Minimalism is definitely on trend and with touted benefits of less cleaning and more peace of mind it is easy to understand why. If you Google images or search instagram hashtags of minimal homes they always look serine and glamorous. Something I can get behind
Now to be clear this was not fully intentional on my end, it sort of was forced to happen. We uprooted our lives for a year for my husband to complete a fellowship. The move would be temporary. We had many choices to make with how to handle the move. Ultimately we decided to rent our home furnished as we thought we would rent a fully stocked airbnb for the year. That didn’t work out and is a story for another day.
We had to buy the basic necessities while we were down here and bring a small trailer with some essentials. Now to be fare a lot of what we brought down were our kids toys, so we were not fully minimalist in that regard but there were still plenty of lessons learned.
Lessons from going minimalist
You can get by with less than you think
Leaving our stuff behind and living a year with the bare bones basics made me realize a few things. The first and most important being that you can get by with less than you think. So many of our “essential” kitchen gadgets are really not needed, sure they may speed things up or make things easier, but essential- nope. I have found that all I really need in the kitchen is one sharp knife and a cast iron skillet.
I found this to be true of clothing as well. Having a few basic staples is really all that is needed. Now having this year be in Florida and spending most of our time at the pool made this a bit easier.
It is a great lesson in gratitude.
There is something freeing about knowing that we can not only get by, but get by without feeling deprived and have a happy family with limited “stuff.” Having less has made me appreciate what you do have in the current moment.
While I have been finding peace and gratitude with what I do have I have also gained an appreciation for some of what we left behind as well. I think there were definitely certain things that I took for granted and that will no longer be the case when we return home. That goes for everything from extra towels to a favorite mug that crystal wine glass that makes celebrations feel extra special.
It can force you to keep up with the house.
Speaking of extra towels…
Not having extras has made it essential that I stay up on house work. While I would have initially thought that would have felt exhausting it has actually been pretty nice. Since we have just enough towels and one set of sheets for each bed we have to stay up on laundry. While normal I might strip the beds and have a large pile of laundry to get to later as I put a new set of clean linens out, I can’t do that anymore. When you have to do it in the moment (or at least the same day) it makes for less clutter and a shorter to do list which feels really nice since it clears up mental space.
This goes for the kitchen as well. Since we have limited dishes and kitchen wear I have to keep up with it. No more piles of dishes because I have no choice but to move through it. Not get me wrong my house wasn’t a complete disaster before we came down to Florida for the year. It was easier to let things slip and pile up and fall into the “I’ll get to that later” category. It has been really nice having a clean sink!
More free space
Less furniture and extra “stuff” makes the space we have feel well more spacious. This is a bonus with kids and dogs. It’s great having space in the house so they can run around and play.
Plants and paintings will be a non-negotiable
If there are two things I truly miss it is my plants and our paintings. While I know they are not contraindicated in a minimalist home we definitely did without them this year. Knowing it was so temporary and also that we would be going back to all of our art and plants at home we did not get any thing for this year.
These things bring color and joy into a home and while there is generally lots of love in our home it has always felt like something was missing. Recently we have hung up our kids art throughout and that has made a bit of a difference!
You can do anything for a year
The biggest takeaway from my adventure with going minimalist is that you can truly do anything for a year. While change is never easy and takes some adjusting it is one of the only constants we actually have. You are more adaptable than you think! Building confidence that you can handle changes and stressors starts when you take action and actually make some changes.
This is true regardless of it is a forced change or just something you have been thinking about for a while. In the grand scheme of things a year goes quick. So if there is something you have been considering for a while, go for it. Try it out.
Will I continue to live as a minimalist when I return home?
Probably not, well at least not fully. There are some things I am very much looking forward to returning to from my plants and artwork as just mentioned to my pots with matching lids! I joke that I may only drink from my wedding crystal when I get back.
I do really look forward to all of that, I have a new appreciation and commitment to freeing up more space and decluttering. While decluttering is far from my forte I am genuinely looking forward to diving into it upon returning home.