The Bajan Minimalist Part 1

What is minimalist?

A minimalist, practices minimalism.

Okay, so what is minimalism?

Minimalism in modern day usage speaks to a movement to move away from materialism and own as few items as possible. Minimalists only keep items that they need, cutting out anything extra. 

Part One: The Great Purge

Over the last six months I cut the number items that I own in half, with more items scheduled to go. As a result of this process, my mind felt less cluttered and cleaning was easier, which helped with my dust allergies.

I got started with this paring down, when a woman on the YNAB forums mentioned a challenge where you try to get rid of at least 496 items in one month.
I had a room shock full of yarn, unused clothing and books, this challenge seemed like the kick start I needed to get down to work.

I poked around the blog where she got the idea, but their style of extreme minimalism seemed to be too much for me. I just wanted my storage room to be clean and clutter-free.

As I went through the process, a fire was lit inside of me, and I powered through the Minimalist game finishing well ahead of schedule. I extended the de-cluttering to my shared bedroom since time was still left in the month.

I was able to re purpose the storage room as a bedroom for myself, and gifting myself my own pace has been on the best things to come out of this challenge.

In the end I threw away, donated or gifted 527 items.

I am in the process of de-cluttering but  this final round is proving to be the most difficult because any items that remain at this point had survived the previous cuts.

I am finding that I have several different types of attachments to these items:

• I had spent quite a bit of money on the item and giving it away or throwing it away felt like I was condemning my past purchases.
  
• In other cases, the item had been gifted to me by a friend or family member and I felt guilty giving it to someone else.
  
• And lastly, the item was connected to a memory that I did not what to let go of even though it was no longer serving me.

Getting rid of any items that fall in the above categories takes a lot mental fortitude but I am determined to finish this journey. I hope to make a lasting change in my relationship with my possessions.

In the past I would go into frenzy of cleaning and organizing but in the end things never seemed to be any different. This time I recognized what was missing by exploring the concept of minimalism more thoroughly.

It wasn't enough just to get rid of my old things, I had to stop buying new things as well. That in it self was a whole 'nother matter.

Stayed tuned in part two were I expound more on my evolution into a minimalist. :)