Why I Became a Minimalist 👋 95% was GONE 📦 Before & After | How I Became a Minimalist My Story

Why I Became a Minimalist 👋 95% was GONE 📦 How I Became a Minimalist & My Story

Here's my minimalism journey. How I got started, how we decluttered 95% of our stuff and moved country to the UK with only 6 boxes. Then got our home in a cluttered state *again*, and finally decluttered over 50% of our stuff on our way to a more minimalist family lifestyle.

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🫶 ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Madeline, mum of 2 little ones, after dealing with miscarriage and infertility for years. I love making videos about motherhood, minimalism, decluttering, cleaning motivation, speed clean with me, homemaking, Ikea favourites, and everything in between.

I strive to upload new videos every week. Hope you stick around and subscribe!

👩‍💻 DISCLAIMER
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you purchase anything through them (without adding any extra cost on your part). Occasionally I get sent products for review purposes and those will be marked accordingly. I will always give you my honest opinion. I only work with brands that I love and use myself.

[bluerubydoo]

It's taken me 5 years of decluttering, but I finally feel I've got to where my home feels calm, peaceful, and easy to pick up. Enjoyed your video, thank you 😊

[cantocant]

Thank you for sharing your story! I've been a collector/hoarder my whole life. A combination of natural disaster (lost a home and business due to flooding) and a devastating health diagnosis (years of surgeries and recoveries) led me to minimalism. I can breathe so much easier now. My life is manageable.

[Josephday]

I am probably 10 years into my decluttering journey. Early on I got rid of tons of garbage, and since then I more or less slowly keep decluttering as I learn what I do not want or need in my life. I think that method is very important for those of us who started with way too much stuff. First just go through and get rid of all of the obvious garbage. Later discover what really is important and it becomes more like sculpting a life.

[StaciLeaBeauty]

I am trying to declutter in 2024. My house is getting overwhelmed with so much stuff it is starting to stress me out.

[thelifeinfront]

Six boxes!!! That’s my dream! Stuff weighs us down! I started decluttering a couple of years ago it was the best thing ever!

[sarahmarina]

Goodbye things is my fave audio book! I feel like I’ve read every minimalist book, I wish there were more lol ironically

[ronnie-lynn]

If you come into my home. It appears on first look I have so much stuff, but it’s because most things I own I have out on “show” I guess you could say. But if you opened all the cupboards and many closest or drawers, there is many empty. It’s such a nice feeling not having every nook and cranny stuffed with things we don’t use or have out to enjoy. So odd how it looks like I have the most stuff I have ever had now when before i had a storage closet to the ceiling of boxes with “stuff” and now I don’t have a storage closet or a single box. ❤😊

[BriarCottage]

I am glad you talked about house sizes, collecting stuff and decluttering. I want to avoid collecting stuff when we move. I dont know when that will be but i want to take as little as possible. Its true clutter even when you cant see it stresses you. I read it blocks the flow of energy .

[loredanatheuma]

Madeline loved hearing your story. Our story is similar in the sense that we too are expats, left our home country and moved abroad with only 3 big suitcases. This was pre-kids and by the time we moved into our forever home and having lived here now for the past 6 years we have accumulated so much stuff. I'm slowly working through to minimize as much as I can. Your house especially after watching your latest minimalist home tour is such goals for me. I wish I could reach that level in my house 💜

[susan]

I really love your videos. You seem so authentic, down to earth, and smart

[amandabacon]

just started my new decluttering life two days ago 40 bin bags have left my house to tip or charity and I DOES feel great so far xx

[jamieweymouth]

Loving your channel and content. I’m a few years into my minimalism as a mom journey and it is a game changer! I just lost my fourth pregnancy in a row, definitely “dark days” as you called them.

[khatijakay]

I agree about having to go through areas more than once. I did it in Jan 2023 and now Jan 2024 I’m trying again. I love how you described it as a muscle and how it’s important to let go of access and have more time for other things ❤

[caroldillon]

As I've embraced the minimalistic mindset and declutered all my stuff I feel a sense of peace, not having to think about what i have that BTW was to much, 1/2 of it I never even used! Now I have just the important things, family related keepsakes and a handful of the things I truly love, not one item more. 😊

[jennyaspin]

I'm pretty new to your channel but I loved hearing your story, as I love watching your videos. I hope you have and your family have settled into your new life. I have spent my life battling against the complete absence of enthusiasm for minimalism in my family. Now, it's just myself and my husband and he is the worst of the lot! 😃

[Spark_Joy_With_Lydia]

Your story is so inspiring! I started decluttering in early 2019 and I had to go through a couple of times as well. It seemed overwhelming at first but once I started every single item that went out of the door felt like a relief. I can totally relate to everything you said! Thank you so much for sharing! ❤

[leebradford]

I call it ‘the places where things go to die’ lol. I just am now in total maintenance mode after four years! Just finished painting the exterior, interior and the shed even. Updated all the fixtures etc. all the stuff I do not miss!

[osheas]

Thanks for sharing your story to encourage others to be brave and face their clutter. For me the hardest part is changing my shopping habits too. But I am getting better. Sometimes I ask myself would I still want to buy this if it cost double that price? For things that are on sale and I am tempted to buy them because they are a good deal, that helps. But I heard Dawn from The Minimal Mom say she read in a book we should ask ourselves "How will I feel when I put on this shirt for the 40th time?" or look at the decor item for the 40th time. If it's something trendy or whatever, this helps narrow down if we should buy the item.

[Kristenoyinbo]

I'm moving into a tiny house soon here in Australia and I have already got rid of 30% of all my belongings including furniture I can't wait to donate more stuff to charity as I don't need the stuff it's so exhausting trying to move house with a million things and no room. Your home is beautiful

[lollipop]

Wow, thank you for sharing! I assume that hoarding was just another symptom of the hard times you were going through mentally and physically. I also noticed that it is like a circle. You feel more anxious and stressed by the clutter and it is getting worse and worse. If you declutter, you have to get through the process of letting go of stuff and bad feelings .