Is decluttering minimalism? Is minimalism decluttering? Well…sort of…!
What is minimalism?
Minimalism is an idea. It’s a way of life. It’s a way of living with only those things which you need to function. It’s getting rid of anything that is extra. Anything which doesn’t have a specific purpose.
Some people love the freedom that minimalism brings them. No decisions about what you like, what you don’t like. No doubt about whether to buy something or not. No clutter, no chaos, nothing without purpose. Life is simple – do you NEED it?
But whilst a minimalist home is a decluttered one, a decluttered home is not necessarily a minimalist home.
What is decluttering?
Decluttering is absolutely about what you NEED, but it’s also about what you love – what you want to have around you, what makes you smile, what makes you proud. In the words of the decluttering master, Marie Kondo, “does it spark joy?”
A decluttered home can be a full home. It can be a busy home, with nicknacks and mementoes and your style stamped all over it. The trick is to know that you want to keep absolutely everything in it.
A decluttered home doesn’t have cupboards full of mystery things, or boxes of papers which have a mix of the kids’ first drawings, junk mail and water bills from 4 years ago.
Decluttering isn’t about getting rid of things to live a minimal life, it’s about consciously deciding what you want to KEEP in your home. It’s about knowing what you have and choosing to make space for it. It’s about filling your home with only the things you need, use or love.
In a decluttered home there’s as much room for those postcards from every holiday you ever went on (and which bring back lots of happy memories), as there is for your birth certificate and the mugs you use every day.
A decluttered home is a home which doesn’t waste any of its precious space on anything which doesn’t deserve to be there.
So take a minute, look round at what you spend the days picking up, tidying and putting away, and decide whether they’re worth it!
