Video Titled "How to Organize Mail & Bills (Part 3 of 9 Paper Clutter Series)"

Video Titled "How to Organize Files in Office/Home (Part 2 of 9 Paper Clutter Series)"

You Don’t have to Be Bogged Down with “Stuff”

So just what is a minimalist lifestyle? Why is this so much more than an approach to décor? What does it really mean? “Get everything you want, by discovering you already have it.” Essentially, a minimalist lifestyle simply means reducing the clutter, scaling back your possessions and aiming to say and do more with less. It means appreciating a few things instead of having a huge amount of clutter that you don’t really need or want.

We often see minimalism as an approach to certain designs for devices from companies and on an increasing number of websites. Here, the all-important maxim to follow is ‘communicate, don’t decorate’. That means that unless something is serving an actual purpose, it doesn’t belong in the design. A website doesn’t need a patterned background, it doesn’t need unnecessary menus and it doesn’t flourish filling up every bit of white space.

Every single element should serve a purpose, whether that is to guide the viewers’ eyes in a certain direction, to communicate some key information, or to facilitate an important interaction. If a button doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t need to be there!

Applying Minimal Design to Your Home

This same theory can then be applied to décor. Of course, you don’t need to communicate anything as such when it comes to your home’s decoration but you can accomplish something similar when looking at items of furniture etc.

Minimalist items of furniture are items that are utilitarian in as much as they don’t have lines or decorations that don’t need to be there.

That means that they will be made up of straight lines and they won’t feature things like swirly handles, or unnecessarily elaborate feet. Everything serves a purpose. With that serving as the basis for your décor, you can then continue with that basic concept by adding just a few items that you need while staying away from the temptation to add extra decoration that will serve no real purpose.

This minimalist concept allows for better interactions. By having fewer distracting elements, this approach is able to more effectively direct users to the right points on the screen and encourage the right interactions. It also allows a website design to more effectively scale to different screen sizes when users change devices and it creates more ‘space’ which makes the experience more calming and enjoyable. All these same concepts may apply just the same to your home. When you start removing unnecessary decorations and clutter, you start to make interacting with your home much simpler.

When there are fewer items on your desk, you’ll find that you can find what you want that much more quickly and easily. Likewise, when there is less clutter generally in your interior design, you’ll have less clutter in your visual field. This will make your space that much more calming and relaxing and also make it much easier to keep clean and tidy. And that in turn means you’re now spending less time cleaning and less time digging around for things.

Your home will be clean and attractive more often and you’ll have more time and energy to do the things that you enjoy doing and actually use your space! Your home serves a function. That function is to support the lifestyle that you want to live. So, if an item in your home is not serving that role, then the simple solution is to remove it! And then you can breathe more easily.

Minimalism as a Reaction to Materialism 

More and more people are starting to realize the benefits of actually having less clutter and fewer items and this is resulting in a situation where they are happier with just a few beautiful objects rather than feeling the need to go out and buy everything they see advertised on TV. And what does that lead to as a result? Greater satisfaction and happiness with fewer items!

This makes a massive difference because it means that you’re now going to be happier and spend less time thinking about the things that you don’t have. And you’ll have more money to spend on those select few items and on the things that really make you happy. This is the perfect antidote to our modern, materialistic culture and it is also the very same theory that has been preached by numerous philosophies and spiritual practices for centuries. Happiness doesn’t come from what you own, it comes from what you do with what you own.

You can be the richest person in the world but be incredibly stressed and unhappy. Why? Because you have created a lifestyle that still pushes the limits of your budget. You’ve been accustomed to a certain quality of life that costs a lot of money and involves a lot of hard work. Maintaining this lifestyle takes a lot of effort and yet you are still always thinking about the things that you don’t have and the things you want.

You don’t stop to take a moment and just enjoy the things you have and objects of incredible value and beauty end up being lost in all the noise and losing their value to you. Minimalism is about getting the very most out of what you have and this applies to your personal life. Taking a gratitude attitude means waking up and feeling so lucky that you’re with your partner. It means being overjoyed with your children and with your health and with your freedom.

It means not looking next door and wishing that you had the neighbor’s widescreen TV. It means not wasting money on junk and it means being present. And of course, minimalism means that your happiness isn’t tied up in physical possessions. It means that you can get enjoyment out of your own mind rather than letting that small scratch on your car ruin your day. Life is there to be enjoyed and there is so much out there to be enjoyed right now.

If all you can think about is how much you want the latest toy or gadget though, then you’re not going to have time to stop and enjoy those things. You have to work harder, stay in the office later. But what you don’t realize is that you already have everything you need. It’s time to relax and enjoy it! Many thinkers agree that this is the secret to happiness.

To be able to truly appreciate things and let go of unnecessary stress, distracting desires and that gnawing sense of dissatisfaction. Of course, in a capitalist world, where every company under the sun is constantly showing off its wares, this can be incredibly difficult. 

Declutter Your Closet

When it comes to clothing, most of us have far more than we really need. If you take a good, honest look through your closet, you will find that you have much more than you use. In fact, most people wear only a small percentage of their clothing over and over, and neglect the rest.

Why You Should Declutter Clothing

Having too much of anything takes up not only physical space in your home, but mental space as well. When you are looking for something to wear, having too much clothing makes you feel like you are searching through endless piles of stuff and yet still cannot find something suitable. When you declutter, you will be able to quickly find outfits that you love. This will save you time, and keep your stress levels low.

How Does It Make You Feel and Look?

As you are sorting through your clothing, think about how the item makes you feel. Do you look at it and feel excited to wear it? When it is on your body, does it make you feel and appear attractive and ready to take on the world?

Clothing is much more than a cover. It is a part of who you are, and how you feel in it is the image of yourself that you are presenting to the world. Keep only the clothing that makes you feel confident, and causes you to be proud of who you are.

Are You Keeping It Out of Obligation?

Many of us are harbouring clothing out of guilt, given to us by well-meaning friends and family. Unless someone knows your taste 100% of the time, clothing generally does not make an appropriate gift. Too often we are given an item and then feel stuck with it for an undisclosed amount of time, and we never quite feel right getting rid of it.

If you are keeping clothing you hate just because you feel loyal to the person who gave it to you, go ahead and get rid of it. This will make room for items you love, and you won’t feel guilt every time you glance at it, knowing that it hasn’t been worn and will probably never be.

Have You Worn It in the Past Year?

A good rule of thumb is that anything not worn in the past year you may decide to let go. The reason for the rule of a year is because certain items of clothing and accessories have particular yearly events that they are appropriate for, and it’s ok to keep a few of those special items.

Also, many locations have seasons that are very distinct in temperature. You will have clothing that you don’t ever wear in summer, but faithfully make use of every winter… or vice versa. If you didn’t wear it in the past year’s appropriate season, it is likely that this item is no longer needed, or that it no longer flatters who you have become.

Once you have made choices about what to get rid of, you can throw away any damaged items, sell a few select items and give away the rest to those in need. Organize what is left, and you will see what a difference it makes in your life when you have in your closet only what you need and love wearing. Enjoy your new organized closet and never search for hours for a lost item again.

Prioritize Your Declutter Project - One Area at a Time

If you have not decluttered recently nor maintained since your last purge, it can be quite a task to get things back under control. Thankfully, there are many ways to go about this while keeping your sanity. By organizing and decluttering one section of your home at a time, you can tidy up in a manageable way. Here is how to do it.

Prioritize Areas

First, sit down with a notebook and divide your home into rooms. Include non-rooms such as hallways and the entryway. Decide which room will be your first priority, then your second, then your third, etc.

If your children always have friends over, your living room might be first priority. If you feel like you can handle anything that comes your way as long as you have a clutter-free place to relax every night, then your bedroom might take first place instead.

Choose Area Size According to Available Time

Decide how much time each day you can devote to the task of decluttering. If you have entire days to spare, you might be able to take on a room per day. If you are like most people and have several responsibilities to juggle, then it might be more reasonable to tackle small areas within a room.

Break Down Each Area into Sections

After you have decided how much space you are likely to be able to clean each day, break each room down into areas such as closet, desk, floor, etc. Make the sections small enough that you can complete your task in one day. Whether it gets accomplished in twenty minutes or four hours, you will feel satisfied that you have finished the task you assigned to yourself.

Enlist Some Help from Family and Friends

Ask an especially organized family member to help you, or arrange for a decluttering swap with a good friend. Involve them in the planning process, and of course when it comes to the actual physical labor as well. Make it fun, and order pizza for everyone afterward. Most friends are happy to help out when asked, and you can always return the favor in the future.

Be Realistic and Flexible

We can set goals, but sometimes life gets in the way. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t reach your goal one day, or if you have to reschedule due to life events. Even if it takes longer than planned, your decluttering will eventually come to an end if you stay consistent and stick to it. If you miss one day, simply get back to it the next.

Set a reminder in your smartphone, or find another way to get into the decluttering groove without forgetting about it. Be flexible about your schedule if for some reason you should need one room to be decluttered sooner than originally planned, even if it means putting off another room. As long as you are doing something almost every day, you are headed in the right direction.

Decluttering takes organization. Prioritizing your task means that you will be able to get everything done in a timely fashion. Use these ideas and get on your way to an organized decluttering spree today.

How to Keep Your Home Free of Clutter in the New Year

Decluttering is a little like losing weight. No matter how well you deal with your problem in the beginning, it will keep coming back unless you understand the concept of maintenance.

If you have gone to the bother of decluttering your home and making it more minimalist and free of mess, here are some tips on how to keep it that way so that you never have to have another moment of panic.

Regular Maintenance

This step refers to simply keeping things the way they are by tossing junk when you realize you don’t need it, instead of stashing it in a pile that needs to be sorted over and over. Read your mail and immediately toss it, shred it, or deal with it and then put it into your file cabinet. There is no excuse for papers to be lying all over the floor, making it impossible to find them when you actually need them.

When you buy something from the store, put it where it is going to be kept immediately instead of setting bags on the floor and table. After the laundry comes out of the dryer, fold it and put it away immediately in the proper rooms and drawers. When you have five spare minutes, use it to tidy and clean up anything lying around. This is how you keep any huge messes from forming again.

Declutter Regularly

In addition to your regular maintenance, it is important to declutter on a regular basis. You can decide to have a serious decluttering day every three months, every six months, or just whenever your home starts looking like a junk yard. Make it a serious appointment and tidy your home from top to bottom, giving yourself another clean slate to work with.

Stop Buying Unnecessary Things

One of the biggest ways you can stop clutter in its tracks is to stop buying unnecessary things. By only allowing what you need to enter your home, you will cut down on the number of items you need to clear out later. Before you buy an item, think about whether you really need it, or if it is something you will regret at a later point in time.

Get Everyone on Board

You can’t conquer clutter alone, unless you live alone. If you are part of a family who lives together, or have roommates of any kind, you will need to make everyone a part of the decluttering team. Talk to everyone about your wishes to maintain a junk-free haven, and talk about the many benefits of living in a more minimalist way than you have been. Let the other household members know that everyone’s efforts will benefit everyone else, and that you expect cooperation and teamwork.

Decluttering is only half of the solution. In order to maintain a beautiful home, you will need to take steps to keep it that way after the original clean sweep. Use these tips to keep your home free of clutter for years to come.

8 Good New Year’s Resolutions for Moms

Are you a mother? If so, making a New Year’s resolution may literally be the last thing on your mind. Even still, you should make one. New Year’s resolutions do not have to be big life changing events, like losing weight or getting out of debt. They can still be small and meaningful, like:

1 – Spend More Time with Your Children

If you work outside of the home or have children who are active in sports or other extra curricular activities, it can be difficult to get quality time with your children. If pressed for time, start in small steps. Sneak in 15 minute to read a book, play a game, or just talk with your child. When possible, consider a fun family night, where all members of your family can bond.

2 – Attend a School or Daycare Function

Due to hectic lives and busy schedules, most parents just drop off and pick up their children from school or daycare. A good New Year’s resolution is to attend a school or daycare function at least four times a year. Is your child’s kindergarten class putting on a small play during school? Try to request a few hours off work so that you can attend.

3 – Sort Your Kid’s Belongings

Whether you are the parent of a toddler or teenager, you likely have a lot of kids items accumulated in your home. You may have a collection of old toys, clothes, books, and movies. Sort through these items. If you intend to have more children, sort, box, label, and store. If you do not anticipate needing these things again, donate, sell or host a yard sale.

4 – Take a Break

This may contradict the suggested New Year’s resolution of spending more time with your kids, but most mothers aren’t just moms, but super-moms. Those who aren’t parents and even dads are surprised to learn how much a mother does. So, be sure to take a break yourself. Whether it involves cuddling up with a new book once a month or monthly visits to the spa, do it. Make taking a break your New Year’s resolution.

5 – Ask for Help

As previously stated, many moms are super-moms because most do it all and then some. Yes, some will say it is a mother’s responsibility, but it also your responsibly to care for yourself. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help on occasion. In fact, make it your New Year’s resolution to do so. Ask your husband to watch the kids while you enjoy a day of shopping or pampering. Other alternatives include asking a close friend or family member or hiring a babysitter.

6 – Give Your Relationship Extra Attention

Most claim that romantic relationships slide down the importance scale once children are involved. Yes, your children should come first in every aspect of your life, but don’t let your personal relationship fail. For that reason, schedule monthly date nights.

7 – Spend Time with Friends

In terms of spending time with friends, use your best judgment. You and your college friends may be in different places in your lives. Suggest lunch or coffee. If you must, take steps to develop new friendships with those who share similar interests. Start by joining community groups for parents.

8 – Learn to Let it Go

As a mother, you may want to make sure everything in your life is perfect. You want to make sure your kids are healthy, they get good grades, you make enough money, and that you have a clean house. Yes, these are all important aspects of raising a family, but learn to let the small things go. To tired to do dishes? Don’t let a sink full of dishes bother you for just one night, do them in the morning.