Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been decluttering various items around my home, mostly clothing and books. I’ve walked around my house, evaluating how necessary or meaningful the objects in each room are to me. My donation pile isn’t very large, just one plastic bin and one bag. While that should give me some satisfaction, I’ve been feeling rather discontented. My closets feel too cramped, my bookcases too full, and my garage too cluttered. Why? I’m suffering from minimalist imposter syndrome. Or perhaps from unrealistic expectations. The image I have of a minimalist home is different from the reality of my actual home.
Not even half of my past collection of shoes!
Then one morning, a photo popped up in my Facebook memories. It was taken after my house fire, while I still lived in a rental house. The restoration company had finished treating the last group of my shoes and returned them to me for inspection. The photo shows a dozen pairs of shoes displayed, and I know that I had at least that many already returned to me. Did I really have a couple dozen pairs of shoes back then? That’s when it hit me.
In my frustration to make my life more minimalist, I had lost perspective. I have made progress. I have reduced my excess possessions, the number of shoes being just one small example. The journey towards simplifying and minimizing my life has been gradual, so I often forget how far I’ve come along this path. I needed this flashback to the past to remind me how much I had already achieved.
If you have been on this path for a short time, you may get frustrated thinking about how much further you have to go. If you have been living a simpler life for a longer time, you may have forgotten how far you’ve come. Take a moment and consider some of the areas you may have already decluttered:
Shoes
Clothing
Accessories
Kitchen dishes and tools
Books and music
Closet clutter
Garage
Pick one or two and ask yourself what kind of progress have you made. More than you realize, I’m betting. If you have gone beyond basic decluttering, you may be ready for to evaluate the larger, sometimes more abstract, issues.
Are you in a smaller home?
How are you using your home more intentionally?
Have you changed how you shop for food, clothing, or other items?
Are you prioritizing your money or time in a more purposeful, meaningful way?
It’s all too easy to forget what we have done and instead dwell on what we have not done. Taking photos is a good method to mark progress as is tracking expenses or journaling about the process. Remember that change takes time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!
As for myself, that photo brought up memories of life in my largest house, back when I lived with two children, two dogs, and two cats. The house itself was 2 ½ times larger than my current one. The kitchen was as big as my current living room, and I had a lot of kitchen equipment, including a bread machine, waffle iron, large crock pot, and food processor. All the closets, cabinets, and drawers were full of stuff. It was a nice house, but looking back now, it seems enormous! My current home may seem more crowded, the bedroom closets too small, and the kitchen cabinets too full, but there’s a place for everything. That wouldn’t have been possible if I had not reduced my possessions significantly over the years. Looking back helps give me perspective. Maybe I’m not a minimalist fraud after all.
My largest house
My smallest house (so far)
RESOURCES
After the Fire: Rebuilding House and Life after a Fire
For more resources, go to this page: Resources
Related Blog Posts
Oh, the Memories: Suggestions for Decluttering the Sentimental Stuff
Deep Decluttering: Dressers and Closets and Garages, Oh My!
Confessions of a Bookworm Minimalist
Decluttering for Death: Why We All Need To Practice the Swedish Art of Death Cleaning
I like to watch you tube videos on minimalism and a lot of times it’s people living in apartments who have no lawn to cut or house maintenance. When you do have these things,that translates into a huge amount of stuff even if you have a small house. You are right, we have to be realistic based on our property. I would love to be the minimalist who only has a car in the garage. Maybe someday:)
Minimalism is about right-sizing which differs for everyone… Excellent post, Shoshanah!
True! It often takes some adjustment time to get that right size. Thanks for reading!
Minimalism is what works best for each person. I am minimal in most ares of my life, but not in everything. I keep educational books because I use them as reference tools in all of my workshops & classes and as refresher courses for myself. I don’t keep a bunch of household items, like my furnishings simple, and have a small house. As far as shoes go, I have 5 pairs, all black, that go with everything. Thanks for sharing Shoshanah!
Thanks, Carrie! What we need changes over time. When I was a teacher, I had a ton of resources (I think every educator has to be careful not to turn into a hoarder!). I still have more shoes than I need, but I have a lot fewer than I used to have.