With-in this project I only chose what would work best with my family, which includes two toddlers. You might find other ideas that float your boat and by all means, go for it! Do what feels right. This is what feels right for my particular crazy chaotic boat and hopefully you get something out of it yourself.
To start I needed to be in the right zone for my creative “minimal” juices flowing. I decided to go with a documentary.
It follows 2 guys who recognize monetary things and money don’t bring happiness. Intentional Living and human connections are what really bring fulfillment. They tour the country spreading word and breaking down barriers caused by false ideas of what minimal living really is. This show is very uplifting and got me wanting to start chucking my useless stuff out the window.
Next I needed to know how to start. So naturally I Googled “most popular ways to start to de-clutter”. I found and read 2 books that really spoke to me.
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
The author Marie Kondo is a freaking genius! She is an organizer by nature and was obsessed with cleaning growing up. So much so that she would clean for fun when she got home from school! I can somewhat relate to this but she went to the extreme. Her entire life was pretty much research for this book. She understood the emotional connection we have with our ‘things’ and that we hold onto things due to sentimentality. Well she breaks down this barrier totally. I loved it, at first it seemed kind of weird but then I realize, “Duh, I’m super weird! This is right up my alley!”. Let me just tell you this to get your interested; she would talk to her stuff. She literally would thank her stuff for all it did for her and if she didn’t need it anymore she would donate it! It was just the thing I needed to relate to so I could start getting rid of the hard to part with stuff.
- Organized Simplicity
This was less emotional and more a ‘How To Almanac’ on how to organize your life and to remind yourself to keep in the right mindset. I also liked that the author mentions that the entire family needs to be on-board and gives ideas on how to make that happen.
Last, being a blogger myself, I searched blogs to follow on this very subject.
This site is beautiful! It has articles, a newsletter and a course on minimalism and intentional living. Everything you need to know is on this site. I haven’t done the courses yet but it is an amazing read. The site has multiple authors and some great perspectives.
This site has realistic ideas on de-cluttering and organizing for the busy woman and/or mom. It is a great resource and very easy to navigate. The author of the site, Katie Moris, has her own book on getting rid of items called “Get Rid of It” that you can download in addition to dozens of other helpful templates.
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Now that I have got my resources now its time to get down to the Nitty Gritty! I promise to keep you updated on my journey.
-Namaste Bitches