I am going to tell you something that might surprise you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words…well this one might just say 2000.
So what is this picture of? It is of stuff that doesn’t have any place in my home.
What does this photo say to me? It says that I am human and I am here to let you know that’s ok.
This picture also says it was a hard winter and it says that I have some work to do. I know that you are probably getting tired of me saying that minimalism is a journey but here is the evidence. Am I the only one that has some miscellaneous boxes laying about?
These are boxes that I don’t have any place for in my living arrangement. They came into my life a few weeks ago when my parents were moving from the house I grew up in to their dream house that they plan on retiring in. Once I got married almost all of my things came with me but as we all know there are always boxes lurking about and these were the ones that were missed during that transfer. I happily took them knowing that I would have to work on them as some things held no meaning to me and others are treasures that I found that I know I will hold dear (like my one and only birthday card from my grandmother as she passed after my first birthday).
My parents downsized so much that now my mother has so much more time on her hands. It was amazing to see the transformation. She was already a minimalist but in the house that I grew up in there were many places that were built in that often needed to be filled to make it look homey (example built in shelves around the fire place and the built in desk with storage). My mother eliminated all those kinds of surfaces in the new home meaning that there was little to no room for knickknacks and useless decor that she didn't love. Now all she has is what she loves. With all those extra spaces it has decluttered the house visually but also the amount that she has to clean is so limited compared to before.
I am still striving to reach this place and I am sure during our next move within a year or so I will have finally achieved this but for now its time to get back on track starting with this pile that you see in the picture above. But I can tackle this. I am going to work on it this month during my mins game. If you haven't heard of the mins game stay tuned as this evening I will have the rules and a print out for you. I hope you join me. It's a great way to either maintain what you have accomplished or make improvements quickly and painlessly.
Do you have a place like this in your home? Know that you aren't the only one.