adgrpid=57283793910&hvrand=15386113429494953578&sr=8-1

Not sure whether this is what you want but I read this and it really resonated with me.

My dh got on board slowly too, as he started to see the effects in our house.

I started watching you tube videos and listening to podcasts and interviews so I was immersing myself in the concept of minimalism.

I’ve settled at a point now where I’m not exactly a minimalist but I’m very choosy about what I want to bring into our house. I love having things neatly laid out in drawers and on shelves instead of crammed in, so the space around stuff has become as important as the things.

My advice is not to start with the difficult stuff. Start with whatever is easy to purge because the more you get out, the more you will want to get out and the harder decisions will get easier.

I am always looking for ways to declutter. I found this blog post super useful on decluttering the bathroom. brambleandblossom.co.uk/blogs/journal/practice-true-self-care-and-cut-the-waste-from-your-bathroom
Not sure if you would raise much cash, I suspect that coin lies in the wardrobe or jewellery you just don't wear. Good Luck!

I'm no where near minimalist...but I do aspire! And I declutter (all the time) often.

To feel inspired and not get overwhelmed I would suggest starting with one drawer or shelf that bugs you.. Like a junk drawer it you knicker drawer. Set a timer for 30 mins and just do that one thing. Then, when you have time, tackle the next drawer it shelf that bugs you.

Highly recommend reading Marie Kondo and getting your head around it before working out when you can tackle the areas in your home. I'm still amazed at how many scarves I have now they are all together!

I consider myself to be a minimalist. I now only have the basic toiletries, one small bag of makeup, a capsule wardrobe (I do project 333) and no stored junk. I would say;

• The process is well worth it, but it does take years, especially as you’re selling stuff and not donating it. I also sold my stuff as I needed the cash. It brings some nice money in and helps to keep the motivation up.
• The hardest things to declutter are books and meaningful/childhood/inherited items, so maybe save those til last.
• Once you get to a good place with your minimalism you will likely also get to a point where you stop shopping as a hobby (if you do that in the first place). I find now that I don’t buy much at all, and I’m a lot fussier about what I do buy.

I agree that Marie Condo is a good place to start.

I also recommend packing and storing away things that you’re really not sure about, then revisit in six months or so.

Enjoy the journey! I find minimalism fun.

I did Marie Kondo a few years ago and it was excellent for giving me "permission" to get rid of perfectly good clothes that fit me but that I didn't like.

However now I am more aiming for a minimalist lifestyle - with the mindset too. My aim is to simplify my life and have more time for things that are important to me (family and sport) rather than acquiring, organizing, tidying and cleaning stuff.

I love Joshua Becker's youtube videos. Very measured. Each video is short, to the point and inspiring. No waffle.

He also has videos on how to deal with spouses and DC (he has 2 DC).

I feel so much better since I started 2 months ago. Flat is way easier to tidy. Cupboards are not full to the brim amd everything has its own space OUT OF SIGHT. So when I look around a room its nice and peaceful and calming.

I learnt about the "silent to do list" (objects lying around talk to you saying things like "tidy me" or "clean me" or "file me") and try to have as little as possible out to distract me.

I have sold big tickets items but anything not worth my time (clothes, board games etc) I give to charity.

Ooh lurking

Also lurking... All the recommendations sound great

How are you getting on OP?

I have almost completed my first round of minimalising. But I see the process as an onion - as I get more used to it I'll go back and remove more, layer by layer.

I'm also happy thinking about what I want to do with my life with fewer distractions from stuff.

I identify with you totally. Something I read once which helped me was to think of the stuff you keep 'just in case' in terms of storage cost v the price of it.

Like if you have a waffle iron that you never use at all or use maybe once in five years, and if you had to pay to store it (just making up numbers here btw) and it would cost you £12 a year to store it, that would be £60 but if buying a new waffle iron costs £40, it might be better financially to chuck it out and if the day comes when you really need it, buy a new one.

Another aspiring minimalist here. These are some things I did:

Started with Marie Kondo, which transformed the house and I still do top up decluttering every summer and at Christmas.

Stopped buying clothes about 3 years ago except as replacements when they get worn out, but only if it's essential eg socks.

I don't have knickknacks but I do have photos. Most surfaces are clear.

Take before and after pictures of every space, including drawers, boxes, cupboards and rooms.

When people come to my house (not for a while now, obviously) they always comment how little stuff we have. That's a good thing I say to them.

Maybe I should join instagram? I usually look on YouTube.

I find a lot of videos on youtube just waffle about minimalism.

I did watch a lot of minimal mom at first but quickly preferred the straight to the point talking of Joshua Becker.

Im not on Instagram. I'm not so interested in looking at photos of what others have done in their home. Im more interested on advice and motivation to keep going on my own home

Oh and i regret not taking before pictures

I am quite a long way along the minimalist journey.
The peace and calm it brings is priceless.
The biggest hurdle is to stop bringing new stuff in unless it satisfies high requirements.
It is so ingrained in us for consumerism to give us a real buzz, and its difficult sometimes to remember thats a bad route.

Agree with peace and calm. Ive had several moments when I've emptied shelves or drawers and can then spread out the other stuff I have making it more accessible and just more pleasant to get.

Its also reduced the non stop decisions. Before I had 9 coats, several of which had the same function (eg thin raincoat). Every time I needed a thin raincoat I had to decide between the 2. I got rid of the old one and suddenly when I need one I just open the cupboard and take the only one available. Just one fewer decision in my busy day. Its so freeing.

I'm a bit of an aspiring minimalist too. I like minimalist, neutral decor too. I find clutter and busy, colourful decor very unrelaxing!

My main obstacle to minimalism isn't emotional attachment to belongings (I actually find it very easy to get rid of stuff). It's just finding the motivation to get around to decluttering! And the fact that I'm inherently quite untidy even when I don't have that much stuff.

I did Kondo my clothes drawers a while back, with the folding method etc, and have stuck with it. It does take a bit longer to put the clothes away, but it's so much easier to find what you want!

@InvincibleInvisibility I prefer Joshua Becker to anyone else on YouTube. I quite like Saida's quietness on her few minimalist vids on Pick Up Limes and wish she would do more. Most are either hyper and/or have annoying voices.

Like Lazy I am inherently untidy and messy but the less stuff I have the less mess I can make.

Does anyone have before and after photos they feel comfortable sharing? I'm really interested in this

Agree with the annoying voices And they often repeat themselves.