My Minimalism Journey – by Linda Wenzinger
Being an employee of Simply Placed I have the benefit of seeing clients homes transformed into a clutter free oasis quite frequently. Unfortunately, my own home did not feel like an oasis at all. I would get home from work and the first thing I would see was our home office so full of papers, files and “stuff” you couldn’t see the floor or the cabinets. You could barely open the drawers and every time I looked at it I felt overwhelmed.
The Turning Point
With the 30 Day Practical Minimalism Challenge, I was inspired. I would participate by tackling the dreaded office and resolved that anything I could live without would be leaving that room by the time I was done. The first step was to go through the papers and files and decided what could be shredded and what had to go back in the files. The shredding was put in boxes to take to one of the free shredding events going on.
Next, I took everything off the counter and sorted the items into “keep”, “donate” and “trash” piles. I found a place for the items I wanted to keep, boxed up the donation items and threw out the trash. I went through the book case and boxed up all the books that I did not want any longer. They were loaded up to take to Half Price Books. I then got rid of the three inches of dust on the empty book shelves before shelving the books I was keeping. I even had room to display some special trinkets I found buried under the counter and stuffed in drawers.
The more I got rid of the lighter I felt. Seeing my den clean for the first time in years gave me an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. My only regret is not taking a “before” picture to remind myself of what I don’t want it to look like ever again. I write this with a smile on my face knowing that the next step for me is is tackling my kitchen clutter. My minimalism journey continues!
What’s Next: Your Minimalism Journey
Are you on a minimalism journey of your own? If not, or if you aere just so overwhelmed by your clutter you don’t know where to start, we can help. Contact us for a free 15-minute phone consultation. You will be glad you did!
