So, you gave minimalism a try, and it failed. Or it worked for a time and then you fell back into your old cluttery ways. Don’t give up and decide you’re just one of nature’s pack rats. Here are there ways that most people sabotage their efforts to declutter and what you can do about it.
You did it all in one go, and you’re over it
Maybe the effort of decluttering was just too much, and you never want to sort out a closet again. That is the all or nothing approach to minimalism, and it does not work. Minimalism is not a one-off event – it’s a process, a state of mind, a lifestyle change. And it takes time to re-educate your mind and your behavior.
Cut yourself some and slack and resolve to keep trying. If you see minimalism as a process, you won’t feel like a failure when you do backslide a little. And learn to live with some imperfection. If you’re doing your best, that’s enough.
You didn’t finish what you set out to do.
Maybe those boxes of stuff for Goodwill are still in your trunk. Maybe you decluttered one room and gave up. Procrastination and running out of energy will sabotage your journey to minimalism like nothing else. If you stop part-way through a task or spread your efforts too thin, you will end up surrounded in even more chaos than before.
Take it one surface or one room at a time and get the excess out of the house and out of the car. Step by step will get you there.
You didn’t stop bringing in more stuff.
You’ll never get to live a minimalist lifestyle if you don’t stem the tide of incoming stuff. Whether you can’t resist a sale, or if friends and family keep giving you things, you need to draw a line and say no more.
Minimalism is a state of mind just as much as it is about decluttering. You have to work out what is essential in your life, what fits with your values and what you want. Assess your current possessions and habits against your values, and you can start to pare back. And once you know what you want to have in your life and why, it’s easier to make and keep behavior patterns that support your minimalism, not sabotage it. 5 Misconceptions about Minimalism
You might think you know what minimalism is. It’s getting rid of stuff and self-denial, right? Going back to nature and rejecting capitalism. Wrong. Minimalism can be as individual as you are.
Some minimalism myths don’t stand up to scrutiny. Here are a few:
Minimalism means getting rid of all your stuff
Some minimalists try to live with only 100 possessions. It’s true! But adopting a more minimalist life doesn’t mean throwing everything away and living like an extreme monk. It means choosing a more straightforward way to live. Deciding only to keep things that are truly meaningful, useful or essential and not just having stuff for the sake of it.
It’s too hard!
No one would claim that decluttering your life is easy, especially when you’re dealing with a lifetime’s accumulation of stuff. But taking a step by step approach means that you can declutter your home and your life. There are many examples of families who choose to live a more minimal life.
Minimalism is like a cult or a fashion
Some people think that minimalism is some cult or a fashion statement. They believe that to be a minimalist you have to bake bread, meditate and live in a state of denial. Living a minimalist life does not mean rejecting all of mainstream life. You can still buy things, eat meat and work a normal job. You can still have fun and go on vacation. Minimalists are focused on stripping away what is not essential to their happiness and wellbeing. It’s not a fad or a phase. It’s a readjustment to living in tune with your values.
Minimalists don’t have kids
Plenty of families have chosen to recalibrate their lives by eliminating the excess stuff in their homes and lives. Minimalism can work for single people, couples, older people and families of all sizes and configurations. Decluttering, streamlining and simplifying will help you save money and spend more time with your family, not just buy them more stuff. And the process of becoming a minimalist family will get you talking about values and what you want out of life. And that can only be a good thing!
Minimalism is uncomfortable
One of the biggest misconceptions about minimalism is that the minimalist home is empty and uncomfortable, like a white cube. But minimalism is about having the home you want without the excess. It means doing it your way but only having possessions that are meaningful or useful. It is actually a lot more comfortable than being surrounding by junk!
FURTHER READING
To learn more about Minimalism, check out this course: Minimalism 101
