A minimalist home should be an open and welcoming space free from clutter. One way to preserve this atmosphere is to catch clutter creep before it occurs.
Every item in your home needs its place, and once this space becomes overflowing, it may be time to let some go.
Could you keep it simple?
Minimalism takes many different forms, yet all share certain commonalities to create a tidy and functional home environment. One key theme in minimalist living is keeping things simple—this means eliminating unnecessary clutter, cutting waste, and using environmentally friendly materials throughout. Minimalism should reflect what matters most to you and your family, so make sure that your space reflects them!
One way to keep things straightforward is to avoid impulse purchases. Before making any decisions about any purchase, carefully evaluate its cost/benefit analysis and whether it adds any real value to your life. When making purchases, use the “one in, one out” rule: for every new addition made, remove one item that was once present. This will help identify whether an item truly serves its purpose as an essential need or is just an unnecessary distraction.
When dealing with paper, consider going digital wherever possible. This could include paying bills online, reading e-books, or storing documents on the cloud. Doing this will reduce the amount of physical paper in your home, which can become an additional source of clutter.
Reduce visual clutter in your home by opting for neutral or light colors for walls and furniture. This will create a feeling of openness in the space. Incorporating natural elements, such as plants, natural woods, or handwoven textiles, will further promote well-being in your home environment.
Finally, storage solutions can help hide unsightly items from view. This could be as easy as tossing cords into a basket, stacking them neatly into a cabinet, or investing in built-in solutions to create an organized look.
An organized space will make life more pleasant and foster bonding rather than pitting family members against one another over toys or computer time. Everyone will appreciate a less distracting home and simpler to maintain – more likely for you to stick with your minimalist lifestyle and avoid clutter creep.
Could you keep it clean?
After decluttering, maintaining cleanliness is essential to prevent clutter from returning. Merry Maids recommends developing effective cleaning habits tailored to each space – for instance, daily kitchen cleaning might be required, while others could require weekly or monthly attention.
As part of your minimalist journey, it’s also essential that the entire family embrace minimalism and learn how to clean. This will keep surfaces and floors free of debris, making regular tasks such as vacuuming and dusting easier to complete efficiently. Furthermore, it may encourage everyone in the household to put things away after each use rather than leaving them out until later, when things accumulate again.
Keep clutter at bay by being the gatekeeper and carefully considering any item brought into your home before adding it. Sort through mail immediately upon receiving it and throw out anything unnecessary. Additionally, be a discerning purchaser when shopping and consider how an item might benefit your life before purchasing it.
Finally, it’s essential that items be placed out of sight to prevent them from being easily accessible or visible. If you have a craft room, don’t hang all sorts of decorations on the walls; choose just a few pieces that you enjoy most and store the rest away or in cabinets. This way, you can enjoy its beauty without worrying about clutter taking over.
Maintaining a minimalist home can be challenging when life gets in the way, but don’t give up! Instead, make a few minor changes and slowly incorporate elements of minimalism into your home. As you gain more practice at minimalism, it will become easier to maintain clutter-free surroundings. And when things don’t go quite according to plan? Be patient; remember, it’s normal for us all to experience less-than-stellar days from time to time!
Keep it organized
Maintaining a minimalist home requires keeping things organized, with keeping things neat and orderly taking priority. Minimalists clean as they go rather than waiting until a big cleaning day to ensure everything has its place. This means wiping up spills immediately, returning worn clothing to its closet after using it, and clearing countertops regularly. Incorporating storage solutions suitable for each category of clutter (if there’s a basket that would work nicely but doesn’t fit under your sink, for instance) would help. For example, if it fits! Invest in bins that do!
One primary source of clutter creep is items that need permanent homes. It can be easy to toss items in drawers or cupboards without providing an ideal spot for them, mainly if they aren’t regularly used. If an item hasn’t seen much action lately, it is time to part ways with it and donate or throw it away.
Another way to combat clutter creep is to keep track of everything you own and only add items that add value or simplify life. Shopping bright means creating a list of necessary items before heading out and not purchasing items that only add something new or ease living arrangements.
If you’re having difficulty managing clutter, take an empty laundry basket with you as you systematically work through each room of your house, room by room by room. Grab any item that doesn’t belong where it should be and either toss, donate, or place it in an outbox for later consideration. By following these simple strategies, you’ll be able to reduce clutter creep while maintaining a minimalist lifestyle for longer! Getting started might seem intimidating, but once started, it will soon be done!
Keep it out of sight.
Keeping clutter out of sight is crucial to success as part of living minimally. This means ensuring everything has its place and returns after that use—helping prevent the “one more thing” syndrome, which inevitably results in too much stuff.
Minimalists strive to maintain clean living spaces as much as possible, with uncluttered benches and walls that allow furniture to breathe, which helps us remain calm and content in our homes. Achieving this look can be difficult when one pile of clothes remains on the bedroom floor or another book remains on a table; that is why making decluttering part of your weekly lifestyle routine should become part of your routine – at least every few weeks at a minimum!
Keep a watchful eye out for clutter to stop it from building up in your home, such as sorting mail and disposing of anything unneeded or junk immediately. Doing this also works with shopping – asking yourself, “Do I need this item?” before making purchases is another effective method.
If an item is difficult for you to part with, try placing it in an outbox for several weeks or longer until you can decide whether to keep or donate it. This gives you enough time and space to consider your options before making a choice about its fate.
Maintaining a minimalist lifestyle doesn’t need to be challenging – it may even be easier than you realize! Follow these helpful guidelines, and soon enough, you will have a fantastic home that looks and feels incredible!
Are you curious about minimalism? Check out Messy Minimalism — an approach to living less that’s accessible, grace-based, and frees you from perfectionism while creating an imperfectly perfect minimalist home. Available now wherever books are sold! Follow this link below to your preferred online bookstore.
