Hi! I'm didi.
I was always striving to be a minimalist. For as hard as I tried, I never felt successful.
But then, my family and I became homeless when our home was hit by a mudslide!
While we were living in a rental house WITHOUT 99% of our belongings,
I quickly discovered THE FIVE TRUE CAUSES OF DAILY CLUTTER!
AND . . . I WANT TO SHARE WHAT I LEARNED WITH YOU!
my picture story:
As a minimalist, I always thought . . .
If I just get rid of more stuff,
then everything will be better.
If I just organize more,
then everything will be better.
If I just try harder,
then everything will be better.
But . . . I never felt . . . successful.
THEN, WE HAD TO START OVER...
The contents of our entire house were packed away into a locked storage container.
we moved into a three-story furnished rental Townhouse
We only brought these three things with us:
CLOTHES
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
A FEW PERSONAL ITEMS
within a week we added:
food
mail, books, & magazines
Soon,
garbage & Recycling Started piling up in the kitchen.
After a week,
I had to clean the whole house
And I was like, "What?!"
That's when I realized...
I Didn't fail at minimalism because I didn't get rid of enough stuff!
I didn’t need to get rid of more stuff!
I didn’t need to organize more!
I didn’t need to try harder!
I needed to understand the true causes of daily clutter and overwhelm!
It was the daily living stuff,
the active stuff.
daily living...
creates a daily mess...
and the mess never ends...
Because Life is Active.
Ever feel like you're on a spinning wheel?
Multiply exponentially for each additional person in your home!
ONE PERSON IS USUALLY MANAGING EVERYTHING.
I had a new awareness:
I now understood
THE TRUE CAUSES OF DAILY CLUTTER & OVERWHELM!
EATING
BATHING
DRESSING
GARBAGE & RECYCLING WASTE
MAIL, BOOKS, MAGAZINES
tHE FIVE
'active'
cAUSES OF CLUTTER
So, Here's what I realized:
We 'feel' like we never catch up because of this:
"the clutter cycle"
THE CLUTTER CYCLE
1. we shop Weekly for necessities.
2. The shopping creates an accumulation of goods (stuff)
and
by-products (garbage/recycling)
3. The goods & by-products require:
-storage
-regular Management
-Purging or disposal
4. THIS PROCESS NEVER ENDS: It's ongoing.
Minimalists
check
this
out!
WHAT IS THE CLUTTER CYCLE?
FOOD MANAGEMENT
Planning, shopping, cooking, cleaning, storage, management, and disposal
cLOTHING
Planning, shopping, storage, care, accumulation, purging, and Disposal
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:
planning, shopping, storage, accumulation, management, purging, and Disposal
pAPER: MAIL, BOOKS, and MAGAZINES
accumulation, Systems management, and purging
FOOD WASTE & RECYCLING:
Accumulation & disposal
Learn eco-friendly / Zero Waste management
So,
I learned that Minimalism
is more of a concept ...
an Ideal.
a goal
a journey.
I still love minimalism! But, I learned that it’s a concept that helps guide me towards my values.
But, it can also add a lot of pressure if you don’t feel successful.
So, when I had the rare opportunity to live for six months without my house full of stuff, and nothing felt different . . . it was all the same: cluttered, overwhelming, and too much work, . . . that was a big revelation. So big, that I thought it was worth sharing.
This blog, Eco-friendly Minimalist, was founded on those lessons that I learned from being homeless: “The Five Active Causes of Clutter & The Clutter Cycle,” but is dedicated to the original idea that through minimalism, you can gain a sense of control and live the life of your dreams.
To learn more about what (I think) minimalism really is, click to my blog post here: So you wanna be a minimalist? and here: The Truth About Minimalism.