The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide (12 page)

While we slowly declutter our living rooms, we need to make sure that nothing
more
comes in. By following the One In-One Out rule—offsetting each incoming item with an outgoing one—we can ensure a zero net gain of stuff.

In contrast to occasionally culling through our collections, this method requires immediate decision and action. If we bring home a new book, game, or DVD, an old one must leave at once. Thus, instead of growing in quantity, our collection grows in quality. Why hang on to that movie you only watched (or book you only read) once—and didn’t even particularly like? Don’t let it hog your precious space; swap it for something new and exciting. Make this a habit, and it’ll transform your living room: instead of being a stale memorial to old interests and pastimes, it’ll be a dynamic space reflecting your family’s current tastes.

Likewise, when the latest issue of a magazine arrives, toss the old one in the recycling bin (or pass it on to friends or relatives). If you haven’t found time to crack it open, you’re probably not that interested in the content. At the very least, quickly flip through it and pull out intriguing articles; a few sheets of paper in your reading pile are less daunting than an entire issue. Furthermore, if you sign up for a new subscription, drop an old one. We may have lots of interests, but we only have so much time in our days; select just one or two periodicals, so you can give them the attention they deserve. You can always swap them for new ones next year.

Apply the same logic to crafts and hobbies. Again, our leisure hours are limited; instead of indulging every passing fancy, choose one or two pursuits about which you’re truly passionate. If you start a new hobby, give up an old one that no longer excites you—it’ll free up your time as well as your space. Perhaps you’ve lost enthusiasm for jewelry making, but would love to learn to play the guitar; make a clean break with the former, in order to pursue the latter. Sell any leftover supplies on Craigslist or eBay, or donate them to a local school.

The One In-One Out rule pertains to décor as well. Suppose you’re out shopping, and something striking catches your eye. You think it’s perfect for your home, and imagine you’d derive great happiness from looking at it every day. As a minimalist, however, you hesitate (and rightly so)—do you
really
want to bring another object into your house? If the piece is that special, you don’t have to deny yourself its aesthetic pleasure—as long as you give up something in return. What you want to avoid is accumulating
more
; but it’s not off-limits to
replace
something you have with something
better
. If you decide the new object doesn’t merit such a sacrifice, better to skip it and wait for something more worthy to come along.

Achieving a steady state of stuff is good, but narrowing it down is even better (and essential to developing a minimalist lifestyle). Ideally, we want to own nothing more than that which meets our needs.

At the bare minimum, a living room needs some sort of seating for household members. Extreme minimalists (and those of non-Western cultures) may be perfectly content with a few floor cushions. A bachelor may get by with a lounge chair. A family, on the other hand, may deem a sofa a necessity. Do the math—if you only have three people in your household, do you really need furniture that seats eight? You can always rustle up some folding chairs if you have guests (or create a fun, bohemian atmosphere by lounging on the floor). Consider the footprint of the furniture, too; I’ve seen overstuffed, oversized sectionals that nearly filled the entire room. Is the “comfort” of such a behemoth really worth the floor space it devours? Could you meet your seating needs with something smaller and slimmer?

Next, let’s talk tables. Again, most living rooms will require at least one table to accommodate the family’s activities. A small coffee table may be perfectly adequate. If the room also serves as an office or craft space, an additional desk or worktable may be needed. Anything beyond that, however, is often merely decorative. Think long and hard about whether you really need the end tables, side tables, console tables, and other tables that currently dwell in the room. If the end table’s only function is to hold a magazine and remote control, consider reassigning that role to the coffee table and saving the space. Do the same for the console table that does nothing more than display your knickknacks; ditch the tchotchkes, and you no longer need the table. Wow! Major decluttering in one swoop!

Another way to “narrow it down” is to invest in multi-functional furniture. As mentioned earlier, a sleeper sofa can serve as both your family’s couch and guest bed. A coffee table with built-in drawers or cabinets can eliminate the need for other storage pieces, and free up significant floor space. The same goes for ottomans: if you’re going to have one, make it do double-duty and stash some of your stuff. Such pieces provide maximum functionality with a minimum footprint, leaving us much more room to move around.

Your living room might also contain an entertainment center for the television and electronics. But ask yourself this: do you really need the TV? Shocking as it may seem, plenty of people (my husband and I included) live perfectly fulfilling, entertaining, and informed lives without one. News is readily available on the Internet, and with a broadband connection, you can watch plenty of shows online. I’m not asking you to ditch the TV today, but simply presenting the idea as a
possibility
. Ruminate on it (or turn it off for a week and see if you miss it). Once you consider the option, you may decide it’s not such a bad idea—and when your current set kicks the bucket, perhaps you’ll choose not to replace it. The bonus: when you don’t have a TV, you don’t need a cabinet, stand, or any other piece of furniture to hold it. (Alternatively, you can bypass the stand—and still keep the TV—by mounting it on the wall.)

Most of our living rooms also have some sort of shelving, where we store our books, magazines, games, CDs, DVDs, hobby supplies, knickknacks, and so on. All I can say is that the less stuff you have, the less shelving you need—so get to work culling those collections! Cultivate hobbies that require little in terms of supplies, like singing, origami, or learning a new language; and play games that involve a small deck of cards, instead of large boards and hundreds of plastic pieces. Use creative strategies to meet your entertainment needs—like borrowing items from friends or the library instead of owning them. (There’s certainly no point in owning something you plan to read, watch, or listen to just once.)

For those titles you
do
wish to own, consider going digital. Download movies from the Internet instead of buying DVDs. Convert your music into MP3 files, and purchase it in that format from now on; not only will it reduce your clutter, you’ll have access to your library (on an iPod or MP3 player) wherever you go. Invest in an electronic reader, and buy digital books instead of physical ones. A single, paperback-size device can hold hundreds of titles (and give you access to thousands of others), eliminating the need for entire bookshelves.

Use the power of technology to downsize your photo albums as well. Instead of storing those bulky books, scan the contents into digital format. You can print the ones you’d like to display, one by one, when it strikes your fancy. The benefits of digital photographs are numerous. First, they’re much easier to access. If you want to view pictures from your trip to Paris or the office Christmas party, they’re right at your fingertips on your computer. (If you had to dig through a closet or shoebox to find them, you might not even bother.) Second, they’re much easier to share. It’s quicker, more convenient, and less costly to email your friends recent snaps of your baby or vacation, than to send paper copies through the mail (or wait for them to visit and look through your albums). Third, paper photos can deteriorate with age, or be destroyed in a flood, fire, or other disaster. Digital photos can be stored in multiple ways (on a hard drive, online, and on DVDs in multiple locations), so you’re less likely to lose those irreplaceable images.

Since so much activity occurs in the living room, we must always be aware of its contents. Devoting some time to everyday maintenance is well worth the effort; you and your family will have a much more pleasant space to relax, and enjoy each other’s company.

Of course, we must always keep our defense shields at the ready. This room is only steps from the front door, and is often the first place incoming objects tend to rest. (In fact, some of them seem to get stuck here forever!) Patrol the area for intruders. (What’s in that box by the door? Whose jacket is draped over the couch? Is that junk mail on the coffee table?) When you spot stuff that doesn’t belong, don’t throw up your hands in exasperation and slump on the sofa—fight back. Flush out those invaders at first sight, and make sure that anything entering, or traveling through the room, doesn’t get a chance to stop. Hang up coats, put away shoes, handle the mail, and take new purchases directly to their appropriate spots.

Keep a close eye on where clutter tends to gather—such as the coffee table, end table, or any other surfaces in the room. After you’ve enjoyed a snack, take plates, cups, and leftover food
immediately
to the kitchen. After you’ve played a game, or worked on a craft project, stash all materials in their modules and tuck them away. After your kids have played with their toys, encourage them to return all items to their appropriate places. If you straighten up after each and every activity, the clutter has no chance to accumulate. Furthermore, if you discover wayward items while vacuuming or dusting, don’t clean around them—clean them up!

To complicate matters, the living room is where you’ll most often encounter other people’s clutter. Ideally, this problem will wane with time, as household members learn to respect the flex space and take personal items with them when they leave the room. In the meantime, however, you may have to roll up your sleeves, dive in there, and boomerang that stuff right back to its owners. Get in the habit of doing a clean sweep of the space each evening before bed, and clearing it of stuff that doesn’t belong. It takes just a few minutes, but makes a huge difference. You can nag, and preach, and talk about keeping things tidy until you’re blue in the face—but the best way to inspire others is to lead by example.

Finally, continue decluttering on a regular basis—unless you’re already a minimalist extraordinaire, there’s usually something more you can get rid of. Constantly scan your books, CDs, and DVDs for titles you no longer want; what you liked last month (or even last week) may no longer appeal to you. If you spot an outdated magazine, toss it out; if you’ve grown bored of certain hobbies, ditch the supplies; and if any item has a layer of dust on it, seriously consider showing it the door. When it comes to your living room, keep it simple, keep it fresh, and keep it serene!

In this chapter, we’ll work our minimalist magic in the bedroom. This room, more than anywhere else in the house, should be a place of peace and serenity, a haven from our hectic lives. Therefore, we have some important work ahead—but after we’re through, we’ll have the perfect environment for a well-deserved rest.

Your bedroom should be the most uncluttered room in your house. It serves an incredibly important function: providing solace for your weary soul after a hard day of work, school, childcare, housecleaning, and every other activity you manage to fit into your day. It should be a place of rest and relaxation—not only for your body, but also for your mind.

Take a few moments, close your eyes, and envision your ideal bedroom. Picture every detail, as if it were a magazine layout: the style of bed; the color of the sheets, duvet, and blanket; the pillows, the lighting, the flooring, the décor, and the other furnishings in the room. What kind of mood does it have? (I’m guessing probably not chaotic.) Is it a calm oasis? A romantic retreat? A luxurious suite? Although I don’t know your personal tastes, I’m pretty sure of one thing: there’s not a stitch of clutter in your dream room. And rightly so: it’s hard to feel pampered when you’re buried in stuff, and there’s nothing romantic about a storage facility.

To Start Over, then, move everything out of the room except the bed. Since the room by definition is for sleeping (and we don’t want to throw our backs out), this piece of furniture can stay. Likewise, leave in place any large, wardrobe-related items that you’ll definitely keep, like an armoire or dresser. But for now, everything else goes: desks, tables, chairs, storage boxes, laundry bins, potted plants, treadmills, ab crunchers, televisions, computers, lamps, books, magazines, vases, knickknacks, and so forth. Empty it down to its bare bones, and put everything in an adjacent room for the time being.

Now lie down on the bed, and look around. Quite a change, isn’t it? You probably never realized how much space you actually have. Does it feel more open, peaceful, and relaxing? Is it easier to stretch out, clear your mind, and breathe? That’s how a bedroom
should
feel! It should refresh and rejuvenate you, not make you stressed out and tired. The best part: creating this idyllic atmosphere doesn’t require an interior decorator or expensive renovation. All you have to do is declutter!

Make your Trash, Treasure, and Transfer piles, and start sorting through your bedroom’s contents. Don’t bother with clothing or accessories just yet; that’s a job unto itself, and we’ll tackle it in a later chapter. For now, concentrate on everything else—particularly those items that have nothing to do with sleeping or dressing.

You’ll likely encounter an interesting dilemma here: you’ll find items that aren’t appropriate for
any
of those piles. You don’t want to dispose of them in the Trash pile, or put them in the Transfer pile to sell or give away; in fact, you’d really like to keep them. However, they can’t go in your bedroom’s Treasure pile, because they aren’t related to sleep or clothing. The problem: the items may belong in your life, but they don’t belong in the bedroom.