My Journey into Minimalism – Making a Start

The journey to minimalism starts with a small step

I have been working on a book about how us normal average people can get into minimalism and decluttering.

Not necessarily the stark white, Instagram worthy,  beautiful studio apartment type of minimalism like the picture above. That is the kind that immediately comes to mind when I think of the word.

But what I mean is the kind of minimalism that an average parent or homeowner could realistically maintain.

Maintain that is, without looking like they is depriving the family too much. And wow, the first few months have been painful!

You can’t shine plastic sinks…

I initially started by using the methods of Marla Cilley via emails. Her tips are available from an online resource called ‘FlyLady‘.  It started slowly, and I did struggle with lots of her suggestions.

Concepts like wearing shoes indoors, and having a sparkling sink all got a bit too much for me. My sink was plastic and brown at the time, and it did not shine!

As did the incessant emails.  It even, at one point, made me not want to write the book at all. But then you can’t consider yourself a writer if you actually avoid the boring and difficult bits, so I pressed on.

As a treat to myself, for surviving the weeks of being told to “wear your shoes and tidy your sink”, I decided to reread one of my first minimalist books. ‘Everything that Remains’ by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus AKA The Minimalists.

 This coincided with the beginning of the month. So I decided to jump aboard the #Minsgame train at the same time, because in for a penny…

Start your minimalism journey with a round of ‘Minsgame’

The idea is obnoxiously easy.

On the first of the month you find one thing to either trash, donate or sell.  

You’re supposed to get it out of the house on that day. However, I don’t imagine anyone is going to walk or drive to the local charity shop with one book, or a single pair of jeans.  

I have set up a box and begun putting the items in there. Then this grew to a box and a bag – with the bag being for any clothing. Which THEN grew to a box, a bag for clothes AND another bag, in which I dump odd things I find.

The intention was to use them as part of the next day’s group of items.

So it went that I was trying to gather the items and take the photos for Instagram a few days in advance.

We have no lights in our kitchen, I can only take pictures during a very small time window each morning.  Also, as I gather more items it is getting harder to make out just how many items are supposed to be in the picture.  Just as well the clue is in the date; September 16 = 16 items…

Potential Issues

The one bugbear I do have with this game is that it starts pretty slowly.

You will find more items than you need in the early stages while looking around the house.

Marie Kondo mentions this in her book  “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”; that some people may become bored with this pacing and give up; they may prefer to just whirlwind the place with a black bag and get everything out to once.

I do feel somewhat committed to completing this challenge though. What with my having started to follow a few people on Instagram who are also doing the challenge.  There is nothing like total strangers getting their declutter on to encourage you to keep up with them.

That, and I am at the halfway point now. I have already prepped a cool picture of me and the actual Minimalists for the challenge.

I met them at a book signing in Bristol a number of years ago. It was when their book had just been released. Joshua explained how he became interested in the minimalist movement following the death of his mother and having to clear out her home.

There were a number of people at the signing, but luckily they weren’t as famous as they are now, so I got the chance to get my copy of ‘Everything That Remains’ signed. Also a photo of me looking very small in comparison to both of the lads!

(The actual reason for this particular Instagram photo? Day 15 saw me round up my old underwear, and I don’t think the internet, or indeed anyone, is ready for that just yet!).

There are so many experts out there, that it can be hard to know where to start.

But the important thing is to start.

I will be looking at all of the main ‘players’ in the world of tidying and organising your home. The idea being I will work my way through their methods.

But for now, if you want a slow start to your minimalism journey? I recommend a round of the Mins Game. If, however, you want to jump right in and get on with it, it may not be for you.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no singular definition of what minimalism is, you need to make your own. What works for a single person in a tiny apartment is not necessarily what will work in a busy multi-generational household.

Choose to use minimalism to make your house a home, not an empty Instagram-worthy void.

If you liked this post you may enjoy:

Some must-reads before you declutter
Goodbye Things – minimalism and the family home
5 reasons why a good declutter is a great idea in the first place.
5 things you can do today to clear the clutter
Reverse decluttering
Why you should declutter alone