adventures in minimalism

and feeling lighter in my space

I’ve always been a neat and tidy person when it comes to my surroundings. I am that person who alphabetizes her books and has them sectioned by genre. However, the way this year started off had me side-eying small piles of clutter and feeling like it was all rather too much to deal with and procrastination is a word for a reason, right?

But truth be told, clutter and things not tidied gets me really in my feelings and not having clear spaces can make me feel a bit anxious and who needs more anxiety in their life? Certainly not me!

I am definitely the minimalist in my home, and I was excited when I heard The Minimalists were coming to Orange County here in Southern California to give an interactive talk with fellow audience members with a meet and greet afterwards. I signed up, as it gave me something to look forward to, and also, I’ve followed The Minimalists for over a decade, but this would be the first time hearing them speak in person.

I went and had a great time!

The audience had great questions and Joshua and T.K. were so informative and insightful with their answers. Also, their guest for the Sunday Symposium, which is what their Sunday talks are called, was Kristen Ziegler from Minima Online. I’d heard her on a Minimalist podcast episode before and I really like her style and her thoughtful additions to the conversations.

Duly inspired, I have spent the past few weeks decluttering and minimizing.

One of the things that I am pleased to report is that my countertop separating the kitchen and dining area does not have anything on it. No mail, no grocery ads, no papers from school, no overdue library books. Clean countertops = happy me.

I have been decluttering, and my space feels lighter which is obviously a huge benefit but also when you have stuff, you also have to take care of the stuff. Does the stuff need to be put away? Does it need to be cleaned? Does it need to be dusted? Does it need to be moved? Does it… well, you get the picture. Stuff requires maintenance, sometimes not physically but mentally. It’s like knowing that you have an umbrella that’s broken, and you’ve been meaning to toss it. But you haven’t yet, so your mind keeps reminding you about it, which is form of mental clutter. Your brain will keep bringing it to your attention until you do something about it.

I still have more that I would like to accomplish and sort out, a spring cleaning if you will. It is cathartic, decluttering and minimizing, at least for me at any rate.

Tell me, are you a minimalist or a maximalist or somewhere in between? I’d love to hear! 😊