Why I am Jumping on the Minimizing Bandwagon
My house was stuffed, people.
Seriously, dangerously, annoyingly stuffed.
I'm not a hoarder, I promise.
We just have a small house, lots of people living in it, and many different interests and hobbies.
It's also part of the mindsets I grew up with;
an ugly mix of 80's and 90's materialism/consumerism, and growing up near the poverty line, so everything was acquired and kept "just in case."
But, I couldn't do it anymore.
My home became my prison.
My stuff became my prison warden.
In comes the minimalist fad and I am jumping on.
Ok, I'm not going to become a true minimalist. That's just impossible with this family and my current situation. But I can, and I have, and I am minimizing.
Here's why:
1. No time: All I do is clean and organize. I live in a small home. It should be easy to clean, but it isn't. Just too much stuff to clean around.
2. No place: Everything should have a home, right? A place to be stored. I ran out of places to store things.
2. No place: Everything should have a home, right? A place to be stored. I ran out of places to store things.
3. No use: I had to get realistic. So much of my stuff was not about the here and now reality, but more about my dreams, visions, and fantasies about how I'd like to have things and what I thought we would do as a family.
4. No money: I kept a lot of stuff because I thought we might move or add on to our home, and thus I'd have room for it. Well, we decided to utilize our income towards fixing up the little house we have and getting the mortgage paid off instead of adding another 10 to 15 years of debt through moving or adding on.
5. No faith: This one is a biggie. Growing up near the poverty line, I learned to accept whatever was given to you and keep it, even if it doesn't really serve you. For example, I had tote upon tote of hand-me-down clothes for my boys. I kept everything "just in case." However, in reality, the vast majority of the items never get worn. So, I pared down all my kids' wardrobes and got rid of a LOT of clothing. God will provide!
4. No money: I kept a lot of stuff because I thought we might move or add on to our home, and thus I'd have room for it. Well, we decided to utilize our income towards fixing up the little house we have and getting the mortgage paid off instead of adding another 10 to 15 years of debt through moving or adding on.
5. No faith: This one is a biggie. Growing up near the poverty line, I learned to accept whatever was given to you and keep it, even if it doesn't really serve you. For example, I had tote upon tote of hand-me-down clothes for my boys. I kept everything "just in case." However, in reality, the vast majority of the items never get worn. So, I pared down all my kids' wardrobes and got rid of a LOT of clothing. God will provide!
6. No peace: My home wasn't peaceful, most of all to me. It became a constant work zone for me, and a nightmare to deal with. It just looked cluttered, ugly, messy, and it even looked dirty even though I had cleaned it.
7. No room: Even if I did find a place for things, I was sick of stuff being stuffed and stacked. It's frustrating to have an avalanche of stuff when you open a cupboard door. It's frustrating having to move a bunch of stuff just to reach something else.
8. No memory: I had forgotten what I had so often, anyway, that I ended up buying new only to discover I had it packed away somewhere.
9. No health: A larger family in a small house creates issues with dust, moisture, and air quality. It can be done healthfully, but not with stuff. Having so much stuff made the house sick and us sick. It created far too many hidden pockets of dust and mildew, and with a child with indoor allergies, that isn't good. Our immune systems get taxed and we all get sick more easily. Letting the house "breathe" and encouraging air flow is important. Too much stuff blocks that and makes for an unhealthy home.
10. No safety: I was constantly telling my kids to clean up because their stuff was always blocking exits. It's a huge fire and safety hazard! I haven't been working on the outside, too much, but now I will. Recently, piles of just stuff were left around the house. Kids toys, wood I might burn in our outdoor fireplace, trash the kids never threw away....Yeah, it was bad, but I have been so focused on the indoors. Well, two of my sons decided to clean the outside for me, and found a yellow jacket nest the hard way! Multiple stings later and 20 hornets in the house, and me (who is allergic) getting stung, too, I realized (and almost cried) how horrible it is to just keep crap not only inside, but outside!!
11. No ability/cooperation: The adage I am adopting is, "If you can't keep it clean, you can't keep it." Whether it is my ability through time or storage to keep it clean and tidy, or my kids cooperating in keeping their areas clean, if it can't be kept clean, it can't be kept. If a child cannot keep it clean, themselves, then they have too much. This looks different for each child. Two of my children are good at cleaning. One is just a bit lazy about it, so he owns less, and is content. The other has sensory and focus issues, so while it seems unfair that she has to go with so much less than her brothers, minimalism truly benefits her overall well-being.
12. No family joy: When mom is overwhelmed, frustrated, always working, not at peace, and stressed out, the whole family suffers. When the stuff takes over our focus, we can't focus on the important things, anymore. When the stuff exhausts us, we can't find rest. When the mindset is acquiring and keeping, we can't let go and let God. When the house isn't a home, the family just becomes people in the way.
An overstuffed drawer becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back.
An avalanche of totes or storage containers becomes an argument.
An overworked homemaker becomes the family martyr and the uncooperative family members become the villains.
7. No room: Even if I did find a place for things, I was sick of stuff being stuffed and stacked. It's frustrating to have an avalanche of stuff when you open a cupboard door. It's frustrating having to move a bunch of stuff just to reach something else.
8. No memory: I had forgotten what I had so often, anyway, that I ended up buying new only to discover I had it packed away somewhere.
9. No health: A larger family in a small house creates issues with dust, moisture, and air quality. It can be done healthfully, but not with stuff. Having so much stuff made the house sick and us sick. It created far too many hidden pockets of dust and mildew, and with a child with indoor allergies, that isn't good. Our immune systems get taxed and we all get sick more easily. Letting the house "breathe" and encouraging air flow is important. Too much stuff blocks that and makes for an unhealthy home.
10. No safety: I was constantly telling my kids to clean up because their stuff was always blocking exits. It's a huge fire and safety hazard! I haven't been working on the outside, too much, but now I will. Recently, piles of just stuff were left around the house. Kids toys, wood I might burn in our outdoor fireplace, trash the kids never threw away....Yeah, it was bad, but I have been so focused on the indoors. Well, two of my sons decided to clean the outside for me, and found a yellow jacket nest the hard way! Multiple stings later and 20 hornets in the house, and me (who is allergic) getting stung, too, I realized (and almost cried) how horrible it is to just keep crap not only inside, but outside!!
11. No ability/cooperation: The adage I am adopting is, "If you can't keep it clean, you can't keep it." Whether it is my ability through time or storage to keep it clean and tidy, or my kids cooperating in keeping their areas clean, if it can't be kept clean, it can't be kept. If a child cannot keep it clean, themselves, then they have too much. This looks different for each child. Two of my children are good at cleaning. One is just a bit lazy about it, so he owns less, and is content. The other has sensory and focus issues, so while it seems unfair that she has to go with so much less than her brothers, minimalism truly benefits her overall well-being.
12. No family joy: When mom is overwhelmed, frustrated, always working, not at peace, and stressed out, the whole family suffers. When the stuff takes over our focus, we can't focus on the important things, anymore. When the stuff exhausts us, we can't find rest. When the mindset is acquiring and keeping, we can't let go and let God. When the house isn't a home, the family just becomes people in the way.
An overstuffed drawer becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back.
An avalanche of totes or storage containers becomes an argument.
An overworked homemaker becomes the family martyr and the uncooperative family members become the villains.
A Sunday becomes another day to clean and tidy.
All the stuff that should be fun become unenjoyable and stressful.
I am so done. I have been done. I've been purging for 2 years, now. And just when I think I'm done I find more to purge.
The basement flooded this summer and it forced me to dispose of even more stuff...stuff I held on to, and I realized I really don't need them. My kids aren't going to fall behind in school because I don't keep the 1990's version of Trivial Pursuit!
The yellow-jacket situation showed me that simplicity and tidiness outside matters a great deal.
My son's indoor allergies has really prompted me to take a good hard look at the health and overall well-being of our home. If stuff is making you sick that's NOT good!!
So, bandwagon, here I am!!!
God bless minimizing!
All the stuff that should be fun become unenjoyable and stressful.
I am so done. I have been done. I've been purging for 2 years, now. And just when I think I'm done I find more to purge.
The basement flooded this summer and it forced me to dispose of even more stuff...stuff I held on to, and I realized I really don't need them. My kids aren't going to fall behind in school because I don't keep the 1990's version of Trivial Pursuit!
The yellow-jacket situation showed me that simplicity and tidiness outside matters a great deal.
My son's indoor allergies has really prompted me to take a good hard look at the health and overall well-being of our home. If stuff is making you sick that's NOT good!!
So, bandwagon, here I am!!!
God bless minimizing!
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