New Year – Minimalism in 2020

Minimalism? What’s it all about?? Some of you may have heard of it and others may not be so familiar with the term.

Minimalism: A Documentary Image from Minimalism Documentary

I personally found inspiration after watching the Netflix documentary called “Minimalism” as well as being an obsessed, long term fan of the show “Tiny House Nation”. The idea became so attractive to me, learn to rid the clutter… It’s that simple! We tend to live in a world of excess here in America. Buying things just to buy things — filling our homes with ‘stuff’ not necessarily necessities. We hold onto things for sentimental value or because we feel we HAVE to have it. The idea of minimalism brought new ideas to light for me. How much of this ‘stuff’ do we really need? Do we just buy for the sake of buying because advertisements can be so enticing? Or because we feel obligated to? Well, in 2020 people are evolving and mindsets are changing. Minimalism can be a great stress reliever and can lead to a simpler yet more fulfilling lifestyle.

Now, I can’t call myself a minimalist but I find the idea very eye-opening. I do my best to apply minimalist knowledge to my lifestyle. Now that the rush of holiday season is over, I’m sure I’m not alone cleaning my house and tidying things back in order! Most people hear of spring cleaning and well, I’m a fan of a good, seasonal purge!

Do you have a hard time letting things go? One note I took from the show Tiny House Nation was how to downsize your material items. How much do you really need? Tiny House host, John Weisbarth said, you can categorize your things into three different piles. One to KEEP, one to DONATE and one to RID/RECYCLE. I thought that was a wonderful idea. Some people have a hard time letting go of their material items so I thought a donation pile was a perfect way to give your things a purpose, by donating them to people in need. At least in doing so, you don’t feel your respected stuff is garbage — you know it’s going to a good cause or charity.

Tiny House Nation! Photo from John Weisbarth’s Instagram

Currently at my house, I’m about to start my Winter Purge! For example, I’ll start with my kitchen — I’ve noticed I have an excessive amount of cups and plates. I do like to host parties but not everything in my cabinets is a need. I’m about to Marie Kondo the crap out of my condo! Haha. Another great watch if you’ve never heard of it, “Tidying Up” with Marie Kondo on Netflix. Literally the best show to watch if you need to learn to let go and want to learn many useful storage hacks!

That’s my kind of Netflix and chill 😊💛 Image by @workde.art on Instagram

Want to learn how to fold clothes the Marie Kondo way? Click here!

To start, ask yourself a few questions. Are these items needs or wants? Do you host diner parties? If so, it makes sense that you have a set of chinaware if you like to use it on special occasion. Do you have a big family? Well, you may need 12 plate and cup sets. If your stuff makes sense for you AND it’s something that gets used, it’s an exception to a minimalistic rule of thumb.

Minimalism is such a great thing to incorporate into your lifestyle. I was recently reminded I needed to go through my ‘stuff’. Just the other day, I went into a kitchen cabinet and I noticed that there are so many cups and glasses packed to the brim in my kitchen that it’s a bit overwhelming. Less stuff to me means less stress! But that day, I went to grab something out of my cabinet and a glass Pyrex dish came flying out, crashing down, hitting my tile floor and shattering into a million, tiny pieces. All before I had my morning coffee…. Yep, one of those days. So, it was that morning I said to myself, why do we have SO MUCH STUFF?! I needed that reminder! Because in all honestly, a lot of my cabinets have filled up with total excess over the years.

Yes, I enjoy hosting family and friends for dinner but I can’t say I do it often enough that everything I own is a need. Overall, a lot of the cups I have wouldn’t be used for a dinner parties so, this is where my urge for a seasonal purge came into play! Now that it’s 2020, it’s a new year and a fresh new start! I want to spread more awareness on being more mindful with a minimalistic mindset. A clear space provides a clear mind.

KonMari method Tidy Tips #TidyingUp Image from Marie Kondo

Each season, four times a year, go through your STUFF. Pick out what you need VS what you want and ask yourself do you use these items or do they collect dust? I promise you as you go through every cabinet and closet, your life will feel a lot lighter, not only visually but physically too! Who needs to wait for the Spring to do a good house cleaning when you can stay on top of things at least 4 times a year. You may just thank me later!

New Year, De-Clutter. It’s a trend worth staying. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year! I look forward to sharing more insight with you all again soon🙏🏻

One of my new & improved kitchen cabinets! One portion of the house is done, donations have been made! Happy New Year to all!