Several years ago my older children went to live with dad and I packed my belongings into a tog bag and like that I lived until I could find my feet.
It wasn’t long, only about 4 or 5 months, but it taught me a few things. The biggest of which is how little we actually need.
So, it was no suprise that I continue to still live as minimalist as possible.
But
How do you live as a minimalist with small children and a family?
Children
We all know how quickly kids can accumulate things and just how fast they also outgrow, get board or abandon much loved possessions.
So, how do I encourage minimalist living with an active 6 year old who loves to follow trends and has diverse interests?
We have a few rules.
The first is that for everything that comes in the house we give something away.
We don’t collect multiple of an item. At one stage Hamish had 3 car tracks and we simply didn’t have enough space in the house for all 3. A quick talk to him about which he loved best and he was asked to think of 2 other kids to give a track to each. He still plays with the one he loves because it isn’t overwhelming now for him to choose what to play with.
Any toys that are broken are thrown away straight away. As are full colouring books, papers or art work ( which we photograph for a digital file)
Books and toys that he has outgrown are handed down, freecycled or given away to charities and we sort through these monthly. I include him in these decisions as they are his belongings.
If we recieve an item he won’t use or doesn’t like we gift it to someone who does want it. You shouldn’t own anything you don’t use.
He also has one toy box and one lego box and is encouraged to keep these neat.
Homeschool
Our classroom is the space I struggle the most to stay in a minimalist state but I try not to clutter with books and curriculum we won’t use in that year and only buy what we need.
The library and online books are a great way to minimize buying new books constantly.
We no longer use DVD and rely on YouTube and YouTube kids. In fact we also don’t own a DVD player any longer.
Stationary is a biggy as I love art, craft and stationery shops but I’ve restricted myself to only buy what we need and splurge in the holidays with extra arts and crafts products.
Clothing
All of us stick to the rule that if you don’t wear it gift it. Stop storing jeans for 3 years while you wait to be a size 10 again.
We keep enough items for each occasion, wear it regularly and replace when we need an item or if something is old, no longer fits.
Kids outgrow their clothing quickly and I’m sure I’m not the only mom whose given bags of almost new baby clothing away as I’d over bought.
Now we buy seasonally or on sale and stick to 2 pairs of sandle shoes, 2 pairs of closed shoes, 1 smart pair of smart shoes and a pair of rain boots.
The only exception to these are uniforms needed for extra murals or bought for holiday clubs.
Kitchen
The kitchen is another clutter hole. So many Tupperware and appliances we never use , not to mention way too many glasses and cutlery.
I now only have the absolute essentials in my kitchen and not only do I have tons of space, it’s easier to navigate and clean.
Conclusion
In conclusion we honestly don’t need all the things that fill our home.
How many of you have items that you would have forgotten you’ve owned if you had to list everything in your home?
I got rid of a lot of stuff when Brett died and I had to move to a smaller space. But now that I’m in a bigger house again, the stuff is accumulating. I think it’s Nicky’s toys that are getting to me the most but last week we did get rid of the hot wheels garage (to his cousin) so that’s at least something because it was so big.