Declutter. Simplify. Minimalism?

Desk - Before

Desk - After (!)

Decluttering. Simplifying. Minimalism. For a movement that’s focused on removing excess from our lives, we certainly seem to have a lot of words to describe it, don't we? The thing is though we often use words like “decluttering” and “minimalism” interchangeably, they’re not exactly the same. So what, exactly, is the difference between them? It’s pretty simple: decluttering is an action, while minimalism is a lifestyle.

While Pete and I are certainly not quite (yet) trying to live up to the lifestyle in our 700 sq. ft. apartment, we truly are re-evaluating the way we use our space and belongings so that it is both efficient and pleasing.  Our current mentality is if something hasn't be used/worn in over a year or, heck, even six months, donate it/sell it/recycle it/throw it out.

Sometimes it's difficult when you keep items for sentimental reasons but the truth is, we only really come to these items when we're cleaning stuff out.  Frankly, our lives are too busy to even remember to take out those items to reminisce!  Or if it's a t-shirt/sweater/clothing item of any sort, rarely do we ever feel the need to put on a worn out, often now ill-fitting (and sometimes cheaply made) sentimental piece of fabric.  

I'm guilty of it! I used to keep old jeans and t-shirts thinking they'd be good for when I'd go print on the press, operating a greased up machine and using oil-based inks.  The truth is, mostly I wear athletic clothes so I can move better and they make aprons to help prevent spills/stains.  It feels better wearing items that are meant to be worn for specific activities (like moisture wicking running shirts for Pete versus old college boxy shirts) then why keep old things just because you "might" wear them.  The same applies to objects in the house/apartment.  

We took a small step this weekend tackling clutter in our home.  I won't even show you the before photos of the cabinet doors under the desk! But it sure felt good giving boxes of unused or semi-used art supplies to an art center, books to the free library on our block, recycling loads of paper and even donating some used clothing to ​Planet Aid. Somewhat embarassed to show you, but below are two rounds out of the four rounds of boxes/bags collecting of said items! I can't believe this was all tucked in closets and cabinets. Yikes! But it feels good knowing that we're slowly creating our curated home.  Recently, we've felt the old adage “less is more” has some serious weight behind it.