As I sat down at my computer and looked around, I made note of the clear countertops, the lack of visual clutter on the floor and the general feeling of calmness that washed over me. And I thought “I finally did it. I finally reached my perfect level of stuff as a minimalist.” That thought inspired me to write this post.
I want everyone to feel calm and at peace in their home. And I think minimalism is such a great tool to attain that feeling. But one thing that I keep hearing is that “minimalism is too hard with a family”, or “we don’t have time to be minimalist because we’re too busy with the kids”.
I’ve also read a lot of minimalism articles/books and I’ve watched a lot of minimalist videos over the years. One thing I’ve noticed is that most of these minimalism sources are created by 1 or 2 member households. And I think that’s because it’s easier to “do minimalism” if you don’t have kids. But, it’s definitely not impossible if you do!
I also acknowledge that choosing to be minimalist is not for everyone. Our relationship with our stuff is a complex, and sometimes difficult, one. And you can live a slow life with a lot of stuff. It’s just a lot easier when there’s less.
I came across minimalism 7 years ago and as the mom of 2 little kids at the time, making the decision to become a minimalist was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. It’s because of minimalism that we’ve been able to slow down our lifestyle. It has been instrumental to determining what’s important and what’s not.
I could write a book about of benefits of minimalism, some of which I’ve shared here and here. But I want to outline the 3 main benefits that I enjoy every day. I’ll also give some personal examples of how these benefits translate to my everyday life.
1. Less stuff to take care of means less time spent cleaning.
When we have a lot of stuff to take care of, any type of housework feels like a chore to be dreaded.
I’ve definitely been there and I really don’t enjoy cleaning. But with less stuff to clean and to clean around, it doesn’t feel like such a chore anymore.
We have wood floors in our main living area (kitchen and living room) and I sweep or vacuum as needed. But it only takes me a few minutes to clean since I don’t have to maneuver around items that sit on the floor.
The only thing that lives on our countertops is a utensil container that we keep close to the cooktop. Everything else is contained in cupboards. It’s important to note that we don’t use our cupboards to store items that we don’t use. We have gotten rid of all of the kitchen gadgets and appliances that we bought but never used.
All 4 of my family members have small wardrobes, which is really helpful when it comes to laundry. We do laundry once a week and it’s never a stressful ordeal. We usually do it on a Sunday or Monday and it gets put away into drawers and closets that same day.
2. Less visual clutter means less mental clutter.
You have a million things to think about without having to think about your stuff.
Without the visual clutter, there is never a running list of things that need to be done (i.e., do the laundry, organize the living room, move this or that to clean the corner).
Removing physical things also illustrates what’s really important which means we can remove/say no to the things that aren’t a priority.
The entire act of decluttering over the years has really highlighted what’s important to me and my family. For example, excess or changing (seasonal) home decor is not important to us. But going for a walk downtown on the weekend and getting a sweet treat at the local coffee shop or a new book at the local bookshop is. So we choose to spend our time and money on those things instead.
That being said, I know people who find a lot of joy in decorating for the seasons, and that’s something you can still enjoy as a minimalist. Minimalism is about removing the things that aren’t important to better enjoy the things that are!
3. A feeling of calmness and serenity.
The world is a hectic place. Once we leave our homes each day, we never know what things we’ll encounter that could stress us out. But wouldn’t it be nice to retreat to a calm and serene place everyday? Minimalism in your home can help you do just that!
At the end of each day, after dinner has been eaten and the kitchen has been cleaned, I usually retreat to our living room with a cup of hot tea, light a candle and sit down to watch Netflix or Youtube. Because our main floor is an open floor plan, I can see pretty much every square inch. And what I see is a clean, clutter-free area. What I feel is a sense of calm and joy because of the home that minimalism has helped us create. It’s a nice feeling.
I don’t begrudge anyone their stuff, but for me, stuff is a source of anxiety. And as someone who is anxious naturally, reducing the stuff around me has helped to reduce the anxiety inside me. I also think it’s made our home a more calm place for our kids.
I’d love to hear from you! Are you a minimalist? If so, what are the biggest benefits that you notice? And if not, has anything in this post inspired you to become more minimal?
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