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Simply minimalist?

22/11/2014

15 Comments

 
Uh-oh. I don't think so!

I've always been very drawn to minimalism, and at a glance my home does look fairly minimal and uncluttered I would say. But after this week's emptying of all storage places in attic and eaves cupboards in order that the house could be better insulated, I see that I can't lay claim to the title Minimalist.

I knew there was quite a lot of stuff stashed away - but until I saw it all together I really had no idea just how much there was.

Instead of being overwhelmed however, I feel energised and am dealing with it - every day another few bags leave the house! 

The timely arrival of Marie Kondo's book The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying made me laugh (both the timing and the book itself) and made me take a more radical approach, and the timing of a family party next weekend has me determined to keep going till it's done.

The other good news is that my husband is joining in.....

15 Comments
Madeleine
22/11/2014 06:10:06 am

Hi,

I'm expecting a copy of Marie's book to arrive soon too! We were tossing up the idea of a garage sale to rid the house of all of the things the children have outgrown (books,toys,clothes) but after reading an excerpt from the book I decided to get rid of it straight away by donating it.

It was incredibly uplifting to get rid of bags of stuff that were lining the hallway 'waiting' for me to have time to sell them.

Madeleine.x

Reply
Freda
22/11/2014 06:22:23 am

Oh yes! I'm on a roll now! Do tell me if you like the book (I will post on it tomorrow...) Thanks Madeleine.

Reply
Penny L
22/11/2014 06:42:08 am

I keep on coming across references to that book. Is it worth reading, will it change my life?(bearing in mind I'm not minimalist despite wishing and trying for the last 15 years ever since reading "Clear your clutter with Feng shui" by Karen Kingston.)Pennyx

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Freda
23/11/2014 06:45:00 am

Oh that Karen Kingston one was great! This one is a curious book and I'm liking it a lot (see next post Penny.)

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Marielle link
22/11/2014 06:46:00 am

Lovely blog Freda. My house is way too big for just "moi". It's a good thing I have all my pets to make it livelier. I am a big fan of the Tiny House Movement and the simple living. I'll try to get a copy of the book you mentioned can't do no harm.

Reply
Freda
23/11/2014 06:46:30 am

Welcome Marielle - I shall enjoy your blog too!

Reply
julia
22/11/2014 08:23:24 pm

terrific work, freda! now, i would love to see before and after photos of this project....isn't it shocking when we get all that squirreled-away stuff out and really see what we have managed to acquire?

Reply
Freda
23/11/2014 06:48:11 am

Julia you wouldn't want to see all those boxes - it just looks like we're moving house! Which we are in a way, by moving it all out..

Reply
cath
22/11/2014 11:55:00 pm

Hmm, minimalist... Probably it is difficult to create a minimalistic apartment while having mostly open bookcases, what do you think? We have made a start however by changing a four piece open bookcase into one with doors. I so much recognize the feeling of being energized by clearing, as if air once stagnant starts to flow again. Looking forward to hearing more about the Kondo.

Reply
Freda
23/11/2014 06:51:08 am

I do like the visually 'busy' stuff behind doors myself. All the stuff we're shifting now was behind doors of course - which is why we ignored it for so long - and never needed it!

Reply
Swissrose link
23/11/2014 01:31:45 am

How funny, I just read that book a couple of weeks ago as an ebook and ordered it in German for my daughter this week (she wouldn't read an ebook… :()!
Meanwhile, we spent the afternoon in our attic room sorting through hundreds of DVDs that have accumulated - I was grateful the hubs - who buys so many of them - joined in and was willing to get rid of a dozen or so, much as I would have got rid of 80%, but it's a start…!! I don't get his filing system but am doing my best just to be glad we've actually looked through every single one and put them into categories ;o LOL

Reply
Freda
23/11/2014 06:54:46 am

I do ask myself is this how I really want to be spending my time - sorting stuff, and the answer is No! You must have liked the book?

Reply
alison
23/11/2014 04:19:50 am

I'm doing the same and have just recently read Marie Kondo's book too! Am combining a partial Kondo-inspired clear-out with Fiona's Releasing 100-things challenge from her howtobechic.blogspot.com site.

The feeling of organization and spaciousness can't be beat!

Reply
Freda
23/11/2014 06:56:34 am

Being able to just lay hands on something when you want it, and not having to move something else to get at it - love it! Thanks for the link Alison - am off to look...

Reply
Karen T.
29/11/2014 12:16:32 pm

I just got Marie Kondo's book too! She does seem to have a quirky personality. I'm working on clearing out papers -- they just seem to multiply all on their own! My shredder kept shutting down so it wouldn't overheat as I got rid of so much I had kept "just in case." The book is very helpful so far.

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