How to become a ‘Minimalish-t’ in 5 Steps

We’re certainly not minimalists by any stretch of the imagination. I’d love to be. I think?

I see these beautiful homes and gardens on TV screens and in glossy magazines and they just look so soothing. So inviting. So many beautiful textures and colours, fresh flowers and clean and clutter-free spaces. You can start to get the feeling that’s how your own home should look.

I subscribe to ‘Country Style’ magazine. By that I mean, I actually receive a published magazine, made of glossy paper and ink, delivered via the post, each month. I’m old-school like that. I just can’t get into reading books or magazines on a screen. I immerse myself in the pages for a while, before I’m snapped back to reality and have a look around to discover the shit show that is our loungeroom and verandah after leaving the kids to their own devices, their own imagination, for an hour.

Reality check. We’re a family of 5, living on a property with animals and gardens. We have stuff for us adults, stuff for the kids, things for the garden, and also for the pets. Then there’s the tools, materials and machines needed for maintaining a home, mowing the yard, slashing the paddocks. I just don’t think it’s realistic for me to aim for what I’m seeing on TV shows, YouTube videos, Pinterest, and in lifestyle magazines.

Since we’ve moved into our forever home, which is under renovation, I’ve started to think, maybe it’s time to lower the goal post. I really like organising stuff. The satisfaction of having a home for everything within our home is wonderful to me.

So, I’m thinking I could aim for something more achievable at this stage of our life. Forget Minimalist. I’m striving for…

Minimalish-t.

Which for me, means having stuff that you use and that you love, but also still having a fair bit of additional stuff for…

• Finishing off renovating the house and shed.
• When extended family / friends come to stay.
• Art, craft and sewing projects.
• Cook books, cheese-making kits and jars for preserving food (one day).
• Boxes of sentimental treasures from your childhood.
• The Hubby’s Star Wars collectibles.
• The avid reader in the household (Big Boy).
• The treasure hunter and weapons dealer (Middle Man).
• The bug catching, web-slinging Spiderman (Crazy Cat)
• (insert any other hobby or collection here)

It is true what they say that your stuff can start to own you. But it’s also true that your stuff is a reflection of who you are, what you love, and what has meaning for you.

That’s not such a bad thing.

I’ve fallen into the trap many times of feeling like I need to throw everything out and go back to bare minimum. Like probably once a month, I feel like leaving it all behind and going away in our caravan, indefinitely.

“Arrgh, we have too much stuff! We don’t need it all!”

Over the years, my husband has helped shift my perspective. One day, while we were catching up of an evening, whisky in his hand, tea in mine, sitting on the couch, I asked him,

“Why do we have to have so much stuff?”

“Like what?” He queried. 

“All of the motorbikes, it’s excessive!”

Without hesitation he starts to tell me “I spent my teenage years going around to motorcross tracks. Mum drove me all around the south east coast. My sisters came too. I’d do my motorcross races and then we’d camp overnight. I loved these times. These are the sorts of memories I’d like our kids to grow up with.”  

“Hmmm, ok”. I say “That was actually really meaningful. Well then, how about all the Lego! There is soo much, and you’re always buying more kits!?”

“I love doing Lego. It’s something I can sit down with Big Boy, and even Middle Man now that he’s getting older, and we can do Lego together. We talk while we’re doing it. Problem-solve when things go wrong. I like to see how their minds work. It’s quality time together.”

“Hmmm, that’s actually really nice too”. I should know by now that it’s futile to try and argue with my engineer husband. He’s just always so damn logical, and also sentimental!

We have worked hard for the past 14 years, Hubby and I, building a life together and raising a family. It’s not just stuff. It’s our home and our life.

It’s true that we don’t need it all. But if we’re going to clear things out, it’s going to be in a way that makes sense for us, as a family, for our present circumstances and our future dreams. 

Here are 5 steps, based solely on what just popped into my head, on how to become a Minimalish-t.

1. Acknowledge your current circumstances and your future aspirations.
2. Remove the ‘stuff’ from your life that you don’t actually need or use. Especially if it could go to someone less fortunate than yourself, who might actually need or use it. Get rid of any stuff that makes you feel guilty or sad. Keep the stuff that makes you feel good.
3. Put your treasures on display so that you can cherish them each day.
4. Be grateful for your home. It is a wonderful blessing. Recognise that you are very fortunate to be living in a home with electricity, clean running water, a flushable toilet, and shelter with cooling and warmth
5. Remember that your house won’t stay tidy for long. When it gets ‘too much’ again, and you have the time and motivation available, repeat these steps again.

I don’t think we’ll ever be a minimalist family, and we certainly won’t have a clean, streamline, uncluttered home at this stage in our lives. It’s not the right fit for us. On second thought, I don’t think I want to be minimalist. Seems like a lot of work, but each to their own. I realise I was trying to impose something on my family that I’d seen elsewhere, and I was trying to compare my life with someone else’s and that is always a recipe for failure.

We’ll settle for Minimalish-t for now.

Have all the stuff that means something to us, and try to cut out the stuff that doesn’t. It is such a blessing to be surrounded by things that you treasure. Things that evoke memories of loved ones, of special times and places, of who you aspire to be.

Enjoy your homes and the treasures, people and/or pets in them.

Take care,

MumOf3WR

P.S. I just found a podcast called ‘Minimal-ish’ about exactly these topics, if you’re interested in hearing another perspective. We’re not affiliated in any way.  https://www.desiraeendres.com/minimalish

P.P.S I had thought that I’d come up with this term, until I googled it and it already existed. Hence the link to the Podcast above.