Let’s Talk About Minimalism

Sometime around 2015 or 2016, I was really into the concept of minimalism. In fact, you could say I had become a little bit obsessed with it. I know I say I’m obsessed with products or garments all the time, but in this case, I was pretty deep into it.  Technically I still am into the concept of minimalism, but just in a whole different way and I’m certainly not obsessed anymore.

I was pretty convinced that minimalism was going to help get my room organized in the way I wanted. It did help, but only temporarily. I found that it was difficult to keep my surfaces clutter-free so I kept decluttering and decluttering until my surfaces stayed tidy. I decluttered my books, my wardrobe, my skincare, my makeup, and my haircare.

SO what had happened was…I didn’t really have much left after the decluttering process, so I went out and bought any missing links. I found that I just put myself in a vicious cycle of decluttering, filling in the missing pieces, and then decluttering again. Wash, rinse, repeat. I realized after about a year or so how silly this was becoming, but I knew there was no not decluttering, but I also had to (yes had to – I’ll explain)  fill in anything that was missing.

During the decluttering process, I was getting rid of things for the sake of getting rid of things – because it “looked” better. I was only out for that minimal aesthetic with only three or four things on a surface or a 15-20 piece wardrobe. This wasn’t what I wanted for myself, in fact, it was making me a little unhappy. Don’t get it twisted though, the concept of minimalism wasn’t making me unhappy, but the way I was practicing it was. I would have to repurchase certain things because I was getting rid of the essentials – especially in my wardrobe. I also kept telling myself I’d just DIY anything that could be DIY’d but never getting around to it.

Read my post about My Struggles with Minimalism to get a better idea of what I mean. Back when I wrote that post, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I felt like a “bad minimalist” but after a while, it came to me.

Fast forward to now, I still practice this lovely concept, but only where I want to. I wouldn’t call myself a minimalist now by any stretch of the imagination. My decluttering process only happens once, maybe twice a year instead of a couple of times every three months. I’m no longer in this strange cycle of decluttering then repurchasing and decluttering again. I believe it just took a little balance and discipline to get to the right place in my ‘minimalism journey.’

I’m still working on getting my room organized by developing habits and simply just being more mindful about…well everything. I know minimalism is going to be and look different for everyone, so I don’t beat myself up about it as much as I used to. And I’m much happier where I am now. Leave a comment if you’d like to know when and where in my life I practice minimalism.

Thanks for reading.

As Always,

ChelsiKay