downsize – Minimalist Moment

In 2012 I was exposed to minimalism for the first time. I considered myself as “pursing minimalism.” I would give myself the title of minimalist- too grand and great for me! But I aspired to it.

But 10 years later, as I sat in my home with toys strewn on floor and dishes piling up, and frankly: clutter, I couldn’t help but feel like a failure. Where did I go wrong? I read Marie Kondo, Fumio Sasaki, and more, I’d purged over 2,000 things within my 6 months of pursing minimalism… I wrote for a minimalist blog! What happened?

Maybe you have felt this way too- you’ve done the work but haven’t been able to achieve the social media perfection you were all but promised.

Well, I have good news: you’re not a failure. You are dynamic.

Dynamic means there’s always growth, change, evolution. There’s new seasons to life, new jobs, people, world events (I’m looking at you 2020), life events, attitudes, losses and gains.

IF you NEVER changed, you could probably achieve and keep you aesthetic triumph effortlessly, without the need to reassess. But you are not static, and the world around you isn’t either, so you must shift with the ebb and flow of life.

Example:

We didn’t have kids. I never had to curate a toy collection. Then we had a kid. So, it kinda caught me off guard when I became overwhelmed with toys everywhere! And I had even rejected and returned a LOT of toys we had received. Well, now we have a kid, so we have toys, so guess what? I gotta readjust.

Another:

2020 shut down our gym. My husband is energized by exercise. We purchased gym equipment. Some we used, some just gathered dust. I could mourn over mistakes. Or I could just say “Ah, lesson learned!” and move forward.

If I wasn’t dynamic, I won’t have encountered these problems. But I also wouldn’t have ALL the AMAZING things that come from a dynamic life.

So, rather than being ashamed that I need to declutter again or my life has changed and gotten messy in new ways, I decided to re-evaluate what we needed and needed to do to make our lives function simply and easily. Again. And NOT to view it as a failure. Success! My life is growing! I have opportunity to clear out the old and make way for the new! Like a tree sheds it’s leaves in winter, I’m letting old things go, and making way for the new to come. Those old things weren’t a mistake (ok, maybe a few were,) just like a tree’s new leaves each year aren’t a mistake. They were appropriate for that season. Now they aren’t. Simple!

Once I accepted the need for change without shame, I was able to see what needed to be done clearly and got to it! Now, I’m so pleased and thankful for the new flow we have and I’m not afraid to tweak it as needed!

Plus, I’m not afraid to say “yep, I got in some bad habits.” Im happy to refresh my non-consumer habits and humbly revisit some wonderful resources to learn and relearn!

Don’t be ashamed to do things over again, you dynamic being.

We can do this!

Thanks for visiting.

My husband and I are planning on moving to a new home (our first house) in the near future. A lot of the homes in the area we like are from the 1960’s, which means small(er) bedrooms. I was a bit nervous about that since our current bedroom is quite large with a big attached bathroom. Can we do it? Will we feel crammed? Claustrophobic? So as an experiment, we moved into our much smaller second bedroom. I mean fully moved in- everything out of the master bedroom and attached bathroom: bed, clothes, lights, toothbrushes, everything!

And the verdict is:

It’s been awesome.

I wish I had known ages ago how great this switch is. It’s really made our bedroom a sleep and relaxation room, instead of a high traffic area because there’s no room for anything else. Now it’s quiet and dark, uncluttered (most of the time), instead of a bright, busy, transient, transitional space.

We have made the master bedroom into an office, easily convertible into a guest room. It’s got our computers, a “desk” (read a table we use as a desk), a few projects in process, and two twin beds used as couches now, but are pushed together for a “king” bed when we have a guest.

Benefits for Us

- Single Use Room: Seem like a downer right? But really, it’s a blessing because the (lack of) space makes our bedroom specific by necessity. There’s not room for it to be a laundry room, exercise room, or study room with all the random books, papers, clothes to be folded, etc. It’s simply a sleep and relaxation room.

- Dark: A small space is so much easier to make dark and cozy! We have big windows in the master bedroom but the second bedroom only has one and with only a small blackout curtain, it’s a dream! I’ve gotten much better sleep since we moved there.

- Naturally Minimal Wardrobe: We haven’t had big wardrobes for a while, but now we don’t have room for it in the smaller closet so its more effortlessly minimal. Visually, the closet looks complete. Meaning its not crammed, but its at its ideal capacity. I don’t look at it and think “gosh, looks really bare, maybe I need more dress shirts.” (Yes, even now, I still get these reflex thoughts. See how deeply ingrained the consumer mindset is?) Our closet looks just right: complete and finished.

- Climate Control: Since it is a small space, it’s easy to get it the right temperature. Closing the door warms it up and a single fan can cool it off well.

Guest Room/Office: I was dead-set against having a multi-purpose room for our guest bedroom. I thought for sure it would become a storage room- yikes! But now, after almost 2 years of being in our home and ONE guest for two days, I see the advantage of using the space. Now I still vow it will not be a storage space, but I’m open to it being an office & project room. *Note: Remember how I mentioned those big windows in the master bedroom? I love light for productivity so this bright room is perfect for paying bills, writing, studying, planning, or work.

Benefits for Guests

- Personal Space: Guests need their own space, no matter how friendly you are or how social they are. As the host, our house is how we want it- we couldn’t be more comfortable! We’re home! But guests are not, so it is important for guests to feel like they have their own escape-space to be alone, stretch out and relax.

- Productivity Space: We don’t plan on moving the desk anytime we have a guest, so that leaves them a horizontal space to sit and spread out their stuff, do uninterrupted work, reading, planning, etc.

Private Bathroom: Our master bedroom has its own attached bathroom which is a lot nicer for guests if they need to find a bathroom in the middle of the night in their jammies or first thing in the AM when they’re not up to interacting with people yet.

It’s a Win-Win

I wish we had done this when we first moved in, but I’m grateful for the lesson. Looking back, I guess we just did what everyone else did without ever thinking about why or evaluating our lifestyle and our space. As we look towards our next home, I definitely want to move into the smaller bedroom. For us: it’s better in every way!

I’m so curious- is there anyone out there who has done this too? How would this work with kids? I’d love to hear from you!

We can do this.

Thanks for visiting!

Tag: downsize

Minimalist Failure? No. Dynamic.

We Moved Into Our Guest Bedroom