Four Rules for the Pseudo Minimalist

Somewhere between seven moves in nine years, reducing our income from two to one and moving back to the city, I whittled my life down into a single, itty bitty one bedroom U-haul truck with plenty of room to spare. I went from drawers of makeup and shelves of handbags, to a few essentials and three purses. Through it all, I never gave much thought to “being a minimalist.” I mean… I love to shop. Target is my second home. But the saying, “If you are tired of putting stuff away, stop buying stuff,” always hangs in the back of my mind. Living in a small space is a constant reminder that extra “stuff” is really not for me.  I hear a lot of my friends complaining about always cleaning or never having enough space, so I wanted to put together my top four rules for the pseudo minimalist.  No Kon Mari folding. Zero feelings of guilt. Just freedom!

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– Do I use this every day?

Okay, maybe not every day. But if something isn’t being used on a regular basis, you probably don’t need it.  Owning a printer is THE most annoying thing ever. A big, bulky appliance that we almost never used. It just sat on a shelf for months at a time, collecting dust. And conveniently, whenever I actually did need to use it, there was no ink. Why is this my life?? I finally decided to just chuck it. It served almost no purpose 360 days out of the year, and the five times where I actually thought I needed it? Oh, there was an online software for that signature!

There are plenty of things in our home that maybe we don’t use every single day, but we can’t get rid of. The tool box or flash light. But that old pair of heels you swore you were going to wear and still have the sticker on the bottom? Donate! The crafts you promised your son you were going to make and he got bored five minutes in? Toss! The giant Mofongo masher thing in your kitchen that isn’t even used once a year.  Give it to a friend. It takes up space in your home, and thus takes up time and space in your life.

– A place for everything, and everything in it’s place

This is my absolute favorite rule in our home. It makes my inner Monica squeal with delight. We have very little clutter in our home, and it is one hundred percent attributed to everything having a spot. Important papers (really important ones, not your utility bill from 16 months ago, but passports and such) go in a fire safe box.  Toys all have an appropriate bin. We live in a little 750 square foot apartment, and yet nothing is stored in plain sight. We have a Christmas tree, suit cases, air conditioners, and buckets of legos. But they all have a spot. Obviously, we have a junk drawer that I have zero intention of cleaning out. Because there is never a spot for batteries, matches or all the random keychains my oldest acquires from God knows where.

It takes time to get rid of all of the junk, I mean… Unnecessary items in your home and get to the point where everything has a place. My biggest tip to doing this is start by category. Find a spot for all of your cleaning supplies. Make them pretty and convenient and always put them back. Then move onto shoes. Then to books. Toys come next, etc.  If you don’t have a space in your home for something, ask yourself if you really use it enough to warrant keeping it or if it really makes you happy enough to have to keep cleaning it up, aka moving it around to new spots to lie until it annoys you enough to move again.

– Just because it made you happy in the past, doesn’t mean you need to keep it now

This is something I, thankfully, don’t struggle with in the least. With moving comes the desensitizing of emotions attached to objects. If I had kept every little thing over the past ten years that I had loved, I would be the next contestant on an episode of hoarders. Especially gifts. While it is very thoughtful of people to give gifts for things like Christmas and birthday, the obligation to keep those items forever doesn’t exist.

We don’t give gifts expecting people go to their grave with them. It is for them to enjoy. And when that enjoyment ends, it’s totally cool. Are we upset when our kid outgrows that adorable sweater we bought? No. We appreciate all the cute photos and memories that were made while wearing it, and send it packing to Goodwill. The same rule should apply to lipstick colors you no longer fancy and figurines your great grandmother gifted you when you moved into your first home.

– Not all clutter takes up physical space

While this may be the hardest category to practice, I also think it is one of the most important.  We live in this age of never ending obligations. Meetings, activities, schedules, school. It all seems to pile on top of each other.  And most of it is crap. Things that don’t bring actual joy to our lives. Do your kids really need three after school activities? Must you finish that home sewn weekender bag that is weighing down your brain? Does that person you insist on keeping in your life who is constantly dragging your backwards actually need to stay? Nope.

And cleaning up your home helped relieve a lot of the daily mental pressure we can feel. When our physical space is calm and organized, our brains can follow suit. Releasing mental and emotional clutter is even more freeing that creating a breathable, simple space. By using these four rules for the pseudo minimalist, you can open up your heart and mind to freedom from stress.

Think about one area of your life that you can declutter and spend 15 minutes working on it today.