A Minimizing Update
It’s time for a minimizing update.
Things I do that I’m not proud of, but I’ve changed:
- Buy on sale or second hand — as if inexpensive makes it OK to get something you don’t want/need. Oh, it’s only $3, $5, $10…… It’s still a waste of money if you don’t need it
- Put an item of clothing on, dislike it, and hang it back up in my own closet. Geez. No more of that! Why put something back you don’t like? But I’ve done it a bajillion times. (that’s a real number)
- Keeping things out of guilt, obligation, or sentimentality that I don’t want or like. For the most part, who will know? Get rid of things you don’t want.
- Keep things that are broken because I’ll repair or replace it. Toss it. If it’s important, you’ll actually replace it, if it’s not, you won’t notice it’s gone.
- I never try clothing on at the store. Colossal mistake. A lot of what I got rid of, I hadn’t worn or only worn once because I didn’t like how it fit. Duh. Geez.
Going through everything in your home with the mindset to minimize changes your entire outlook on what is important. The kids, watching the process, slowly started looking at our belongings differently. Is it fun to clean everything? Does it make us happy? Do we use it? Would we buy it again today? If we move do we want to take it? I’m sure watching me unload about 60–80% of our things was a bit disconcerting but they were great sports. Every room I started to get streamlined, they were happy about. It was easier to clean, stayed clean longer, wasn’t cluttered.
The process has been overwhelming and seems to take forever but we’re figuring out what has value in our lives. I got so frustrated with the state of our home when kids left things out, I’d walk around, bag them up, and put them in the garage. I was exhausted emotionally from trying to keep the house clean and organized. No matter how many plastic buckets I bought to organize, it seemed to just get worse. We told the kids that if it mattered, they’d put it away. If it didn’t and I had to pick it up, it was gone. It was amazing how things went missing that they actually DID want. Then remember to clean up. If you have so much stuff that you can’t pick it up, get rid of it. We aren’t hoarders by any stretch of the imagination but things accumulate. The donation truck will have to come a couple of times, we have things listed for sale on Craigslist, I drive things to second hand and a few things made their way back into the house. The kids are learning to let go — and so are the adults. I CAN NOT WAIT to get things to the point that the house is cleared out and the garage is organized. I look forward to walking into my home and feeling happy to be there.
Originally published at https://www.momof18.com.
Jenn is Mom of 18, Transformational Coach for Christian women, host of At A Crossroads with The Naked Podcaster, Author, Runner, Minimalist, & Healthy Lifestyle Advocate
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