One of the ways in which we are learning to reduce stress in our lives is to embrace a minimalist lifestyle. Not only can we work toward being less busy but decluttering our homes is a key strategy in minimalism. Much has been written on the philosophy and benefits of minimalist décor, so if you often feel stressed upon entering a room, or rooms, in your home, perhaps it’s time to see if clutter is the issue? Let’s take a look at a few tricks and tips for decluttering the décor in your home.
It’s All About a Structured Strategy
One thing to keep in mind is that you are trying to reduce stress. Therefore, when working toward decluttering your home, you should work on one room at a time. If you get too busy decluttering several rooms in your home, what purpose will that serve other than to add to your daily stress levels. Instead, focus on one room at a time with the following tips and tricks. You will slowly but surely begin to see a reduction in stress you hadn’t imagined possible before by simplifying décor.
Start With the Room You Spend the Most Time In
If you find it hard to relax in the family room or the living room, then perhaps it’s just too busy to facilitate a peaceful mind. Maybe you have dozens of photos on the walls or too many knick-knacks on tables and shelves. Everywhere you look there’s something going on. The best tip here is to take every picture, knick-knack, and other decorative items and place them all in the centre of the room. This includes wall tapestries and even ashtrays and candy dishes.
Maybe some of those pictures would make a good album photo. Instead of all those pictures of kids, family pets, holiday spots, and other pictures you’ve had printed from your mobile phone, why not send those digital files to the online Photobox website. All those photos could be printed and bound into photo albums that take up less space, are less busy, but would still be there for you to browse or show to visitors. The point is, by working on one room at a time, you will find it easier to declutter as you go from room to room.
Learn to Let Go
One of the reasons we find our homes too busy is that we don’t want to let go of things that we once thought were cute or perhaps might have future potential use. It’s time to learn to let go. Yes, the photos mentioned above have special meanings for us and there is a solution to that.
You might have only one or two photos you want to re-hang, but many those little odds and ends are no longer cherished or needed. Once you have those things you really want to keep and/or display, you will probably see that you’ve just reduced the clutter in that room by at least 50 percent.
The Give and Take Approach
Here, a word should be said about going forward in the room you’ve just decluttered. You will undoubtedly find little trinkets you want to display in that room. There’s nothing wrong with picking up a precious little figurine or a new lamp or candy dish. However, if you don’t watch yourself you will soon find that the room is overly busy and cluttered once again.
Learn to live the give and take approach. For every item you ‘give’ back to your room, take something else away. For example, you’ve left a couple of photos to re-hang on your walls. If you have new digital photos printed that you’d like to display, maybe it’s time to take the ones still hanging away for the photo album.
Move on to the Next Room to Be Decluttered
Following the advice to work on only one room at a time, choose the room that you spend almost as much time in. It could be the kitchen, the bedroom, or even your home office or crafting room. Work your way down to the rooms you spend the least amount of time in being last on your decluttering list. Do the same thing all over again.
Place every item of décor into the centre of the room so that you can begin sorting through them. Keep only those things that hold special meaning for you and the other items can also be donated to that charity or stored if necessary. Only keep those items that look loveliest and are most useful or treasured. Continue on in this way going from room to room chosen by the amount of time spent there.
Embrace the Benefits of Minimalist Home Décor
While stress reduction might be your original goal in decluttering your minimalist home, you will find that there are other benefits to be derived. Among them would be a significant amount of savings if you learn to only purchase those items that would work well in your home without adding to the clutter. Many of us find that we overspend our budgets buying things we really like but could do without.
Also, you just might find that you have more space in your smallish home than you had ever imagined. Most often clutter can make a room appear much smaller than it is. By getting rid of at least 50 percent of what was taking up space, each room will probably appear much larger than you had imagined. It’s a ‘visual trick’ many interior decorators use often.
There are many reasons why minimalist home décor and the minimalist lifestyle are trending in recent years. From being overly busy in our daily lives to working toward a greener future, minimalism has become a popular trend. Take the time to learn all you can about the art of minimalist décor, and you will see it just might be what the doctor ordered.