Is minimalism the solution?

"balance your needs with your wants"

I don’t often bring up the subject of minimalism, but bear with me: it is related to being organised! Let’s define a minimalist as “someone who owns little by choice”. Much of the minimalists’ focus is on physical objects, assuming that owning less stuff makes it easier to keep your space organised.

Interestingly, minimalists often start out with the intention to gain a clear mind by allowing only things into their space that do not deter them from this goal.

Decluttering and minimalism can be seen as trying to achieve the same goal from two different directions: reaching an equilibrium between having enough for comfort and being able to manage what you own.

Decluttering is a gradual process of taking out what does not need to be there. Minimalism, on the other hand, often starts off with a radical elimination of everything, and then gradually and carefully adding specific necessities or items of sentimental value.

Why bring minimalism into a discussion about organisation? Well, having too many items to deal with makes it increasingly difficult to keep your space organised. You have to tidy up more stuff and it becomes more and more difficult to find proper homes for whatever you add into your space. Things will end up in “temporary accommodation”, always in the way and without a space to be properly put away.

Add to the physical worries the mental strain that comes from this sense of not getting anything done! However much time and effort you put into organising your home, you’ll always be left with the nagging suspicion that you have not achieved anything much because everything looks messy. Whatever you try to do, it’s never enough.

The more stuff you are surrounded by, the more likely it is that you’ll get overwhelmed by the need to keep it organised. This is where a minimalist mindset could come in handy. You won’t have to become a fully-fledged minimalist, but it might be useful to approach overwhelm from a different angle.

When faced with “too much”, most people consider paring down from the status quo – it just seems to make sense. However, you’ll constantly feel regret for every single item you decide to part with, and quickly tire of the process.

Now take a minimalist look at the same stuff and start by asking yourself “what exactly do I absolutely need” (defined as “necessary”, but also “comforting”)? Of course, this is only the first step, and other items will gradually be added to the “keepers”. Once you have a clear idea what constitutes a “keeper”, it will become easier to “bulk-ditch” (I claim this as a technical term) items that turn out to be surplus to requirement.

Many of my clients have found this approach helpful as it replaces the negative sense of selecting items to let go with a positive decision to keep something.