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Decluttering: The Alternative to Minimalism
I am amazed at people who own very little. I’ve heard stories of people who live with the bare essential, with a wardrobe of 2 dresses, 3 skirts, 3 sweaters, a few t-shirts, 2 jeans, and 2 trousers (Luhrs, 2016).
While I cannot live with a minimalist wardrobe, stories like these make me realize I own too much. My closets are filled with items, some that I use, others that I barely use, and still others that rarely see the light of day. At a time of year when people generally acquire, I have decided to discard.
Whether we realize it or not, the things we own have an effect on. They clutter our space, they create dense energy, and they encourage us to remain attached to things that no longer serves us. It is quite likely that the more we own, the more baggage we carry- literally.
I was on a conference call recently where someone mentioned they had gone through a 21-day journey into minimalism, following what two men did in 2009. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (n.d.), founders of The Minimalists, documented the daily schedule of their 21-day challenge.
I know I cannot be a true minimalist, but I used the 21-day challenge Joshua and Ryan documented as inspiration to declutter.
