Face it. Everyone loves a clean home, even if they wont admit it. They love the feeling of a wonderfully open home with no clutter, open walls, and the smell of fresh cleaners (even if the cleaner is homemade, which doesn’t always smell as good as the commercial chemically based cleaners). It’s relaxing and stress free, everything that we desire. So why is it that we do the opposite to our own homes?
I personally love flipping through copies of home decor magazines. The nice minimalist displays of the newest and finest furniture neatly laid out in a wonderful stress free fashion. You ever wonder why they shoot photos in that manner rather than how the typical human lives? Who would be attracted to the cluttered reality? We look at those photographs and dream about how wonderful it would be to live in that environment then stand up, throw the magazine in the recycle bin and do nothing about it until the next issue comes in the mail. (Repeat) We can have the same results, or similar at least, using our current belongings. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get a home like is in those magazines.
Everything that surrounds us is a form of stress. Photographs, hanging decor, frilly flowers; all forms of stress. We tend to fill our homes from wall to wall with belongings, leaving little room to breath. It’s no wonder we are unable to get our stress levels under control when our home, our sanctuary, is filled with stress. So where do we begin?
In one corner.
My husband and I were in the same boat once upon a time. We live in a small apartment and while I have always been a bit of a minimalist, my husband is a complete pack rat. In the end, the pack rat will always win because they bring in more than the minimalist can throw away. Finally, after five years, I lost it. It had gotten to the point to where I couldn’t even open a cabinet without everything falling out and I just opened the cabinet, threw it all in the trash, and moved on. My husband was shocked, he had never seen such a display out of me. The next day, the same thing happened in another closet and I had the same reaction. Finally, I started searching on the internet where I found the website that I mention frequently, Zen Habits. After reading their site, I began the grueling task of minimizing my home… and my husband helped.
I am going to refer you now to the website with all of the advice and techniques I used to get my clutter problem under control. Zen Mind: How to Declutter I urge you to browse around the site and even search declutter for more tips from Mr. Babuata. You will find that they are invaluable in your quest to find happiness and peace in your home.
I would love to hear from others also following the 15 minute decluttering technique. How has it worked for you?
