Minimalism

On and off, I get fascinated with the minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism, in my opinion, is the reflex action against a consumerist and materialistic culture. It has become a trend featured in newspapers, magazines and blogs. The idea is to de-clutter your life to the bare essentials and to resist acquiring new things that you don't actually need.

For instance, this blogger here:
http://www.missminimalist.com/
is an example of someone who advocates a clutter-free life. She recommends a bare 10 pieces of clothing as your "core" wardrobe, which is reminiscent of:
http://consumerist.com/2010/07/woman-wears-6-items-of-clothing-for-a-month----nobody-notices.html
http://www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/
and trying to pare down the number of items you own down to 100, like this one:
http://guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge/

Now some of the goals in these challenges seem a bit extreme to me. I'm not sure I can actually pare down my wardrobe to 10 core items and the total number of things I own down to 100. However, I do love the look of minimalism. If you peek into the bathroom of a minimalist, there is almost nothing sitting on top of the sink or tub. Everything looks so clean and airy. In truth, I enjoy relaxing in a room filled with almost nothing.

So with the minimalist lifestyle in mind, I am going to think about how I want the rooms in my house to look. Everything should have a place and at the end of the day, everything should be put back into its place. It's easier to maintain a clean look and feel if there is less stuff to take care of and move around.

Currently, I think our bathroom has the most minimalist look. Everything is put away neatly and there's a place for the stuff we need for our daily routine. For a while, the bathroom was without a garbage can. The room was so small that no regular trash can would fit anywhere. So I bought a plastic magazine holder, placed it open side up, put a liner in it and voila! bathroom wastebasket problem solved!

The room I'm still struggling to get right is the kitchen. We have a lot of kitchen items. Not only are there pots and pans and lids and utensils, there are also lots of stocked food. I'm still trying to find a way to place and organize things that make sense and work well with how I cook and bake. We have a lot of cabinet space, but much of it I can't reach even with the small step stool. So this room will probably take a few or several more different configurations before I settle on one I like.

Of course, in the back of mind is always the question, what can I get rid of? De-cluttering is key to keeping things neat and organized. Like I said earlier, the less things you have, the less you have to worry about and maintain. I would say my hubby is more of a pack rat than I am, so it's more of a struggle for him than me. Still, I'm going to keep trying!