Our homes are our personal castles, our own little corners of paradise, and the places where we can feel safest and most content, happy, and at peace in the entire world… right?
Well, that’s the idea anyway. While our homes can and should be all of the things mentioned above, it is all too commonly the case that we end up suffering in living spaces over-filled with clutter and chaos, wishing there was a robot with a click here for instant tidiness button we could rely on.
There’s little in the world as satisfying as the feeling of finally getting an unruly home under control. For that reason, here’s a look at some ways to let go of the clutter and embrace a more minimalist home ethos today.
Start by getting rid of the stuff you know is clutter
We’re generally pretty good at tricking ourselves out of realising that certain things are, in fact, clutter. Unless you’re a clinically certifiable hoarder, however, you’ve probably got a sense that at least some of the stuff taking up space in your home really is clutter, by your own standards.
The best way to start tidying up your home is by eliminating all of that “obvious clutter”. Get your recycling and waste bins ready, and systematically remove every old milk carton, slightly-out-of-date newspaper, jam jar lid, and bit of leftover packaging from last Christmases gift-giving, and get rid of it.
This is also a good point to do a bit of preliminary cleaning, just to build on your early success and give yourself a sense of purpose and desire to keep moving forward.
Identify everything that isn’t directly useful, or emotionally important to you — be honest with yourself
A key point of minimalist philosophy, as it’s commonly understood and preached today, is that you should hold on to the stuff which you have a strong, positive emotional connection to (such as family heirlooms like your grandmother’s favourite ornament, or your own wedding dress) and things which are clearly and immediately useful to you (such as your laptop and rucksack) and get rid of everything else.
Following this formula, you should set aside some time to identify those items which are emotionally significant to you, or useful. You should be careful to be honest with yourself, however, particularly when dealing with the question of whether something is “useful” or not.
An old jam jar or a jacket you’ve never worn (and probably never will) may hypothetically be “useful” but are they really?
Set aside a weekend to cart things off to the nearest charity shop, recycling plant, or rubbish dump
Once you’ve identified all the things you want to get rid of (at least at first), you should assume that getting rid of it all is going to be a pretty time-consuming process.
At the same time, you want to get the job done as quickly as possible, to prevent yourself from losing momentum or inspiration.
Your best bet here is to set aside a weekend in which you’ll carting things off to the nearest charity shop, recycling plant, or rubbish dump, if not giving them to family and friends.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post.