I've Become a Minimalist...Yes, that's right

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

So my New Year's resolution is to clean out and get organized and de-stress.  I started reading books about minimizing my "stuff" and it got a little deeper than I ever thought.  It has been eye-opening for me and truly has de-stressed my mind and life.  I've loved cleaning out the house of all the things I just don't use and was either holding on to for "emergencies", "someday", "maybe I'll use it..." or "I've used it once before and might need it again."
It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated through the years and how much stuff I haven't used in years.  I've kept everything that brings me joy, that I use often, that I absolutely need and that my family needs.  Everything else I've donated, given away, recycled and as a last resort, thrown away.  I've tried very hard not to throw away anything unless I can't find another way to get rid of it.  Many items are very useful and will be used by someone else instead of being stuck in the corner of a closet or on the top of a shelf not being used by me.  They might as well be given to someone who will use it for what it should be used for.
The hardest part is figuring out what to do with mementos or items that are from my childhood that don't really do anything for me anymore.  What will I do with all my girl scout badges?  With my trophies?  With my items that have been boxed away with no where to go buy another box? With my stuffed animals?  With my blankets?  With the stuff I can't let my own children use, I've taken pictures of it and put the pictures in a binder and then said a quick thank you to the items and good-bye and gotten rid of them.

I have a new vision of gift giving, receiving, clothes purchasing, knick-knack buying, souvenir searching, book displaying, item keeping, etc.  If it doesn't give you joy or have a special purpose that is a "need", then I don't need it.  Having clear counters and empty drawers and less furniture and clean and organized cabinets really does make me happy and stress-free.  I like that feeling a lot!  Everything has a place and purpose now.  It's been easier to clean, find things, put things away and even organize.  Even after the bathroom remodel, it was so much easier moving back into our room since I had minimized everything in the house before we started the work.

The books I've been reading about becoming a minimalist have said it takes a good 6 months to really clean out your life and you only have to do it once because then it's easier to keep up with then it is to mess up.  So far I'm almost 1/2 through the 6 months and I feel really good about it, especially since I went through a remodel in the middle of it all.

Here's the picture of my girl scout badges and memorabilia:
Really - what was I going to do with this now?  Where would I put this?  After I go, what would my kids do with it?  Then what?  It was always be in a box in the garage or attic or in the back of a closet.  But now that I have a picture of it and it's posted, I'll always be able to revert back to it here and easily!