Minimalism doesn't mean you can only have one of everything (or nothing at all). And organizing doesn't mean you buy a bunch of shelves to store your stuff in.
Minimalism is living simply with the things you actually NEED.
Organizing, well, is organizing but some factors that aren't always taken into consideration with organizing....
1) declutter, declutter, declutter! - just because your aunt Sue gave it to you that one time at band camp, doesn't mean you absolutely need it, use it or let alone want it.
2) categorizing - this one can be tricky because let's say you have A B C for categories but this one item kind of belongs in A and C, well now you're having to create D and somehow find yourself in Z and now you're not organized. If done right, categorizing can be really handy in many aspects of life.
Now although it wasn't my intent in this post to go on about organizing, it's so hard not to!
My point in this article is to point out how marrying minimalism with organization can lead to a happier life. I've always loved organizing but then realized how exhausting it was to constantly have to do so. I started to purge the unnecessary items in my life and didn't know what to call that until I learned about minimalism. I've been a minimalist FOREVER and didn't know it. There's such a freeing feeling when you let go of what you don't use and embrace a multifunctional item. Or when you accept what you have is what you have and you don't need anything more.
Adding organizing to minimalism helps me enjoy the things I love. So I purged my house and discovered, I like to bake, photography (when I actually remember to bring out my fancy camera), clean, paint and so on. So I reduced all the things I don't like, hmmm well I don't like stepping over a million toys and I don't like doing a bunch of laundry. Reduce the toys and clothes! BAM ok now that I'm not tripping over legos and getting hung up in the laundry room, lets go to the kitchen and figure out how it can work for me. I like to bake so now I need a designated baking area, clear out all the miscellaneous items to another location and only bring in what can be used for baking. BOOM, cakes, cookies - oh my.
Once you figure out what you need in life, what you like and stop focusing on the things you don't, it becomes oh so much easier to live an organized life.
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