How to be a Minimalist by Friday

Once you learn about minimalism and all of the benefits, it's not uncommon to want to get your home simplified FASTER. Today we'll talk about how you can shortcut the decluttering process to be a minimalist by Friday!

:: DECLUTTERING PLAYLISTS ::

Thank you for your support!

:: N E E D M O R E S U P P O R T ? ::

We have two ways to get more decluttering help:
The Minimal Mom Private Membership Group

Take Your House Back Course

:: C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G ::

:: M O S T P O P U L A R O N O U R B L O G R I G H T N O W ::

#minimalism #familyminimalism #minimalist

:: M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O S R I G H T N O W ::

**AFFILIATE LINKS! THANK YOU!!!**

..............
🛍 Affiliate links:

..............

[TheMinimalMom]

Thank you so much for watching!!! I hope you have a great day!!! - Dawn

[AZHITW]

I was at the hardware store yesterday, I didn't go to buy an outdoor extension cord, but the one I had at home had wires popping out of it, but it still worked. I stood in the isle, extension cord in hand, it was $44! I almost talked myself out of buying it, then I realized my life is worth at least $44, and if I got hurt using our busted up extension cord the hospital bill would be way over $44. Me the minimalist cheapskate bought a new extension cord, went home and threw the old one in the garbage (it was probably 40+ years old), and now I don't have to worry about dragging the old busted extension cord into a puddle of water and electrocuting myself. 🤪👍

[deannday]

“So you made a purchase that didn’t work out for you. The bigger mistake would be to keep it.” Dawn, you’ve done it again. You got right to the heart of my struggle and showed me the answer. Thank you!!

[barnowlwatcher]

You speak many truths…last week I decluttered a kitchen drawer driving me nuts and found FIVE ice cream scoops…and there are only TWO of us living in this house!!! Inspired, I plowed through two more drawers…five vegetable peelers…literally every utensil had multiple duplicates! There is no excuse to live with this much over consumption. Thank you Dawn for reminding me to just keep moving towards a house with less inventory.

[doublea]

I like to tell myself the Mary Poppins quote, "Enough is as good as a feast!"

[evawilson]

Thanks for all the support and encouragement ! I'm almost 72 and I have decided to do a deep purge not only for myself but for my kids as well. I live alone in a very large house not sure if I use even a third of My mantra is if I moved next week would I take it ? I have been working at it for some time now (5 sales ) and have offered the kids first choice of anything I'm READY to let go of at this point. I will continue to dig deeper and yes it is getting easier ! My shoes have been the that hurt. All things considered I love the progress I've made and when I do move it will be so much easier. Although it has been a lot of work, I am glad that I am in control of what goes and stays. I am sure the kids would appreciate that it would be easier on them if heaven forbid something happened to me.

[katrinagascho]

Our city has an amazing program called The Little Library of Things. It works just like a regular library, but the things you can borrow are in the categories of Kitchen Tools, Camping Gear, Gardening Tools, Outdoor Activities, ect, ect. It is AMAZING because people donate the stuff they don't regularly use ( for me, it was a crock pot, canning equipment and bread maker) to give us back real estate in the kitchen...and if I ever need it, I can borrow it back for a week! Saves SO much time, money and space. My husband grabs extra camping gear there as needed. Really a great solution for maybe a group of friends who live close and could share :)

[christietitus]

I have a funny story, I am sitting here with my husband watching you, he is on his own device doing his own thing, he then says oh, is that Dawn? I had such a chuckle!! It's as if we are friends! Thanks as always for being in our home and giving good tips :)

[tammydressler]

That fantasy self thing... had to deal with that last week.

I had recently pulled my box of cross stitch stuff off the shelf in the garage because my daughter wanted to make floss bracelets with the grandgirls, and I knew there was a bunch of floss that I could spare. I have not done cross stitch for at least two decades, but I have fond memories of working on cross stitch projects. So, the box sat in our living room for a couple weeks waiting for me to go through it. I finally went through the box, gave my daughter all the extra floss, and packed everything else back in the box. That is when I realized that it was my fantasy self who thought I would actually use all that Aida cloth, hoops, frames, and floss. So, I pulled out the remaining floss and gave that to my daughter, took photos of what was left, except one project that I truly have always wanted to do, put the lot of it on our local Buy Nothing group and begged someone to take it off my hands before my fantasy self decided that I needed to keep it. That one project is in a quarantine box. And the rest has happily gone to someone who can use it now.

One less box of inventory to worry about.

[nancyoppegard]

Your "fork theory" reminded me of staying in a vacation cabin where they have left you one or two forks per person, along with all the other "necessities" for your stay. It's not an imposition, it's freeing and you have a totally unencumbered time. There are just enough towels, sheets, dishes, etc. You've pointed out how our homes can be just as freeing. Thanks for the insight.

[mayam]

When I first moved and had a house warming party, I asked my friends and family to bring lawn chairs, because I han no sofa yet and only 2 chairs. It was so much fun and people where happy to bring their chairs....😂

[maryellenerikson]

I have a bin in my basement with our old silverware, hand-me-down plastic plates, cups and bowls, a big tablecloth and various paper plates and decorations. It is labeled "Party supplies" and when we have a birthday or other get-together where we have more people than silverware, we pop it out, use what we need and slide it back on the shelf when we are done. I am SO happy I did that. We have a small kitchen with very little storage and were constantly hindered by the stuff we used, but only used a few times a year. When we lived in an even smaller home, one of my side tables was actually a storage bin with a flat top covered with a tablecloth. Being free of too much stuff eliminates stress and doesn't mean you have to live with nothing, it is finding the balance for your life situation. Another plus is you can share your excess with someone who might not have enough!

[donawadkins]

My mother lived with me for ten years. We had combined two households and we had stuff! I lost her last November. We lived in a four bedroom house with a garage and a shed and a screened in porch. I have worked for a year simplifying. I actually turned my smallest bedroom into a “time out” room. I am amazed at things I have been able to pass on to friends, family and/or donate. Thanks to this video I will be revisiting my silverware drawer tomorrow. Minimalism for me is a process and boy does it feel good!
Thank-you.

[edl]

I just want to thank you for the major impact you have had on my life. I'm 63 and retiring in a foreign country in a few months. I am taking a lifetime of stuff and reducing it down to 4 large suitcases. Had I not found your videos, I would never have been able to manage this task. Trying to do this alone, without guidance, was beyond my capabilities. I actually just considered chucking the whole idea because of "stuff."

Then, the powers that be brought up your videos in a YouTube search. There were so many other videos on this topic but your advice really resonated with me. The thing I love the most about you is that you present minimalism as a concept to us as individuals and not a "formula for all" out of a book. Going by a formula from a book doesn't allow for much individual thought. You teach us the philosophies and the concepts of minimalism and then show us/tell us what worked for you, but let us define what works for us. That requires a lot of thinking on our part but makes it so much easier to part with items and really decide what is important to us. This is what makes your work so special.

Not only that, but you talk us through the pain of getting rid of things in stages, dealing with the money we have spent, our illusions of future use, and the psychological freedom minimalism will bring to us as people.

My four suitcases are not yet full and probably won't be. I thought I would need seven suitcases or more. Yet, I originally was going to pay $10, 000 for a 40-ft container to have my stuff shipped down there, like so many other retirees do because they take everything. That's fine for them. But now I have $10, 000 to spend on life experiences, like watching birds in the Amazon Rainforest and traveling to Europe next year. My friend came over and said, "Won't you need more suitcases than that?" I said, "No. I've been studying minimalism with the Minimalist Mom and I don't actually have much anymore and it's wonderful. I will buy the basics of what I need down there." She looked at me like I had an eye in the middle of my head so I sent her your YouTube page.

Sorry about the long-winded comment here but I have wanted to thank you for a long time. I'm incredibly grateful for the freedom you have given me in my mind, heart, and body. You are truly a gift to us all.

[cin]

Something else you said brought something to mind. Don't get me wrong everything you say is 100% awesome! But if someone is having trouble with mindset and they like to take vacations and love the look of a nice clean hotel room, instead of leaving the house, they could quickly create a home they don't want a vacation from. Pack what you would want to take if you were leaving your house for 3 months. Other than important documents and pictures, you can probably safely discard the rest

[holly]

It's so interesting that this is your subject today. I have recently asked myself, why I still have 2 full sets of silverware in my kitchen drawer. I'm disabled, don't cook or entertain anymore...
Isn't it interesting how we just get used to looking at something and don't see a reason to change it. So, here's my plan: Take the set that has a nice wooden chest, the first set my mom gave us after we married, and put it away. I have a 16 year old granddaughter, who loves to cook, and just may want it...leaves me with less inventory. Ahhh, I can breathe easier already.
Just a suggestion, I always carry a zipper bag with extra forks, spoons, straws and napkins in the console of my truck. Now, before someone gets on my case about more waste...I wash and reuse them.🙂👍

[jlbnerdy]

Had my "Dawn would be proud" moment the other day: made a huge to do list & saw like 8 tasks related to clothes. And I then realized there is too much inventory in that area. Thank you for helping me get to this point!

[HomesteadingChicks]

My teenager gets overwhelmed. We did just the closet floor. 3 categories of keep bins, trash, donate. She got through the whole task. Your rules helped greatly!

[kcotjo]

I just sold a set of snowman dishes that I never used. A beautiful set. I think what helped me most about selling them was not over-thinking it. I loved them at the time of purchase but only used the bigger plates when I hosted Thanksgiving at my home. Otherwise never used them. Almost on impulse one day, I put them on FB marketplace and immediately sold them. I boxed them up, and met the person who bought them. I also the same day, sold a 7 ft Christmas tree that has been in our attic for probably 12 years. Same thing, didn't over-think it and just sold it. Your channel has helped me SO much. I have learned that I don't want to "manage" this stuff any longer. Thank you for reminding us about all these tips to downsize!!! My grown sons and their wives do not want my

[carrotgold]

As I am working through 40 years of miscellaneous boxed papers, I found a quote from the time my fantasy self wanted to be a songwriter. "If songwriting is not on your schedule, you are not a songwriter!" So if decluttering is not on my schedule, I am not a declutterer! I need to schedule and execute my time to actually make the progress. 🥺👍🤗