If you love a clean and orderly space with more intentional design elements, you might have heard of minimalism somewhere along the way. The idea behind having a minimalist decoration style is that there are less things in your home, but what you do have is both high quality and functional.
It’s an especially attractive style for those who want to keep their space organized at all times. The reason why is simple: when you have less stuff in your home, you have less stuff to clean. And what you do choose to have in your home has a valuable purpose and might perhaps perform multiple tasks in one.
However, getting started can feel intimidating. When you’ve spent your entire life amassing a large collection of things, paring back might seem impossible. But if you have a strong desire to live a less cluttered life, some simple planning can make the entire process so much easier. For our minimalism-inspired friends, let’s explore how you can take your home from artifact museum to peaceful haven.
Create a plan.
Anytime you make a change in your life, you want to start with a general plan for how you want to get from A to B. That is especially true for making a minimalist home. That’s because the theme of minimalism is intentionality. There are fewer things, so everything has an important function. Think about what is important for you. There is no set answer as the responses will vary widely from person to person.
When you’ve figured out what you need from your space, then you can determine how to get to the end goal. For instance, if you have a small family but like to entertain for holidays, a quality table with a low footprint that can extend if needed is a great option. If you need a place to hold your record player and display your favorite books, find a horizontally-oriented bookshelf.
Get rid of stuff.
For some people, this part of the process can be liberating. For others, it’s horrifying, combing through items you’ve had for years to determine what you really need and what’s ready for the donation pile is not always easy. A lot of them have sentimental value, after all.
The best tip we can offer here is to do this process with another person, someone who won’t feel emotional attachments for the item and can give you an objective point of view, like: “I know you love that random piece of scrap of paper that you’ve saved all these years, but maybe it’s time to let it go.”
The most important thing to ask yourself is when was the last time you used a certain item. If it’s been over a year, it’s time to seriously reconsider why you need it at all.
Give old things a new life.
When you’re sorting through your items, try to look at everything from a more creative perspective. Maybe you don’t have any magazines to put in your magazine rack, but you do need storage for your vinyl records. That means you have one less item to find as you’re redecorating.
Make cleaning a part of your daily routine.
To extract all the benefits of a minimalist home, you have to be strict about your cleaning habits. A clean space is important because it can help to improve your mental state and clear your mind. One of the many hidden benefits of minimalism is what this lifestyle can afford you from a cognitive standpoint. Make cleaning easy by having a system in place for where items go and storage solutions for all of your needs.
If you have one takeaway from this list, it should be that minimalist spaces don’t just benefit the aesthetics of your home: they benefit your wellbeing overall. Now that you can see how simple this task is, it’s time to get to work so you can enjoy a minimalist way of life.