Disclaimer: I have a dream to live in a tiny house one day.
If you're not sure what a tiny house is, check out this house.
I daydream about one tiny bin of Legos, that must be meticulously picked up and stored away before we can eat lunch (because the table used for Legos is also the dining table/art table/folding laundry table...), and cleaning the entire house in 15 minutes, and packing for a trip to visit family in PA in 10 minutes--because the total amount of clothing in our house would fit in the suitcases we'd take for a week-long trip.
I know, I know, this sounds completely ridiculous to some of you!
Who would ever want to live in less than 500 square feet?
This girl.
And I'm working on my husband. Oh yes, he will live tiny one day...he's all for it--once the kids move out. But they're 9 and 4--and I don't want to wait that long! I overheard our 4 year old telling a friend one day, "When we live in a tiny house, we won't have this anymore" (about one of her toys)...
The kids play more with less toys.
We downsized from 1400 square feet to 900...and we have extra space in our house!
We wiped out over half of the toys--and simplified them into categories (books, art stuff, blocks/marble run, dress-up, animal figures, and Legos--my nemesis!).
We have 2 closets: one that holds all of the kids' clothing, and the other that holds all of the adult clothing (with a dresser in there).
Our kitchen only contains the essential dishes and bakeware.
The only bathroom contains items that are used on a daily basis...and that's it.
Our living and dining areas have simple, useful things in them...and yes, they acquire clutter when we get lazy and don't put things away, but when the house is clean and things are in their places, these areas are free of lots of "stuff."
Now, am I advocating for everyone to sell all of their stuff and live in the shed out back? NO.
I'm suggesting that you become aware of the many, many ads that are designed to make you think you need their product--that your life will be happier, easier, faster, better--if you buy it. Once you become aware of the marketing that's used to tell us we need to have something, you can begin to resist it.
To live with less clutter, stop buying more stuff.
Then get rid of things that are broken.
Then donate the items you no longer use but are still in useable condition.
Then sell the items that are still in great condition (and may still have tags on them!).
Then be honest and get rid of things that you're keeping "just in case" you might use them.
You're not. Let them go.
And slowly, over time, your home will only contain the useful, beautiful items that you appreciate...and you'll resist buying things to make yourself feel better, because you'll see that things don't make you feel better.
They require work.
You have to work to make the money to buy the things--then you have to take care of the things--then you feel like you need to replace the things with newer versions of the things--and the cycle repeats itself.
Free yourself of non-essential stuff and see how good it feels.
