Journey To Minimalism

Minimalism is a Journey. We all have busy lives. Not everyone has a weekend dedicated to just cleaning the house with no other obligations. It also takes time and thought to process and to reflect what you keep and what you give up.

I had been a renter for most of my life. After high school, we sold our house and my family moved away from Canada. I was alone in this city without a permanent home.

Moving from places to places was normal to me. I would stay at a home for no longer than 18 months, and then I would need to move. The reason to relocate was either to get closer to work/school, due to other conditions such as budget by sharing a property with roommates, or the landlord is selling the property.

Each time I moved to a new home, I had to make the hard choice to let go many items along the way. Holding on to too many items was also costing me in moving expense. I would have to spent hours putting everything into a box, and movers would slowly load them and then unload them to my new place. After settling, I also have to spend hours unboxing all of my items.

Sometimes, the unboxing gets daunting that I end up having boxes untouched until the next time I needed to move. So I started to question myself:

If I’ve lived 18 months in this new place without ever having to use any of the items in that box, do I really need to hold on to it?

This was the start of the journey to my decluttering life. Along the way I had to let go many things that I felt sentimental to me. This was my growing up story. My books, stuff animals, collection of stationary, all the cute knick knacks from my teen years. I knew I wasn’t going to need them anymore now that I am moving into adult life, but they felt special. There are few things I did hold on to until this day. Some held for sentimental value and some were just practical. I kept pictures and photo albums. I kept a glass case for jewelry. A Ikea tray that was probably purchased in the 90s, and a music box that was gifted to me by my mother.

Over time, I have developed the lifestyle of not owning more than what I need. My dream home would be a display home on the catalog. So beige, so clean, so chic.

It takes consideration to declutter. I am not just giving things away. I am saying good bye to my past and my childhood. To acknowledge that I have evolved from teen to my 20s and to my 30s. A rite of passage for all of us.

After having my children, I had to give up my glass pieces and switch out to wood. I had a small glass shelf, and a glass computer desk. Those had to go.

It takes time to declutter. It is a daunting task to declutter each and every section of your property if you are just starting to adapt to minimalism. I had very little furniture in the years that I had to move frequently. Now that I have a permanent home, I try to limit number of furniture we need. It’s a battle with my other family members as we try to find the balance between our preferences. It also takes effort to keep your place neat and clean when you have very young children.

Embark on a journey with me to declutter & organize with me. I still have ways to go until I reach my display home dream goal.

Are you a minimalist or an aspiring minimalist? Why did you decide to embark on this lifestyle? Let me know your stories in the comments below. I’d love to read about your experiences.