Welcome back!
I know we were in this section a few days ago, but something struck a chord with me, and I wanted to write about it. Quote from my younger brother:
I know we were in this section a few days ago, but something struck a chord with me, and I wanted to write about it. Quote from my younger brother:
You're not a minimalist! Didn't you tell me that minimalists only own 100 things? See all these colored pencils? They each count as a thing!
Before I get down to my point- that even when we seem minimalist to others, we need to be constantly careful- I need to address a few things.
Now, onto my main point.
- There is no definition for when one becomes a minimalist. Own one thing or own a million. If you are paring down to what truly adds value to your life (not just what you think), you are a minimalist. If the talk of freedom and values and time appeals to you and you are trying to implement them, you are a minimalist.
- Not every minimalist owns 100 things.
- Yes, I still have the colored pencils- 16 of them. Yes, they still add value to my life. But no, if I were to count my possessions, I would count them as one item, as a "set."
Now, onto my main point.
I'm a minimalist. Now how do I maintain it?
I'm about to answer that. In the two questions below, the numbered sections should give you a good start. Feel free to leave comments or questions.
After I become a minimalist in my possessions, why do I still need to downsize?
There comes a point in your minimalism journey when you will (hopefully) genuinely reach the point where you are fully convinced that it would be impossible to get rid of anything else without depriving yourself. At that point, here are the steps I suggest you take.
There comes a point in your minimalism journey when you will (hopefully) genuinely reach the point where you are fully convinced that it would be impossible to get rid of anything else without depriving yourself. At that point, here are the steps I suggest you take.
- Keep a "donate" box. When you come across a possession that you no longer use (it's inevitable. Nothing lasts forever), toss it in that box. When the box is full, don't look in it. Box it up and donate it. Doing this will keep you in a continual state of paring down, albeit a slower maintenance stage.
- One in, one (or two) out rule. If you're going to bring something (non-consumable) into the house, then one thing has to leave. Unless you really like cycling your possessions and having to repurchase the things that work over and over, I suggest you use this rule. If you're like me, and getting rid of one thing to replace it with another isn't a big deal, you may have stuff that isn't adding value to your life, or you can try to implement second rule- one in, two out. If it's going to cost you something, not just break even, it's harder to find something to get rid of, and you're gradually paring down in the process.
How do I keep up with clutter creep?
I wrote about clutter creep here, so I'm not going to rehash all the gory details of what goes on behind closed doors. But after publishing that post, I had a few different people tell me that the things that are creeping into their lives are things that are important for a month or so, and then useless. They don't want to use the one in, one out rule, because these are things like receipts, bills, invoices, invitations, and supplies for an upcoming event (in which the extras inevitably lie around the house until the next "big purge," which ultimately, we're aiming to get rid of). So what's a student to do?
I wrote about clutter creep here, so I'm not going to rehash all the gory details of what goes on behind closed doors. But after publishing that post, I had a few different people tell me that the things that are creeping into their lives are things that are important for a month or so, and then useless. They don't want to use the one in, one out rule, because these are things like receipts, bills, invoices, invitations, and supplies for an upcoming event (in which the extras inevitably lie around the house until the next "big purge," which ultimately, we're aiming to get rid of). So what's a student to do?
- Receipts: if you have a smartphone, get a money management app. When you get the receipt, do not sit in your car. This is incredibly dangerous. Instead, when you go home, enter the values into your app and immediately shred the paper. If you keep up with shredding, you can shred all paper clutter as it comes in, effectively eliminating the need for a "paper recycle" box. If you don't have a smartphone, use a small notebook. Write the date, amount, category, store, method of payment, and occasion for which things were bought, as well as any other information you may need. Dispose of the receipt in the same way.
- Bills: sign up for online billing. For what paper bills still come to your home, pay them immediately, scan, and store as a document, then keep for the appropriate time (remember; you have a scan of them, so you may not need to keep them at all, dependent on where you live). You can put post it notes on the corner with the date that they must be kept until, then shred on that day. You may choose to organize by month in a file folder, then shred at the end of the month.
- Invoices: Tag with a post it note for how long you need to keep it and organize by month in a file folder (along with bills), then record the necessary information (scan, write it down, whatever you need to do) and dispose of it.
- Supplies: this is a huge one. Buy what you need for that children's birthday party (although there are ways to have a party without purchasing any of it, you may choose to do so anyway, and clean up should be as easy as possible! I'm all about that ease ;) ) or big event, and set up as soon as it's practical. Dispose of the leftover decorations immediately. Keep trash cans available at the party and have a "lost and found" box for about a week afterwards. If your event was small, you can call or text a picture and ask if the things belonged to anyone, then donate or trash the excess. Borrow tables, chairs, extra utensils, and the like.