Uncovering the myths around minimalism: There are many myths associated with minimalism. Some are powerful enough to make you question whether or not to bother! But, I am here to tell you to look past these myths and understand how misleading that can be, as minimalism is easier than you think.
Uncovering the Myths around minimalism:
Minimalism is expensive
The first myth to uncover is the idea that it is expensive to be a minimalist. I’m not even sure how this came about, perhaps from the TV series’ that suggest buying containers after containers after containers to store your clutter. What is missing here is the need to significantly declutter the number of items in your home in the first place. When reducing the number of items, you reduce the need for containers at all. It is perfectly acceptable to utilise containers and furniture you already have over buying new. Remember, the focus is decluttering, not purchasing.
Uncovering the myth: You won’t have anything sentimental.
You have the power when it comes to decluttering. There is no-one here telling you what you should and shouldn’t declutter. If you have some sentimental items that you want to keep, of course you can keep them. One thought though is that you might want to think about the key items to keep, that mean the most and can you come up with a way of display these items so that you can appreciate them even more. For example, if a relative has medals, could these be displayed in a box frame to highlight the successes and allow you to see them every day. It is worth thinking about what the key sentimental items are that you want to keep and for what purpose. Not everything has to be displayed, but you can organise them in a way that can be easily accessed when it suits you.
It’s tricky to get started/stick with minimalism and decluttering.
Once you get the decluttering bug, it is easy to start whizzing around the whole home. I didn’t follow any particular rules of how much to declutter. I went with my own personal goal in my head and aimed for this. This helped me to keep motivate and to keep decluttering as I knew it would just feel right when I got to the right point.
It will take too long to declutter.
This is a tricky one. It can take time if you have a lot to declutter. But as far as developing a minimalist lifestyle, this comes sooner than you think and often before you have finished the decluttering process. This is because you start to assess your spending and realise the worth of each item. As you do this, you begin to reduce the amount of stuff being bought into your home and as if by magic a minimalist lifestyle is adopted!
You can’t be a minimalist if you have kids.
This is definitely a challenge. Setting the example around your home will start to influence them more than you think. Explain your choices about why you are getting rid of items and how it makes you feel will help the children to further understand the process. As for the children’s items, get them involved in the process and begin making these decisions, giving them a reason, such as giving a toy to make another child happy, etc will help this also. It can take time, but you will be surprised with how little children need to be happy. They need less than you think.
It will mean I have nothing to wear as a minimalist
It does not see you will have to have a capsule wardrobe. This means only wearing a small selection of items only. It is about having a wardrobe that is easy to see with items that you love. Having a reasonable number of each item so that you can mix and match items. It will make getting dressed in the morning a breeze.
You’ll lose items that are valuable to you
This is definitely not the case. You have the power to choose what you keep and what goes. Sentimental stuff is harder to let go of, but if you work towards this, you will start to identify what really matters and what doesn’t.
Getting started is always the hardest part, but I can guarantee that you won’t regret it. It will change your life for the better.
Rachel, Declutter your life x
For more information check out this this blog post… https://declutteryourlife.co.uk/no-spend-year/a-year-of-no-spending-how-it-changed-my-life/
For more information about decluttering and uncovering the myths around minimalism, go check out my youtube channel… https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelNoakes
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