How I Became a Minimalist

The term minimalism has many meanings and connotations depending on who you ask. Minimalism can be described as a design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect. For me, it’s about being intentional and creating an environment that functions for your needs while being full of things you love. 

So how did I get here? My husband and I were 27 at the time and living in an 850 sq. ft. apartment that we had made home for about a year or so until some unanticipated external factors forced us to start looking for new apartments, and fast. 

With the thought of a move on the horizon, I took an inventory of our situation and was looking around at all our stuff, including an accumulation of items that was conveniently piled in our basement—and I mean piled. This was a culmination of boxes from my first apartment in college, boxes from my husband and I’s childhood, boxes that hadn’t been unpacked yet since our last move, boxes of baking dishes that were handed down from our grandparents and even unopened wedding registry boxes. Not to mention, a ton of extra furniture items that we were storing in the basement. I’m telling you—PILED. I had walked past this mountain of boxes and miscellaneous items so many times that it had basically become invisible. And this was only part of it—there was plenty of excess in our main living space as well.

I sat with the overwhelm for a few days, then happened to stumble upon a YouTube video on minimalism while folding laundry—shoutout to Natalie Bennett! Watching Natalie’s time lapse videos of these significant (and seemingly quick) transformations and listening to her endearing voice describing similar scenarios that I had been experiencing, it made me realize—I can do this too! There was something about all these realizations that clicked and lit a fire in me to make a change. 

Queue Eye of the Tiger, because it was now me vs. our mountain of stuff—challenge accepted. Box by box, I went through each individual item and made a decision: trash, donate, keep, sell. It was amazing how much actual garbage was inside these boxes along with things I forgot even existed or that I “lost” years prior. Chances were, if I had gone years without opening some of these boxes, there’s a pretty good chance that I could live without what’s inside. This whole process was a very humbling and difficult experience, but damn was it rewarding. Mind you, while this effort was not perfect, and there were some items that I truly felt like I wasn’t ready to make a firm decision on, it gave me the confidence to know that I could take a step in the right direction and make a change in my life. Progress over perfection, right? 

After this major “declutter” session (over multiple days, I will add!), I was left with a handful of neatly stacked boxes and a few furniture items that we didn’t currently have a spot for upstairs and weren't ready to part with yet.

By the way, I am fully aware of how scary and dungeon-like our basement was! Even so, we were extremely lucky to have the extra storage space.

On the other side of it, there were a few bags of trash, about 8 garbage bags for Goodwill and eventually over $150 from selling some things on Facebook Marketplace. I would be remiss if I did not mention that decluttering can be a very emotional process. My husband and I were still very young, did not have kids and had not encountered any serious loss in our lives, so most decisions were fairly easy. That said! This spiraled into momentum to take on other parts of our home over the coming months. Clothing, home décor, kitchenware, linens, etc. To me, it felt like there was no downside—I was either donating to someone who needed it more or getting money from it, all while making my day-to-day life so much easier.

I was addicted to this newly discovered feeling of…control. The weight that was lifted off me was so unexpected and profound. I felt so much relief knowing that I was actually aware of all that was in my home, and it was all things that I needed or loved—or at least close to that, as I was just starting out in this process—because giving yourself grace is important as well. 

I must note that minimalism is not a one and done sort of thing, but more like a plant that needs watered and pruned over time. It’s something that requires continual attention, hard work and dedication, but the benefits are so worth it.

While I noticed the benefits almost immediately, it wasn’t until a few short years later that I can confidently say that minimalism has attributed to more time, money, control and peace in my every day—and now it has become a way of life. Rid + Refine is your destination for embracing minimalism, finding fulfillment and adding personality to your home.