The term "junk drawer" doesn't seem to jive with the idea of minimalism. How could a minimalist home have a junk drawer? Surprisingly, I'm guessing most minimalists have a such a drawer (although they may give it a more useful-sounding moniker, like "utility drawer"). Who...
I sometimes feel like minimalism is a lifestyle of cliches - less is more, a place for everything and everything in its place, or today's cliche: quality over quantity. If only these cliches weren't so darn true, I wouldn't use them, but alas, those ancient...
Today I'm going to give you a simple mantra to help keep your floors free of clutter: Hang It Up! Feel free to abbreviate this to HIU, if you like. Who knows, maybe it will even become the new LOL? Who knew being clutter-free could...
Soon after being introduced to minimalism, I de-cluttered my kitchen. I'm not sure why this room stuck out as needing immediate de-clutterification; perhaps the kitchen was an easy place to begin, since most of the items contained therein are mine. (Well, maybe not the over-sized...
This weekend I tackled a larger-than-usual minimalist project - the pursuit of floor space. This required jettisoning two pieces of furniture, which was scary, but completely awesome! The catalyst for the project? This chair: This chair is not comfortable. This chair is not nice. This...
Sometimes when I walk around my house and talk to my stuff (yes, I do, mostly in my head; no, this is not crazy, at least I don't think so, as long as it stays in my head; um, maybe I should move on here...
My favorite thing about the weekend (besides sleeping in past 6:00 a.m. and spending time with my adorable toddlers) is the opportunity to tackle some decluttering projects. As Saturday afternoon rolls around, I can see my clutter getting nervous. My eyes roam the house, searching...
One lesson I've learned from my decluttering gurus - watch what you allow into your house. I'm starting to interrogate incoming items by asking questions like "How did you get here?" This question is particularly effective in weeding out a very tricky clutter-bug - the...
I ordered Francine Jay's book, The Joy of Less on my Kindle the other day, and I am hooked! I strongly suggest it to anyone pursuing a simpler lifestyle. Jay is a big fan of limiting the number of duplicate items in your home. She...
When my grandmother moved out of her home several years ago, her children pitched in to help with the monumental task of going through her belongings. In her sewing room they found bags after bag with neat labels like, "Large Zippers," and "Small Zippers." My...
