For the past year-plus, I’ve been quite intrigued with the minimalism lifestyle movement. I regularly read several minimalist blogs. My favorite is Joshua Becker’s Becoming Minimalist .
There are many aspects of minimalism that appeal to me, including its connection to the fallacy that happiness comes from owning more and more “stuff.” I also count, “Be Organized” among my Six Simple Rules for a Better Life, and it’s much easier to stay organized when you have less” stuff.”
That’s why the following guest post by Ricky Peterson appealed to me. His piece provides practical suggestions that you may be able to use. And if you can’t use these ideas, perhaps they will at the least get you thinking differently about your stuff, and your future stuff.
I’ve been experimenting with aspects of minimalism for the past eight months and will report more on that in a post this summer. Enjoy Ricky’s post and let me know what you think.
Best regards,
David
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Having a clear and clutter free living space helps to make the most of what you’ve got and it can reduce your stress level. It also looks nice when you have more space and less stuff…Particularly if you live in a relatively small home.
It’s no surprise then that more people are taking the leap and trying out a minimalist approach to their living space. But how do you do it? What do you really need and what can you do without?
Read on for a handful of suggestions regarding furniture items that may be able to do without:
Corner Tables
You know those little tables in the corners of certain rooms, the little table by the front door, or the table in the corner of the dining room with a plant on it? These table often do not serve any purpose, and are easy targets for clutter.
This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to downsize your furniture and at the same time create a more clutter-free house.
TV Stand
This is one of the biggest space users in your living room (other than the sofa presumably) and it’s unnecessary. If you want to go to the extreme, you can get rid of your TV; sell it (or give it away) along with your DVD player and Xbox, and save a load of money on bills…
But if you really can’t do without a TV, get a wall mount. Use cable tidies to get all of the wires out of the way and you’ll have freed up some floor space and removed one item of furniture that loves to collect dust!
Display Cabinets
Are you a big fan of ornaments? Ornaments are a popular target of minimalists. They take up space and mean that dusting takes even longer!
Pick out your very favourite ornaments and sell/bin/store the rest. If you keep a select few items to decorate your window-sills, you can get rid of the display cabinet and enjoy the extra space and having less to clean.
Filing Cabinets
You may not even have one (in which case, move on to the next item). But for those of you who do, you need a scanner and a couple of hours set aside to go digital.
You can easily reduce the number of ‘must-keep’ paperwork items to the point where your filing cabinet is no longer necessary. Store important things digitally and back them up for extra security.
Big Sofas
You might be able to save some space by getting a smaller sofa. Reclining sofas or very bulky onescan be replaced by lower profile, corner sofas (for instance).
The Spare Bed
If you wish you had more quiet spaces where you could relax (perhaps for some time away from the kids), then think about your spare bedroom. How often do people really sleep over?
Chances are that most of the furniture in this room goes unused— a bed that never gets slept in and drawers and closets that tend to be full of clothes you don’t wear! If you are going to keep a bed in that room, consider a multi-purpose sofa bed. Then clear out your clothes and sell the excess dressers on eBay (or give them away to someone in need).
Make the spare room your own space, get some bean bags and make the most of the least utilized room in the house!
Bookshelves
Some people really love books, but if you keep a load of old books that you never look at, on a bookshelf that just takes up space, consider getting rid of it. How much better would a slightly more spacious room suit your needs?
And if you can’t stand the idea of getting rid of the bookshelf, perhaps you could move it to what used to be the spare bedroom (now you own private reading space!)?
About The Author
Hi there. My name is Ricky. I am a frugal-living fanatic and a newly-turned minimalist. I am a big believer in the maxim “less is more”. Thanks for reading my guest post!
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