5 Reasons to Embrace Minimalism
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Is a Minimalist Home Right for You?
You love the look of minimalist homes. With their clean lines and open spaces, it’s easy to fall in love with the modern interiors that have skyrocketed in popularity. But you couldn’t possibly adopt the trend in your own home. After all, you simply have too much stuff!
If this is your mindset, it might be time to reconsider. Adopting a simpler aesthetic not only offers a lot of benefits like a healthier, happier space, but it’s also doable by just about anyone. Ready to learn more? Check out the following tips from SoNo Homes to help you move toward a minimalist aesthetic.
Why Minimalism?
Minimalism is more than a design trend. In fact, there’s a lot to gain by owning less:
● Less to clean: Do you dread spending your Saturday mornings doing chores? With less stuff cluttering your home, you’ll have less to clean and organize.
● Less to store: Is your stuff earning its keep? If storage space is a priority in your home search, ask yourself if the things you’re storing are really worth the cost of the extra square footage.
● More options: When you can get by with less square footage, you have more money to spend on the house features you really want, like a luxury kitchen and a prime location.
● More fun money: If you’re not spending all your money on things, you have more money for experiences (and savings).
● More time: Eliminate shopping as a pastime, and you’ll have more time and energy for the things that matter, like quality time with your spouse and kids.
Effective Decluttering
Despite the benefits, adopting a minimalist lifestyle isn’t an easy switch. It doesn’t help that the very first step is also the most overwhelming one. But with a few smart strategies, you can take the anxiety out of decluttering:
● Make a one-year rule: Haven’t touched it in the last 365 days? The recommendation is to get rid of anything you haven’t used in the last year.
● Store items you may need later. For those items that you’ll need at a later time, or that hold sentimental value, a great option is to temporarily store them at an offsite storage facility. When you go online and do a little research, you’ll find a lot of options for storage units in San Diego and the surrounding area.
● Turn hangers backwards: Sarah Ever After notes that a simple hanger trick makes it easy to see which clothes you wear. At the beginning of the year, turn all the hangers in your closet backwards. As you wear items, re-hang them in the proper direction. At the end of the year, you’ll have an easy inventory of the clothes you don’t wear.
● Get rid of duplicates: Gone are the days of formal and everyday dinnerware. Rather than storing more dishes, utensils, and linens than you could possibly use at once, save the best versions and get rid of the rest. The kitchen is a common culprit of duplicates; use this guide from Food52 for help deciding what’s worth keeping.
● Say no to unitaskers: Shop for kitchen supplies these days, and you’ll be met with a barrage of single-purpose appliances that purportedly make life easier. But is there anything that a banana slicer, egg cooker, or quesadilla maker can do that a good knife, pot, and pan can’t?
● Prioritize furniture disposal: One of the best methods for decluttering a home is to get rid of furnishings that you no longer want or need. It’s hard to maintain a modern minimalist home design when your living room looks like a Victorian parlor, jammed with chairs, sofas, and side tables. Keep only the pieces that truly enhance your decor.
● Don’t forget your office: Another area prone to clutter and disorganization, take steps to minimize clutter and to reorganize your space – including that desk! Throw out or donate anything you no longer use, switch to paperless copies, implement vertical organization and neatly contain errant cables and cords.
Maintaining a Minimalist Home
After the work of decluttering is done, it’s time to maintain your newly minimal home. It’s easy to slip back into bad habits, but these tips will keep you on track:
● Lose the retail therapy habit: Do you feel the urge to shop after a particularly bad day? Buying stuff to soothe is common, but it’s not healthy. Curb impulsive shopping by finding healthier ways to cope with stress.
● Practice one in, one out: When you do buy something new, apply the one in, one out rule: For every new thing you purchase, a similar item must be discarded.
● Give everything a place: Prevent clutter creep by ensuring that every item has a place in your home. Organize so things are accessible where you need them, and avoid storage bins that let you dump and forget.
● Get a smaller place: A large home often feels like it’s calling out to be filled. If you truly don’t need the space and can limit your belongings, consider a smaller home. Not only will you have less maintenance and upkeep, but you could even save money.
Who can benefit from a decluttered and downsized life? The short answer is anybody. Minimalism isn’t just the domain of highly mobile millennials. Whether you’re an empty nester looking to simplify your lifestyle, a parent seeking sanity in a kid-filled home, or a recent divorcée hoping to trim your budget, minimalism has something to offer you. The hardest part is getting started – but with these tips, it doesn’t have to be so tough after all.
