Over the past three months, we have been on a mission to simplify and minimize the amount of things we have in our home. We are trying to live with less stuff so that we have more time to actually live. While deep down I think it’s always been something I’ve really wanted to do, the idea of really minimizing never struck a cord until recently.
I’ve always said I will never consider myself a minimalist. However, I think I’ve had a really negative misconception about how minimalists live. My ideas head straight towards white walls, contemporary furniture, little to no decorations, and just an all around un-lived in feel in their homes. However, minimalism can look vastly different to each person or family.
You see, I live with my husband and two little boys as well as a large dog. I thought everyone who was a minimalist was single and lived in a studio apartment or, better yet, they just traveled the world with a backpack holding all of their belongings. But that’s simply not the case.
Since we are on a mission to de-stuff our house from all of our stuff, I’ve had some challenges to work around. My biggest challenge has been finding the time to declutter while still keeping up with my normal duties under the title of “Mom.”
If you are a mom and trying to minimize your belongings so that you have more time for the things you truly love, then these 5 tips I’ve learned so far might help you in your journey!
#1 Use your morning time well.
For a very long time I struggled with getting up early. I knew deep down that it was something I wanted to do and I really thought I could have a lot of time being super productive in the morning hours. About a year ago I took Crystal Paine’s course called Make Over Your Mornings and it has truly been life changing. I will say that things did not come together all at once. It has taken time for me to make all of the changes I’ve needed to. I’m about one year from the time I took the course for the first time and I can truly say that I do use my mornings well now.
When we started on our mission to minimize our belongings, I knew I would have to find the time to actually get the decluttering done. I have a lot of other obligations, the most important being my children and I didn’t want to take my entire day away from them as I was going through all of our stuff.
However, I found that getting up early and getting a lot of the work done for my blog and my home in the first two or three hours of my day really set me up for success. By 9am I’m usually done with a lot of the tasks that I would try to squeeze in here and there or just have to get to after lunch once my baby was down for his nap. Now I can use those chunks of time to declutter my home which leads into my next tip!
#2 Take advantage of nap time or quiet time.
My youngest goes down for about a 2 hour nap each afternoon. While my oldest has some quiet time or television time, I’m able to work on clearing out the clutter from our home. I do try to spend at least 30 minutes of the nap time with my oldest playing a game or Legos so that I have a little one-on-one time with him each day.
I usually end up spending about 30 minutes of nap time trying to switch over laundry or get started on dinner. This leaves me with about an hour each day to dedicate to decluttering. Let me tell you, you can get a lot done in an hour if you are dedicated! Plus, as moms we can move pretty darn fast when we don’t have little ones underfoot! Am I right?! ๐
Maybe you don’t have as much time in the afternoons as I do. Maybe you can only give 15-30 minutes towards decluttering. Whatever it is, if you keep chipping away at it, you will make progress. I promise!
#3 Ask your spouse for help.
If you really want to make decluttering a priority so that you can live a less stressed, less hurried, less overwhelmed life, then don’t be afraid to ask for help. In the past, I’ve tried to do things on my own when I could have very easily asked my husband for help. If he knows it’s something very important to me, he is more than willing to help. You just have to ask!
Maybe you can spend time decluttering a couple evenings each week while your husband gets the kids to bed. It might mean spending a couple hours each Saturday morning clearing out the clutter while your husband plays with the kids. If you just ask for help, the two of you will most likely come to an agreement of a time each week that you can dedicate to the task of decluttering.
I’ve also found it helpful to ask my husband for help not just with the kids, but also with the decluttering. There have been several afternoons during nap time that Tom has helped me declutter. It’s nice to have an extra set of hands and you can make more progress in a short amount of time!
If you are struggling to declutter your home, don’t be afraid to ask for help!
#4 Include your kids in decluttering when you can.
There are obviously areas of your home that will just be easier to declutter without children (your closet, the kitchen cabinets, and the linen closet are just a few examples that come to mind.) However, there are also areas of your home that would actually be beneficial for your children to help you declutter. Their bedrooms and any toy rooms or toy storage areas would be a great place to start!
I’ve found that decluttering with my 5 year old has given him a bigger heart for giving to others in need as well as more of an appreciation for the open space the decluttering provides. Just the other day we cleared out even more toys from our home providing a much bigger place to run and play in our play room. Caleb was jumping around declaring that he was so happy he had gotten rid of so much so he had more room to play!
It was validating for me as a mom that we just don’t really need as much as we think we do and what I’m trying to do for my family is beneficial. So if you can, include your kids in decluttering. Sometimes it’s worth the extra effort.
#5 Realize that you can’t do it all in one day.
Clearing the clutter from your home is going to take time. If you have little kids, it’s going to take even more time. If all you can devote to decluttering is 15 minutes each day, then take that 15 minutes and be as productive as you can. If you do that for 6 days each week, by the end of the month you will have spent 6 hours decluttering. Just imagine how much you can get done in 6 hours!
Don’t try and rush it. After 3 months of getting deep into decluttering, I’m already going back to certain areas of our home that I’ve already worked through and finding more stuff to get rid of. Make decluttering your project for now. It’s going to take time, but it will be so freeing you won’t want to stop once you get started!
Just a few days ago, Tom and I were loading up the back of our van with more stuff we planned to get rid of. I very joyfully exclaimed, “I love getting rid of stuff!” He looked at me, smiled, and said, “This is your new hobby isn’t it. When people ask you what you do for fun, you say, ‘I get rid of things!'” ๐
Yes, that’s true. Right now, I’m in a season of my life working towards a more minimalistic lifestyle. I do get rid of things for fun. Because it’s freeing. Because it takes away my stress. Because it gives me more time with my family.
You see, your stuff takes your time. And if you are like me with little kids, then I’m guessing you would much rather devote your time to them than to all of your stuff.
Kddomingue says
Lol! I don’t have little ones at home any more……my “littlest” is 31! But life is still hectic and there are always interruptions. Yesterday I had the granddaughter all day. My son had asked if I could see up a large canvas tote for climbing gear for his upcoming trip so he shows up as I’m trying to get a head start on dinner. He asks if he can help and I said sure, can you cut up the carrots and add them to the pot while I cut up the meat. Then the hub’s comes in to tell me he needs me to help with a project in the shop…..swears he just needs me for three minutes. So I leave the son with dinner, go outside to help the hub’s…..NOT just three minutes. And the cousin across the street comes over with his granddaughter to pick up a package UPS left with me for him….. and the son doesn’t know where it is so he comes to find me to ask…..and I go back in the house to find the vegetables starting to scorch…..and the daughter and son in-law come in and can they borrow the blower………
Lol! That’s my equivalent of having toddlers!
Getting rid of things is my favorite hobby recently as well. When the urge to shop overcomes me, I make myself go and find 5 to 10 things to get rid of first. By the time I’ve found 5 to 10 things, the urge has passed usually!
Kaitlin says
Oh my, that does sound hectic! Life as “Mom,” right?! ๐
I love that idea of choosing things to get rid of when you get the urge to shop! That’s brilliant!
Kddomingue says
Being Mom doesn’t stop once they’re grown…….juuuuuust in case y’all thought it did, lol! Although, now that they’re grown, I do…… usually…….get to go the bathroom by myself. ๐
And I still shop, I just “shop” through my house for things to donate instead! It doesn’t keep me from shopping ALL the time but it kills the urge at least 80 to 85% of the time. My bank account loves the fact that it gets to keep more of it’s money!