De-cluttering is not “Minimalism”, it’s just an act of it

– 20 July , 2011Posted in: Minimalism

De-cluttering is not minimalism.

It’s just an act of it, and part of the (starting) process of being a minimalist.

When you de-clutter, you’re really getting rid of what you don’t need and use, which is one of the basic fundamentals of being a minimalist.

All minimalists de-clutter at one point of their life, but not everyone who de-clutters is a minimalist, because they may not get rid of everything to the point where they have kept only what they use 90% of the time.

For me, my own personal idea of what minimalism is, tries to cover these 4 major areas as much as possible:

Being mobile – able to move at a moment’s notice with very little to pack
Not owning things I don’t put much personal value upon — furniture
Trying to be as simple as possible — don’t buy items that save only 2 minutes
Being green & eco-friendly – making smarter choices about products

Think of minimalism as just a mindset. A philosophy for living simply that ANYONE can apply, if they are sick of how much they have to do, forgetting stuff and buying too much

Tags: Declutter, Minimalism, Philosophy

About everydayminimalist

I'm a 20-something year old girl who lived out of a single suitcase in 2007, and now I'm living with less, but only with the best. You don't have to get rid of everything to become a minimalist! Minimalism can help simplify and organize your life, career, & physical surroundings. You can read more about me as a minimalist. Or come and visit my other blog Fabulously Broke in the City where I got out of $60,000 of debt in 18 months, earning $65,000 gross/year.

alysha

I like that you stated that being a minimalist is about being able to move in a moment’s notice. Here’s the thing…it’s really detatchment. If you have to leave now, what must you bring? To me minimalism is about less stuff and less attachment to the stuff we still have.
Dave

Not sure where being mobile has anything to do with minimalism.
Pingback: living simply « Klykii’s life
Fatima

Hey! I have a question. I love your website, i came across it about a month ago and i am addicted, i think i need to start looking for a rehab center for website addicts. (It’s Fatima, remember i emailed you about something, which i yet have to email you back, thanks for your reply, i really appreciate it)

Anyway, my question:

I know two young couples with 3 kids each. Stranglely enough they have 3 daughters each. They are friends, so obviously they have things in common right? Wrong! When i go into their houses it’s like a difference of day and night. One ALWAYS keeps her home, family, neat and clean, perfect. The kitchen looks like it’s never used, even though she makes the most scrumptious food, everyday.

The other one is like, i walked into hell. The garage always stinks, forget about trying to find your way in and out of it. The home always has the most random things all over the place. Every. Time. I. Am. There.

What is the difference between these two women? I understand it may be a psychological issue too, but i would love to know your thoughts.
- Jenifer
  
  I would say it’s probably just their relationship to their stuff, what systems they have in place to keep it clean and organized, and so on.
  
  For me, by having less stuff and a “do it now” cleaning policy, you can come over to my house and you’ll see that it’s clean and organized all the time. It’s just the way that I *have to* live. Otherwise, I go nuts.
  
  Before I got into this habit (and had decluttered), my place looked like a bomb had gone off — and it was just the two of us. I just didnt’ have a handle on my stuff or a process in place for caring for it.
  
  And, it’s hard to get out of that space and into a new one. It takes dedication and time, and usually — you have to do it on your own. my husband didn’t help. my infant was too young. I simply had to decide “this is how I want to live” and then dictate that to everyone else in the household. My husband was raised by hoarders, so he struggled. But now that our lives are minimal and ordered, he’s much happier too.
  
  So, he’s now on board, but it was tough at first. Having the power to say “enough!” and “this is how i want to live!” and then *make it happen* was a huge part of the equation.
Caroline

I can’t think of anything to add to your 4 principles.
Mspsum

You are really an inspiration to me. I’ve been reading your blog since March and I love it. I must say you have the most organized blog site compared to many others.
I wish I can be more like you in terms of being a minimalist. I recently moved from one home to another home and got rid of alot of junk and old stuff. But I doubt that even after the de-cluttering that I can fit all my stuff into 1 car. I wish I can sleep on a japanese futon like you too but the bf wouldn’t like it and also I’m afraid of bugs =P But still I am striving to become a true minimalist just like you one day and be able to have the freedom of mobility while being eco-friendly at the same time. Cheers to you!
charmed2482

my biggest goal would be to make it so I could fit everything I need to move into my car. I’m not really there yet but I think I am close. I do have some furniture but I didn’t buy most of it. I did go half in half on the bed, but I used to share it with someone and I’d have no qualms with selling it/giving it away if I decided to move again. same with my free couch and anything else I wouldn’t need depending on where I was moving.
Angie

With a family of 5 it is almost impossible to be a “true” minimalist. However, I compare us to other families of 5 and we have a lot less stuff! We try to be eco-friendly by living in a small house and living close to work so we drive a lot less. We use as little energy as possible, hang up our towels and reuse them, do baths for the kids every other night instead of every night. We definitely do not water the grass. I think that is such a waste of water. We are looking into growing a garden and getting a rain harvesting system next year. If we had to we could load up our cargo trailer and bug out with little notice if a bad hurricane came. (We’re in Florida and we get a lot of storms.) So, overall I’d say we are pretty minimal compared to other families our size. I aspire one day to own 100 things, live in an RV and see the country. I hope that is where my minimalism journey takes me! You can read about my journey here http://minimalistwith3kids.blogspot.com/
- Jenifer
  
  very cool. It’s also fun reading your blog. I think it is possible to be “true” minimalists, if everyone is living with what they use. Some people do have more things they use. Our children, for example, use books and toys as learning tools. They do “need” them in a sense. Not the 10,000 toys that so many children have, but enough to capture their imaginations and help them to grow.
  
  our family of 3 has under 1000, but that’s growing because we moved across the world and divested of basically everything. And now we are investing in things we like — a sandbox for DS for instance for his 3rd birthday.
  
  At the same time, we declutter every week. It’s a huge part of how I live and clean. Decluttering is very important to me.
- http://www.everydayminimalist.com The Everyday Minimalist
  
  How about growing a succulent garden instead? Those things barely need any water.
http://work2livelife.blogspot.com/ Working Girl

I’m definately still working on the de-cluttering. I like to think I’ve done ok so far but there’s still a long way to go before I could seriously consider myself a minimalist.

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In a Nutshell

other blog: fabulously broke in the city
minimalist since: 2007 -- why minimalism?
talk to me: contact me here!
current location: canada/usa
home: hotel room
owns: 3 suitcases 2 carryons of stuff
# of items: more than 100!
furniture: 1 japanese futon
works: business consultant
gadgets: macbook pro, ipod touch (pda)
drinks: earl grey cream tea
practices: rebel yoga and de-cluttering
loves: minimalism, $$ management, traveling
quirk: must prep my food before eating
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De-cluttering is not “Minimalism”, it’s just an act of it

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