We all have different thresholds of clutter and for things that are around us. When I look around my small house, I can see where a die-hard minimalist may say, ‘Gee, you have a lot of Easton Press books, or that I still have my Fiesta Ware.’ Even though I have gotten rid of probably 75 % of what we did have ( grand piano and 2 couches and a futon) plus more, there is still a comfortable amount of stuff that I like.
I love my Needles and Pine Tepco dishes that are in the Heywood Wakefield. Even though I use White dishes daily, I do use the Tepco and I use the Fiesta Ware. But I have them where I can appreciate them visually and they fit on the shelves they are on.
That’s a big minimalist thing and I do use that concept of how much ‘real estate’ or space do I have for those items. If they were boxed away, I would get rid of them. But they are out on my shelves and fit the space. If you need to start your minimalist journey, I’d recommend the container concept. There’s only so much room on a shelf or in a drawer for items. So that is your parameter. You can only put what fits and that doesn’t mean cramming things in sideways.
So why bother decluttering and minimizing your stuff. From my own personal experience, my house stays cleaner as there is less stuff to dust and overall less stuff to deal. My stress levels are quite low( mostly) when things are tidy and uncluttered. I read a great article on some blog about when we’re stressed we want to declutter and I can say that is what I did. I found the more I released the less stressed I was. My home felt better to be in. As an introvert, I spend a lot of my time home especially since I no longer work at the library. So
- cleaner house
- less stuff to deal with
- lower stress levels
- more time for other things like reading, cooking, walking etc
There’s less noise in my head when I have more white space around me both literally and figuratively. I think there’s even more, I can declutter down the road but for now, it is a nice balance.
Tahoe Girl 
I’m on a similar journey with minimalism. I also find that a cleaner house and less stuff helps lower my stress/anxiety level, as well as gives more more time for the things I love doing like writing and reading. Decluttering in my house is definitely an ongoing process. I enjoyed reading this!
It is so ongoing!!! I guess that’s just life’s journey!!
I have an ongoing battle of decluttering and having the need to “stock up”. I like to look at the bottom shelf in my linen closet after my summer of organizing. There is a tidy area for rolls of tp and boxes of tissues and then that is it. I like having set the parameters because then the decisions are already made. I love your cabinet – looks artistic!
I am on this journey and I am losing the battle. I sit here in bed Sunday morning as I pute this, looking at the overloaded bookshelves. and holiday storage (now stored in my bedroom is pretty boxes since I can no longer make the basement stairs. In my case though, its not the inability to get rid of things, It’s pure laziness. Laziness I say, it has taken me over this winter.
Ahh, well Spring is coming!! a new season and maybe the decluttering will kick in. I know with the cold we’re having here in Northern California I’m not going out to our barn, which is the next frontier in the decluttering world. Just keep at it.