I’ve been living in the new house for about a month now and unpacked at least 90% of my stuff. It’s taken longer than I thought it would, but that’s mostly due to repairs and renovations. For a while there, the house felt more like a construction site, or at least an obstacle course as I maneuvered around tools, machinery, and piles of dust.
I am a self-confessed neat freak and organizational fanatic. For years I was frustrated in my quest for the clean, uncluttered, organized look because there were kids and dogs and cats. That was fine back then, but now that I’m a single empty nester, I want to keep my home exactly the way I like it. If only everything could be done by the next commercial break as on television!
Once the floors were done, I began to tackle the rest of the unpacked boxes. Compared to past moves, the number of boxes was significantly lower than before. However, that’s no consolation when hundreds of books are peeking out at you waiting for their new home on empty bookshelves. Piles of books cluttered the study and living room. I felt dismayed. My intensive year-long decluttering now seemed a farce. Where did these stacks of books come from? How would I ever find a place for them all? How could I call myself a minimalist? One step backwards.
Then I unpacked the office supplies. Up until a month ago, I had a corporate job and worked remotely from home. I used a small table as my desk because I needed extra space for both work and personal laptops as well as a printer. I disliked the job and was searching for a new one, so I promised myself that when I quit, I’d get a new, slimmer desk.
As luck would have it, I was able to give notice to that job a few days before the move, so I donated the table before moving. I had also stored photos, files, and miscellaneous items in my former study, which had a large closet. (I know scanning is the key, but I haven’t reached that stage yet.) My current closet is half the size, so it’s looking pretty cluttered in there. There are piles stacked on piles. How would I ever organize them all? How could I call myself a minimalist? Another step backwards.
The biggest challenge has been the kitchen. I went from a mid-sized kitchen with three countertops, four drawers, and plenty of cabinets to a very small gallery-style kitchen with one countertop, two drawers, and not many cabinets. Thankfully, there is a pantry. As I unpacked my lovely ceramic canisters that I used for tea, I soon realized that they took up half the counter space. They would have to go. In this small kitchen, they looked huge and bulky in comparison. Where would I put the toaster or the water filter or the other few items I use daily? How would I find room for all my dishes and pots and pans and more? How could I call myself a minimalist? Another step backwards.
It took another week to unpack the rest of my books and kitchen stuff, and then I slowly began to acknowledge a few steps forwards. I decluttered some items as I unpacked. The bookcases are filled but not stuffed. I purchased a new, slimmer desk with drawers. I transferred all my tea to blue mason jars and carefully organized my pantry. The garage, which had been crammed with boxes, shelves, tiles, and more, was emptied out enough to clean and organize (mostly). The art and decorative items are still waiting for me to free them from boxes, but I’m making progress.
There is more to do, but I took a breath and reminded myself that losing close to 40% of my space was bound to create challenges. My possessions don’t have as much room to spread out, so of course, it looks a bit crowded in this more compact space. Slowly but surely, though, it’s beginning to feel more like my home instead of just a new residence.
One of my happy places-a room full of books!
RESOURCES
Fortin, Cary Telander and Kyle Louise Quilici New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living
Oxenreider, Tsh Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living
Ware, Ciji Rightsizing Your Life: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most
For more resources, go to this page: Resources
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My Minimalist Home: House Hunting
My Minimalist Home: How Small Can I Go?
My Minimalist Home: Negotiations
My Minimalist Home: One Month Countdown
My Minimalist Home: Neither Here Nor There
My Minimalist Home: Hurry Up and Wait!
My Minimalist Home: One Year in a Smaller House
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You have made great progress on your new place, Shoshanah. It seems like most of life is two steps forward, one step back, so just continue with your refinements, and eventually you’ll get there! My biggest problem is being patient with all the projects that must be finished before we can really feel like this new place is home! I keep wanting it to be DONE! (We’ve been in this whole process of preparing for selling, selling, moving, searching, buying, fixing up, moving in, more fixing up, etc., since last fall, and I’m just so tired of all the upheaval. And we still have to gut the kitchen and re-do all that as well as tons of painting.) So weary . . .