Last week we talked about clearing our environment so we can clear our mind and move forward. I asked, “What clutter is in your environment that is bogging down your mind and keeping you from moving forward?” Today I’d like to explore how much to clear in your environment. Where does one draw the minimalist line?
There is one minimalist author out there that owns about ten things. He can move to another apartment in under thirty minutes.
Wow.
I do not practice a lifestyle of complete minimalism. Like most people, I have storage shelves in my basement with seasonal items and extra baskets and linens. However, I have culled a TREMENDOUS amount of “stuff” from our home. I can honestly say two things: 1. I don’t miss any of it and 2. It is incredibly freeing not to have it around. I learned to draw my minimalist line. In fact, I continue to re-draw it as the years go by, tossing more things overboard like so much flotsam and jetsam.
Everyone has their own threshold of what is the” right amount” of things. Marie Kondo has decided that thirty books is right for her. Your number may be different. I can no more dictate that than I can say that the right length of a book is 400 pages. And what may be “right” for you now, may change in the future.
How do we decide if we need to cull some of our possessions? Here’s a tip:
Take a picture.
Yep. You read that right. When we look at a room that we’ve lived in for years we may not be able to see it objectively anymore. However, seeing that same room through the dispassionate lens of a camera can help us see the difference between curated and clutter.
"Photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real." ~Ansel Adams
Does the eye have a place to rest when scanning the room, or is every surface covered with the story of our lives? Every story needs a good editor. Let there be space for the mind to take in what it sees. Edit your story so those who read your room see your true self. Remove what does not represent what you prioritize. Find your own minimalism line and be open to redrawing it. Edit and re-edit. Draw and re-draw. You’ve heard me say it before. It’s a process and you can do it!
Laura ~ your organizing girlfriend
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