Minimal-ish
Minimalism came to my attention about seven years ago, around the time my third baby was born. During that time we were living with a family member and between my husband and I and our three children we shared two bedrooms. Needless to say there was minimal space.
Because of our situation I was almost forced to be more conscious of what we owned; from our clothing to our toys/hobbies and supplies. Each child had seven outfits, a couple pairs of shoes, and one small basket of toys. The same basic idea applied to myself and Michael.
Side note: I picked up watercolor painting and crocheting as a hobby during this time because I thought the supplies were small. Ha ha ha. If you’re into anything “crafty” you know that passing by the most beautiful, the most soft yarn is nearly impossible. I admit I was not as minimal in that regard.
Now my family of seven lives in a quaint cape cod that boasts about 1,200 square feet of living space. We love our home, not so much the location, but the home is awesome. We’re forced to be around each other all the time, and I’m not even joking when I say, I love that! I’ve been in homes where parents have to text their children that dinner is ready because the house is so massive (in comparison to ours of course). But I digress.
Because we have limited room in our shared spaces I’m still forced to be more mindful about what I bring into my home. We have minimal clothing, minimal toys, minimal decor, and minimal hobby supplies. It makes me think outside of the box in terms of what I’ve known growing up in America where more and bigger is always better. I don’t believe that lie and you shouldn’t either.
I wouldn’t label myself, now or back then, as a minimalist since we have more than one thing per person but I’m minimal-ish. If something is not being used or usefully beautiful in my home it’s gone. I keep a box of trash bag by my front door of all the things that better belong at the Goodwill. After flexing that purging mindset for so many years it’s easy for me to make the decision of whether am item is worth keeping.
There’s some physiological studies done on the subject of having too much stuff that you’ll have to read if your interested or find a YouTuber who specializes in this area (like Dawn from The Minimal Mom) but, there’s something that keeps out minds on edge when we have too much stuff. You may find yourself at work and randomly think about that Wak you bought ten years ago when you were on a Chinese food binge. Maybe you’re doing your dishes while thinking about all the yarn that’s crying out to be made into the cardigan you planned to make three falls ago. How about this, you’re sitting on the couch trying to relax but all of your decor needs dusting. And so on and so forth.
Your stuff takes up brain space. I just don’t have the brain space to give to stuff and, personally, I don’t think stuff is ever worth the constant brain space. It’s just stuff.
Purging in 2025
That brings me to the whole reason for this blog post: purging tips. I know purge sounds a bit extreme but for the average American living today we all have too much stuff (unless you’re a minimalist of course). I definitely feel the constriction of stuff right now following the holiday season.
I want to give you three of my biggest tips to get you started in The Great Purge of 2025:
•Tip 1: Start small
Choose an easy area that has been bugging you. This could be the junk drawer or the board games in the closet, your clothes or the toys in the living room. Whatever you choose make sure it’s an easy win for you. Don’t choose the box of photos in the attic or your tote of baby clothes. Items like those usually have more emotions tied to them.
•Tip 2: Set a timer
By setting a timer you know that this will only last so long. You won’t find yourself knee deep wading through the carpet of clothing on your bedroom floor on the way to make dinner when you started the purge after lunch, only to return to your pig sty when it’s late and you’re exhausted. Don’t ask me how I know.
Point being, when you start small (things that will be quick and easy to move through) and set a timer (15-20 minutes is reasonable) you’ll be able to leave the situation a victor and ready to tackle more later on.
•Tip 3: Get it out of the house
I mentioned earlier that I keep an ongoing box or trash bag by the door and that’s because once the item goes into the going out box/bag I don’t think about it anymore. I don’t want to take it out and look it over one more time. I don’t want to try the piece on one more time but with a different pair of shoes. No, it’s dead to me. But I’ve flexed that muscle enough to get to this point.
If you’re just starting out, as soon as you finish your task put the box/bag in the trunk and make a plan to drop it off as soon as possible, ideally that day.
Bonus tip: Give yourself grace
At some point you’ll most likely feel overwhelmed by your items. Guilt may creep in because you’ve spent so much money on these items and now they’re not serving you in the ways you had hoped.
Give yourself grace.
But take action anyway. Your future self will thank you for the freedom from your material possessions. Your mind will be clearer with less visual stimulation. You’ll have more room for family game night. The possibilities are endless and getting started is the hardest part.
The Millennial Mom 
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