What do we need?
Minimalism isnt a new concept but at the moment people are starting to see it less as a fad and more of a concept that actually makes alot of sense. Have you ever stopped to think about how often you buy something because the commercial said that you needed it? I am part of a facebook group about organisation. Alot of the pictures of peoples cupboards when they ask how to organise it i ask, why do you have 30 drink bottles? They always come back and say oh we need that many...for you and 29 of your best friends? We have 3 people living in my home and guess what, we have 3 drink bottles. You can only drink from one at a time after all, then, you wash it! Its the same with plates and cups. When we moved in together of course we had way more than we needed but my partner said i couldn't get rid of them because we might need them. Let me tell you that to date, 4yrs later, we have never needed more than 5 at any one time. If we have more people over we use plastic or paper plates, this is maybe twice a year so really a $1 packet of plates is nothing and we often wash the plastic ones to reuse them. In our massive homes we keep complaining that we have no storage, but how about the fact that we have so much stuff that we MIGHT use again one day that we just keep shoved in a cupboard.
(image credit: The organised house wife)
I challenge you to go to your cupboard, just pick one. Pull it all out. Throw out anything thats broken or missing parts ie lids or bases. Now throw out anything you haven't used in a year. One year. 4 seasons. What is left? I guarantee its not alot. I do this exercise about once a month and every single time i give away or throw out atleast a bag full. Even if i have cleared out the cupboard before you will always find something else that got shoved in there to keep it out of sight.
Another trick to find out of you need to keep something. Ask yourself, if the house caught fire and burnt down. Would you remember you owned it? Would you list it on an insurance form?
I keep 2 plastic tubs of items that i dont need but dont want to give away. These are sentimental items that mostly friends of family have given me that i want to hang onto, and thats fine. These have been paired down from about 6 tubs. Because as the years go by even these objects lose their alure, i look at them and wonder why im keeping it? A doll my grandmother got me from a gift shop in Canada. Sure its sentemental, but she is long gone and its been in a box for 20yrs so why not pass it on to someone else who may like it? Unless its out and giving you daily joy then its clearly not as cherished as you thought.
This goes for clothes too. I own 2 work dresses, 2 work skirts, about 5 tops, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 casual dresses and one pair of shorts...thats it. You know what every time i go somewhere people say oh i love your dress, even though i have worn it many times to see them before they havent even noticed. My work dresses i have owned both for more than 5yrs and no one has ever commented, hey didnt you wear that Monday? Because no one notices your clothes unless you are a celebrity. I only buy new clothes when something gets stained or worn out and cant actually be worn any more and even then i use those clothes as pajamas. Not only is it less stressful not having an over packed wardrobe to try and chose an outfit from but I also dont have as much laundry to do. Consider this, pack a suitcase for a week away. Why would you need more clothes than what you just packed at home? you packed clothes for different occasions, different weather, and its enough to last a week before it has to be washed right?
