I have a lot of things around my house still. I have been decluttering for over twenty years, since shortly after I received a lot of wedding gifts that I probably didn't really need. Yet I still have a lot!
I want to get rid of more, but when I glance around my house I feel like we use everything I see. Microwave? Yes, every day, to reheat my tea. Toaster oven? Several times a day, to make toast or sandwiches. Decorative "flour, sugar, tea" canisters? Actually, I use the sugar and salt for sugar and salt, and the flour one holds my charging cords.
On and on it goes. I'd like to get rid of my "good" china, but we use it every year when we host Easter dinner. I guess I could get rid of it, but then I'd need to buy more plates so there would be enough for everyone. And where would I store the extra plates the rest of the year, because I don't want them cluttering up my everyday cupboard.
In the last two months, since I've been focusing on it and thinking about it, I've reduced the clutter around the house. I've eliminated a number of piles that seemed permanent, and I've also just gotten rid of a lot of items that I didn't think about but stored out of habit. These are good things. I've also gotten out of the habit of buying things I don't need. (I took my daughter shopping for jeans that fit and a couple new tank tops to wear under shirts she owns. I came home with jeans, tank tops and a pair of boots. As a result, she got rid of two pairs of boots she doesn't like as well as the new ones.)
What does my life looks like, as a minimalist? I don't want to get rid of things we use and enjoy. That seems counter to the spirit of eliminating the excess. But I don't want everything to remain the same. That seems counter to the "-ing" in the title of the blog. If I'm not becoming something different, or doing something different, what am I doing? Recording a list of daily chores? Surely the internet does not need that!
So far, I think the answer lies in time. If I continue moving forward with baby steps (I'm beginning to hate that phrase, but it is what best describes my efforts) I hope to continue making incremental changes that will add up to the change I want to see.
I've been decluttering and embracing minimalism for over 5 years. I started with Flylady ( which I still use her zone cleaning), and then moved on to some major cleaning out. the first summer I started being a minimalist, I probably did over 50 van loads of things. I found that there are levels to go thru. I have very little to declutter these days but I find there's always something to put in the goodwill bag.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christina. It's nice to hear from someone who has self-identified as minimalist for a long time who continues to find things still to declutter. It makes me feel more successful, somehow.
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