MINIMALIST DECLUTTER LIST FREE

Think of which furniture can be eliminated without sacrificing comfort and livability. The fewer pieces of furniture, the better (within reason, of course). The biggest things in any room are the furniture, so you should always begin simplifying a room by looking at the furniture. Use it to inspire you to simplify the next room, and the next. Focus on one room, and let that be your center of calm. Unless you’re just moving into a place, it’s hard to simplify an entire house at once. But here are some tips that I would offer to anyone trying to shoot for minimalism: There are actually no set steps to making your home minimalist, except to change your philosophy and shoot for the ideals in the previous section above. Traditional-style Japanese homes are another great example of minimalism, as is this nice spread. The photo at the top of this post is a nice example of a minimalist home (it’s not my home, but I wish it were). A really nice table, for example, is better than 5 pieces of press-board furniture. Instead of having a lot of stuff in your home, a minimalist would choose just a few really good things he loves and uses often. An otherwise empty wall might have a tasteful piece of art (I use my dad’s artwork, as he’s a great artist). Or a clear desk might just have a family photo.

MINIMALIST DECLUTTER LIST FREE

So instead of having a coffee table completely free of any objects, you could have a simple vase with a few flowers, for example. A home completely clear of things would be a bit boring, actually. There are not a whole bunch of knick knacks, and definitely not stacks of books or papers or other items. In a minimalist home, flat surfaces are clear, except for one or two decorations (see next item). A bedroom might have a simple bed (or even just a mattress), a dresser, and perhaps a night stand or book shelf. It could even contain less (couch, chairs, and coffee table, for example). A living room, for example, might only have a couch, another chair or love seat, a coffee table, a minimalist entertainment stand (not a huge one with a bunch of shelves), a television, and a couple of lamps. A minimalist room would only contain a few essential pieces of furniture. But here are some characteristics of a minimalist home:

I am a minimalist, but not to any extreme. This would vary, of course, depending on your taste and how extreme of a minimalist you want to be. That’s an extreme example, of course, as I wouldn’t recommend you have an empty room, but it’s just to illustrate the difference. Think about how easy it is to clean an empty room compared to one with 50 objects in it. The more stuff you have, the more you have to keep clean, and the more complicated it is to clean around the stuff. It’s hard to clean a whole bunch of objects, or to sweep or vacuum around a bunch of furniture. You can make your home more appealing by making it more minimalist. The ones with almost nothing in them except some beautiful furniture, some nice artwork, and a very few pretty decorations, are the ones that appeal to most of us. Think about photos of homes that are cluttered, and photos of minimalist homes.

The less clutter, the less visual stress we have. Clutter is a form of visual distraction, and everything in our vision pulls at our attention at least a little. I could probably go on for awhile about this, but let me just list a few key benefits: It’s calming, and liberating, and just nice. Is this kind of minimalist home devoid of character and fun and life? Some might think so, but I get a strange satisfaction, a fulfillment, at looking around and seeing a home free of clutter. On the counters are only the toaster, coffee maker and microwave. One recent visitor saw my kitchen and remarked, “I’ve never seen a kitchen that looked so clean, so clear of stuff!” Well, I do my best to keep it clean, but the key is to remove the unnecessary stuff.įor example, on the floor of my kitchen/dining room area are just a few essentials: dining table (clear of any clutter), chairs, some counter stools, a high chair, a step stool for the kids. I can’t claim that my home is completely minimalist, but it surely isn’t cluttered, and most people I know would call it a pretty minimalist home.

Minimalist declutter list