Minimalism In Difficult Seasons

The idea of minimalism has always been a topic of interest for me. In fact, it was something I was living before I even realized there was a trend going on. Not for an aesthetic or for the sheer sake of having very few items, but for the freedom that it offers. It gave me the opportunity to move across the country (multiple times) with only a car load of items. Freedom to only have to manage the things I truly needed and valued which, in turn, allowed me to wholeheartedly pursue my passions and interests.

Then as life changed, I drifted away from it for a period of time. I got married, joining two person’s belongings and adding a whole host of generous gifts from family and friends who we loved. Fast forward about two years, and I found myself living in our first home for 6 months, feeling overrun by the massive pile of boxes in a spare bedroom that hadn’t been touched since we moved.

Our living spaces felt cluttered making it hard to keep up on the daily cooking, cleaning, and tidying tasks. It is also worth noting that this moment also happened to occur smack dab in the most difficult season of my life to date.

Decluttering When It Doesn’t Make Sense

I had been feeling low grade stress of the physical clutter for quite some time but it wasn’t until I reached this difficult season, that it truly became a priority. Ironically, prior to that, decluttering and scaling back often felt too overwhelming and mentally demanding to tackle. Yet it wasn’t until hardship came that it became the low grade stress ramped up to full blown overwhelm that I could no longer ignore.

This likely seems counterintuitive. It sure did for me. In a time when I had less mental energy, I was taking on a big task. Yet, at the same time, it makes perfect sense because it is in the toughest of times seems that we finally realize that things need to change. Hardship is often a great motivator to finally prioritize things that are important. Plus, I just had a feeling that it would be a worthwhile venture because of how much freedom it had given me prior to getting married.

Minimalism Creates Space

Minimalism obviously creates physical space which has its benefits: less time spent cleaning, organizing, and managing items. The real magic, however, is in the mental space that it creates. In this season where so much has been a struggle, it has been empowering to work with my hands to declutter my space and satisfying to feel and see real progress.

I see how cleaning and tidying up has become a much easier task. A minimal kitchen with the tools and gadgets that I use most creates a flow in planning and preparing meals. Lowering the mental load during a challenging season is so important for moving through it well. The basic needs of feeding yourself and taking care of your home become easier and lighter, freeing up mental space and energy to focus on more pressing matters.

This begs the question, “Where do I begin when I already feel so overwhelmed?” Or maybe you felt motivated to get started but now have lost your momentum and possibly have a larger mess than where you started. Below I have included some tips and tricks both for getting started and maintaining your progress.

How To Begin Decluttering When It Feels Overwhelming

Start.

It doesn’t matter where, it doesn’t necessarily even matter how. What matters most is that you start. Now, with that being said, there are some tips and tricks to help you get going and sustain your momentum.

1. Start in your most highly functional places. Think of your kitchen, bathroom, living room and maybe even your bedroom. These are the spaces that get the most use day in and day out. Therefore, they make the most impact on your day-to-day mental load when things are manageable and easy to find. Is there anyone who hasn’t felt frustrated by digging through an over-cluttered kitchen drawer for several minutes looking for an item only to discover that it was clean in the dishwasher all along?
2. Start small. It seems logical to pull everything out when decluttering, but imagine doing this in your kitchen when you’re already feeling overwhelmed. Now you have a giant mess that requires a lot of decision-making all at once which can feel even more overwhelming. Since the goal is to decrease overwhelm, start with one drawer, cabinet, or corner of a room. Once you completed that space, move on to the next if you have the time and energy that day. If not, call it quits for a little while and come back. It’s a lot easier to find the time and energy to spend 5-10 minutes decluttering a small space than several hours to do an entire room. Plus, when you successfully complete the task, it will motivate you to keep going.
3. Start in a place where you feel motivated. If the kitchen feels like way to big a task or just not that exciting (this was the case for me), start somewhere easy where you know there are things you have been looking at that you want to get rid of. For me, this was my closet. I had always been intrigued by the idea of a capsule wardrobe, but it was the one thing I had never quite figured out how to minimize even before I got married. It sounded fun and exciting to me to build a wardrobe that I loved and felt good in, so that’s where I started. Start in a that place where you feel the greatest urge either to get rid of things or begin creating a calm routine in that space.
4. Finish one area before moving on to the next. This is one I often find myself guilty of. I will start in an area, get bored of it or reach a point of decision fatigue in that area and be tempted to move to the next area. Resist this temptation because you will now have two unfinished messes instead of one. Even if you start and can’t finish an area all at once, take and break and come back to that same space when you feel ready.
5. Work in small blocks of time if larger ones are unattainable or overwhelming. I alluded to this one earlier, but I want to reiterate it. You don’t need large blocks of time to get this done. This was another thing that kept me stuck. Just do what you have time for today. If you have time and energy for a multi-hour declutter, great! If not, a few minutes to go through a bathroom drawer is just as effective in moving your forward toward your goal.
6. Create piles.
   • Keep: All the things that you love, use, and cherish most.
   • Get Rid Of: These items can be further broken down into sell, donate, or trash.
   • Maybe: This is the tricky pile. For some items, it can feel hard to part with them even if they don’t really get used or your unsure if you will need them. The best trick I have found for this is to store them in a “maybe” box or bin. Then after a period of time, I will get rid of them if I haven’t bothered to dig into the box to get that item out. You set that period of time. I usually like 6 months to a year, but sometimes it will be less if the season of the year in which I would be most likely to use that item has come and gone.

You likely have found yourself reading this post because you too are in a difficult season. I am so sorry. I hope this post provides gentle encouragement and tools to help get you not just get through this challenging time but also to navigate it well. I wish you all the best!