Minimalism: The first step in creating a home that is quick and easy to clean

Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~ William Morris

Note: Some of the following article is extracted from the book, "How to Keep It Clean! The Spring Cleaning Action Guide for Cleaning and Organizing Your Home All Year Round"

Lately, I've been intrigued by the idea of minimalism, owning less to live more.

At first I thought - this was just decluttering with an artistic name. I still say that it's mostly decluttering but I've learned that it's just the how part of minimalism. To be successful at the how you need to address the why part of minimalism.

By now you're asking, "what does this have to do with house cleaning?" Well the answer is simple, a minimalist home is one that is quick and easy to clean and we are all about quick and easy house cleaning here.

Now first I must clear something up. Minimalism is not about sacrificing your comfort or living with nothing. Although, online I've read stories which for me goes to the extreme - one guy actually gave almost everything away keeping only his laptop and a few things that would fit into a knapsack.

Through reading stories online I've found that minimalism is a uniquely individual journey. It's not about sacrifice, it's about recognizing that you are not defined by material objects, knowing what you have and appreciating. In the end what you are doing is keeping items you love and/or are useful. This is a whole lot better than having an overflowing garage of stuff you don't use.

The Benefits of Minimalism

Minimalism has many benefits and I like to sum them up as follows- STEM, gaining Space, Time, Energy and Money.

• Decluttering leaves you with more space.


• The less stuff you have the less stuff management and cleaning you have to do. Also you spend less time looking for stuff. So in the end you have more time to do something you actually enjoy.


• Clutter sucks the energy out of you. It occupies your thoughts every time you look at an overstuffed closet or endless toys strewed on the floor.


• To me the money shows up three ways. The first is the obvious, selling the stuff you don't love or use. Second, once you are on the journey of minimalism you are protective of what stuff enters your home. In other words, purchases are considered carefully.

  "Do I love it?"

  "Will I use it?"

  Third, in a minimalist home, you know exactly what you have and how many, so you avoid any repeat purchases.

How to Start on Your Own Minimalist Journey

The first step is to understand the why of your journey, otherwise you can get a whole lot of decluttering done and instead of feeling free, you feel depressed looking at empty spaces. In a situation like this- in no time at all your home will return to its original state.

Next, you can categorize your stuff. For example your categories could be, books, towels, socks, furniture etc.

Then for each category decide on the number of items you really need- like instead of 20 towels, maybe you only need four. So choose the four best towels from the bunch and and get rid of the others. The guidelines in this paragraph are from one minimalist's story here.

My Beginning

I'm in love with the benefits of minimalism especially where it concerns spending less time house cleaning.

Since I started learning about it, I've stepped up my decluttering and have become conscious of what is allowed to enter my home. Here is a list of what I've done so far.

1. Listed most of my textbooks for sale on amazon yesterday- one sold so far (-; (Update: four sold).


2. Opted out of receiving pre-screen credit card offers in the mail for 5 years. If you want to do the same here is the number that I called to get this done, 1-888-567-8688. You talk to a machine and with my name it took a while. Also you will have the opportunity to opt out permanently if you like.


3. Remember last week when I told you I was decluttering my closet of all electronic gadgets. Well I got that done. The problem I had left was where to put them. Have you ever realized that it is a whole lot easier to get stuff than it is to get rid of stuff. Anyway, I went online and found that BestBuy recycles electronics, so my tube-tv, my very old laptop and old printer are gone.

So my dear reader, minimalism is nothing to fear, it is not about depriving yourself of the pleasures or luxuries of life, it's about freeing yourself of material objects that you don't love or use. Remember if you choose to start on this journey of minimalism, yours is a unique journey, one that will lead you to a home that is quick and easy to clean.

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