I'm a packrat turned minimalist. How did it happen? Well, we've lived in eight different houses or apartments in the past five and a half years we've been married. I'd like to say that it was all my husband's plan to move us around a lot so he could get me to get rid of my junk, but it wasn't.
Luckily, I've found the secrets to being minimalistic during these past years - so I don't have to keep moving around to stay this way, and you don't have to start moving around to become this way. Yes, even if you are a packrat!
An interesting (or maybe not so interesting) pattern started happening when we would move. As I was packing and unpacking things around over and over again, there have always been things that:
• don't have a set place in my home (so they would end up on the bookshelf, nightstand, floor, or in a box to "put away later")
• would always end up "in storage" (in a closet or the basement)
• I didn't miss at all during the process of moving (because I didn't use whatever it was, it was broken, I had something else that was similar, or I was keeping it out of guilt)
And these three things are exactly the jump-start you need to start becoming a minimalist!
Now, you might be saying, I'm reading this post to figure out how to convince my packrat spouse get rid of some stuff, not how to do it myself! Well, knowing from personal experience...it's not easy to let go of things. And my goodness it didn't happen overnight.
What convinced me was not someone telling me to get rid of my stuff. What convinced me was the feeling I got when I realized I didn't miss the things we got rid of.
I had to get rid of a few things FIRST and THEN I started desiring a more minimal lifestyle.
So, if you are a packrat- just get rid of a few things. See if you miss them. Then get rid of a few more. Some things you probably won't miss are your broken wire whisk or 5 of your 8 spatulas. Other things you will only miss one time a year. Don't let that moment cause you to go out and get another one. You can power through it, and then you won't miss it any more.
Now, if you're married to a packrat, some upfront communication is highly encouraged. Talk about how each of you view the organization and clutter level of your home, and where each of you would like it to be. As long as you both agree that you'd like it at least a little more organized or a little less cluttered, you're in business. Start immediately, before your wonderful packrat changes his/her mind. Fill one bag (either a grocery sack or bigger trash bag) with trash, and another with stuff to donate. (Unless you're going to do a major purge all at once, I don't recommend holding things for a yard sale day. Not very good for our personalities. If you're gonna do that, go for gold and do it in 1 or 2 days.)
Once you start, keep going. Once a week, once a month. Continue getting rid of excess.
And that's how you convince a packrat to become a minimalist. More to come on how to actually be one on a day to day basis.
