How to Adopt a Minimalist Approach

Are you tired of consumerism? Have you been looking at your cluttered home and wondering why you have surrounded yourself with so much stuff? Would you like to live more minimally? Keep reading to find out how my family has adopted a more minimalist lifestyle. And why we are so much happier for it!

What is minimalism?

Minimalism has been defined in a variety of ways. I like to think of it as living life simply, with only the possessions we need.

Whilst George and I have never thought of ourselves as minimalists before, we are not people who live to excess. We have for many years given a great deal of thought to our purchases, making ethical choices or opting to make do with what we have, on account of the environmental impact and human cost of excessive consumerism and materialism.

That’s not to say that we haven’t managed to build up a great deal of clutter over time. Our house move just over three years ago was a big wake up call to the amount of “stuff” we owned, especially taking into account that we were downsizing slightly to an old cottage without the luxury of built-in storage.

And as we reviewed our belongings, we realised that that’s all a lot of it was: “stuff.” Most of this stuff had sat in boxes for years.

Whilst we did reduce our inventory significantly in the process of moving, we have been ignoring the piles, bags and boxes cluttering our lives for the past three years; honestly, I’ve felt stuck in a rut with it all, and just haven’t had the brain space to contend with it.

That is, until I found out I was pregnant earlier this year. Suddenly the knowledge that I would have the responsibility of setting a good example to this precious new life began to weigh very heavily on me. I started to examine all aspects of myself, as well as the life that George and I had built together, including all the key tenets that we try to live by. And suddenly I was filled with the motivation I needed to become the person that I wanted my child to be in the future.

Where does all this stuff come from?

Armed with Audible titles on minimalism and some very inspiring YouTube videos, I set about decluttering our home. I wanted to live in a clean and tidy space, that would not cause embarrassment if people came round at short notice. I needed to make room for our growing family. Above all, I felt driven to lead by example that we do not need vast quantities of material possessions in order to be happy and fulfilled.

But first, I needed to understand how we had managed to accumulate all this clutter in the first place. As I’ve said already, we’re not big spenders and we’d far rather walk up a hill than walk round a shopping centre at the weekend.

As I began sorting through the various items we hadn’t even looked at, much less used, since we moved house three years ago, a few clear themes emerged.

Gifts

Gifts come in various guises. From the thoughtful, “I saw this and it reminded me of you,” to the Amazon search for, “gifts for brother-in-law who has everything.” From airport trinkets to gift vouchers or cash. There is an expectation now that we should provide a beautifully wrapped item for friends or family members to commemorate any special occasion. A simple card or sending heart-felt good wishes is no longer enough.

And this is where so much of our clutter came from.

Our drawers and wardrobes were overflowing with clothing that had been given as a birthday or Christmas gift, as well as items we had bought with gift vouchers so they didn’t go to waste. We each easily had more than a lifetime supply of clothes (a good incentive to stay the same size!).

Then there were more trinkets and photo frames than we had horizontal surfaces to display them on. Many were not to our taste and hadn’t even been taken out the cellophane.

We had bags of soft toys from our childhoods, so many that we couldn’t remember when we had received them or who had been kind enough to gift them to us.

Gifts are a major source of clutter because they come into our lives with such regularity, and because most of us would feel inherently guilty about re-gifting unwanted items or donating them to charity.

Here is where I made my first set of major changes. Primarily, I have proactively sought to opt out of any gift exchanges. Honestly, I do not need any more stuff. And having met very little resistance with my direct approach to this, I am sure that most of my friends and family feel the same way.

Secondly, I have given myself permission to move on any gifts which do not serve a purpose in my life or in my home. Once someone has given you a gift, it is yours to do with as you choose. That includes the option of decluttering it out of your home. If someone asks what happened to the Chinese good luck frog that used to be tucked behind the plants on the living room windowsill, I’ll be honest and say that it wasn’t to my taste so I added it to the bag of donations that I took to the charity shop.

Hand-Me-Downs

I hate waste. I especially detest perfectly good items going to landfill, just because they’re no longer wanted. This has proved to be a source of weakness for me in the past.

As neighbours, friends and relatives have moved home or decluttered their possessions for other reasons, I found myself accepting almost any and all items offered to me because otherwise they’d go in the bin. I could probably make use of [insert name of item here] one day, right?

Much like the gifts I held onto despite the knowledge that they were not useful to me, these hand-me-down items accumulated in our home as well. It was as though I had to prove the point that they were not rubbish, and I would make use of them.

And here came a second mindset shift. What other people decide to do with surplus inventory when they are decluttering is not my responsibility. I do not need to move their clutter into my home, lest it get taken to the rubbish dump. Instead, I can politely decline the offer of any items which are not useful to me, and kindly suggest the person puts a box of items together for the charity shop instead of discarding things that are still in reasonable condition. I could even offer to make the trip to the charity shop to help them out. But ultimately the decision is theirs.

Multiples and Duplicates

George and I each had a proper, grown-up home when we met. This meant that we had an awful lot of duplicates when we moved in together. Two of every appliance, two copies of various books and DVD box sets, two sets of cookware, cutlery and crockery. The list goes on.

Instead of facing this head-on at the time of combining our homes, a lot of these duplicated items got stored in the loft “just in case” one kettle stopped working or one alarm clock radio failed. Then we knew we’d have a spare.

We hadn’t needed any of these spares in the five years between us moving in together and moving to our forever home. And yet, we’d hung onto them all.

This turned out to be a reasonably straightforward category to declutter. It no longer mattered which ironing board was mine and which had been George’s. We only needed one of them. We decided which we liked better, and got rid of the superfluous one. This was the third change to our thought processes around managing inventory. We have the items that we need in the house, and no more. If we find that we have acquired more than is necessary, for whatever reason, the excess gets moved on so that someone else can make use of it. Nobody needs a second set of Christmas decorations “just in case.”

Why is clutter bad for us?

Now that we have made significant progress in our decluttering endeavours, I can already feel the benefits. My mind feels clearer, it’s so much easier to keep the house clean and tidy, and I have so much more energy to dedicate to work in the garden and creative hobbies.

Having noticed such a difference in the way I feel, I wanted to delve a little deeper into the reasons why clutter is so detrimental. And, if this is the case, why do so many people see shopping as a hobby? Why do we fall prey time and again to marketing ploys? Why are we so determined to fill our homes with items, rather than enjoying clutter-free spaces?

Have you ever wondered where the idea of “retail therapy” came from? Why do we like to make purchases when we’re feeling stressed or in need of a pick-me-up?

There is no doubt that an impulse purchase releases happy hormones such as endorphins and dopamine. This little high from swiping your credit card can be addictive. There is also some evidence to suggest that higher levels of dopamine feed back to increase our impulsivity. A vicious circle.

Many of us also like to surround ourselves with things, just in case we need them. We can’t let go of items because they might one day come in useful.

The problem is that the momentary gratification of making a purchase, and the feelings of security from collecting just in case items are only short-lived. The detrimental effects of clutter are much longer-lasting. Having all these unnecessary items surrounding us can exacerbate stress and anxiety, as we do battle with piles of stuff in futile attempts to keep our homes tidy and presentable.

They can also be a constant reminder of reckless spending choices, or provoke feelings of guilt over getting into debt to purchase these items which are now sitting unused. As we look around our chaotic, cluttered homes, we tell ourselves that we’re bad home-makers, that we’re not good spouses or parents, that it’s our fault that we can’t keep on top of things.

When we clutter our children’s spaces with excessive quantities of stuff, especially toys, we hamper their creativity and adversely affect their mental health and ability to make decisions.

The evidence is clear that reducing the clutter in our homes can have significant benefits for all members of the family.

How do I stop the clutter from coming back?

In addition to the changes that I’ve outlined above, there are some other tricks you can employ to ensure all your hard work decluttering your home will not go to waste.

I am beginning a routine of reviewing all of the items in the house at intervals and asking a simple question: “Does this item add value to my life?” If not, out it goes.

George and I have also implemented some rules around making purchases. Aside from the weekly grocery shop, any other purchases have to wait until the first weekend of the following month. We keep a list through each month of things we think we need, and review our suggestions together before committing to the purchase. This avoids any impulse spending, and gives us a cooling-off period to fully consider whether we actually need the item in question, or if we could make do with something else that we already own. It also allows time to do some research about whether the product we have in mind is the most ethical, sustainable option, or if there are any alternatives.

We’ve also started to set some boundaries with friends and family around gifting for our baby. We haven’t put a gift list together ahead of baby’s arrival; instead, we have explained that we want to keep things as ethical and minimal as possible, and we are not expecting any gifts. We will see how successful this turns out to be! Realistically, we know that there is nothing we can do to enforce this. But, much like all the other surplus items that have been donated, we can move on anything that does not align with our values or serve a purpose in our home.

9 Top Tips for Living Minimally

1. Take time to reflect on the state of your home currently, and the way you feel when you are in your living environment. Do you feel stressed or anxious when you return home? Are you feeling stuck in a cycle of guilt and blame because you can’t keep up with the housework? Do you have another reason for decluttering? Know your “why” before you start!
2. Stop going shopping just for something to do. This includes scrolling through online stores. Find some hobbies which do not revolve around consumerism and do not put you in the way of temptation.
3. You don’t have to do the whole house, or even a whole room, in one go. Break it down into manageable chunks and ask yourself that simple question as you review each of your belongings: “Does this add value to my life?”
4. Where possible, opt out of gift exchanges. Making a joint donation to a mutually agreed charity or choosing to buy a shared experience are both good alternatives to buying material gifts that neither party really wants or needs. Or even just appreciate the sentiment of a nice card with some kind words!
5. You don’t have to feel guilty about moving on any items gifted to you, which do not add value to your life. Your happiness and mental well-being are more important than clinging onto gifts which you neither want nor need, just to be polite.
6. Exercise caution in accepting items from other people who are decluttering. You can offer to take a load to the charity shop for them, if the alternative is items being sent to landfill. But remember, the decision and responsibility is ultimately theirs!
7. Remove any unnecessary duplicates and multiples from your home as soon as you recognise that you have more than you need.
8. Have a set window each month for making purchases to avoid any impulse buying. Hold yourself accountable for justifying why you need to bring this item into your home.
9. If you have children, try to set some boundaries with friends and family to avoid excessive gifting. And as with gifts you receive for yourself, you are well within your rights to move on any items which do not align with your values or do not otherwise add value to your child’s life.

So, there you have it! With Christmas and the New Year rapidly approaching, could there be a better time to adopt some minimalist ideas into your life?