First steps towards a happy life as a minimalist

While I refrain from paying for Hulu and Netflix services, I’ve been exploring more deeply what YouTube has to offer. It’s interesting what you find that you connect with when you curate your own entertainment. One community or trend that I have been following is the small house and minimalist trends. I was raised by minimalists and have always been unconsciously minimalist, but now I want to wake up to more possibilities with it.

The first step is to open your eyes to the things you consume and surround yourself with at home. I think everyone has a few things that stand out as things that we seem to collect, but don’t profit from. This can motivate us to part with these things, simply stop collecting more or make an effort to use what we have already collected. I have always been a fan of the buyer’s hierarchy of needs pyramid and would love to recreate it as a piece of art to hang in my home. The base of the pyramid, similar to the food pyramid, is the healthiest options. From the bottom up, the buyer’s hierarchy is: use what you have, borrow, trade, save, make, and finally buy.

These are the things I’ve noticed that I collect and don’t get optimal use out of.

Craft

I am such a creative person. Crafting makes me feel good until my mind has created more things than I can physically keep up with and even storing my supplies has become a mess. This year I have decided to clear my palette. Once I have completed the crafts in the queue, I will put all my creative energy into writing because it takes up little space and advances my career.

Books

Books are another habitual consumption with a new minimalist air at first. I’m not THAT bad, but I’m a new mom who hasn’t had a chance to regularly read the books I’ve accumulated. Instead of using my credit card points on books, as I usually do as a gift to myself, I’ll read what I have and trade my points for a cash reward. If I’m interested in skimming through a book on a topic on a whim, there are plenty of free and cheap books offered on Google Play.

jeweler’s

The jewelry doesn’t take up much space, but it encourages me to buy more clothes to match them. Some jewelry lovers may have great pieces that go with everything, but not me! Over the years I have made a small collection and I never wear them. It’s sad. If I can’t fit them into my wardrobe anymore, I’ll donate them and combine them with the most versatile and interchangeable pieces.

Clothing

With a changing body, from pregnancy to postpartum, my wardrobe has expanded, and not in a good way. Clothes you would never consider keeping have stuck around; Ripped tank tops, ugly dresses, ill-fitting pants, and leggings and sweatpants with holes in them. All because I anticipate more changes and also stretching and mistreating clothes until I finish breastfeeding. When I go into my abundant but organized closet, I try on several pieces before being satisfied with the fit, look, and quality of an outfit. In order to feel good about my current wardrobe, I will have to adjust the collection and reduce the fat. Anything you’re not absolutely sure you should throw out will go into a Rubbermaid bin in another closet to be taken out and evaluated for another season.

My son’s toys

After reading about the Montessori methods, I understand the importance of not having too many toys so that a child can work on the focus and skills associated with one or a few age-appropriate toys. Since then I have been distributing toys that he grows up with and even toys that are age appropriate at his grandparents house or spread out in different rooms. Being overwhelmed with toys only makes the child focus less on them and more on getting into whatever it is you’re doing. It also contributes to a messy home and safety hazards, so I’m much more pleased when my son has 3 age-appropriate toys of hers in each room that I can sit down and show her how to use. It’s more peaceful for all of us.

What things do you have an overabundance of? Some other examples might be makeup, tools, movies, wires and remotes, canned goods that never go around, or boxes “that might come in handy!” What things are you consuming that can be cut from your budget to provide you with a cushion of savings or a vacation? Some of these things may include coffee and lunch purchased outside the home, general eating out, and Hulu/Netflix/Cable. Maybe you buy so much of something you DO use that you can buy it in bulk to save money and save our planet from excessive packaging waste! Exploring doable minimalist practices can only help you, your family, and your planet. What are you waiting for?