The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide (6 page)

Our purchases have a human toll as well. Unfortunately, global outsourcing has fostered an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality with regards to this issue. Manufacturing has moved out of our own communities, where we could see first-hand the conditions under which our neighbors worked—and where we could count on laws, unions, and other regulations to protect them and ensure their safety. Now the things we buy are made on the other side of the world, where labor is cheap and regulations scarce. Whenever we purchase something, we need to consider the people who made it. Under what kind of conditions did they labor? What effect did the production of this item have on their lives, their communities, and their environment? If it’s negative, is our need (or desire) for this thing worth their suffering?

Of course, it’s practically impossible to calculate the human and environmental impact of every item we buy. We should educate ourselves the best we can, but our research will never be comprehensive; manufacturers are rarely transparent about their overseas operations, and often change locations in their quest to cut costs. It could conceivably take us months to gather the appropriate information for a single purchase. However, we can do an end run around this issue, and still minimize our personal consumer footprints: by buying local, buying used, and buying less.

Buying local has significant ethical, environmental, and economic benefits. First, locally-made goods are much more likely to have been produced under fair and humane working conditions. Second, eliminating long-distance transportation saves massive amounts of energy. Purchasing vegetables from your local farmer’s market, for example, is considerably kinder to the planet than having them shipped halfway around the globe. And third, supporting our local economies keeps our hard-earned dollars in our communities, where they can be used to provide infrastructure and services to enrich our lives and those of our neighbors.

Buying used enables us to obtain the things we need, without putting further pressure on the earth’s resources. Why waste materials and energy on a new item when an existing one will do? Instead of going to the mall, shop the secondhand market for furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, books, toys, and more. Thrift shops, classifieds, and websites such as eBay (www.ebay.com), Craigslist (www.craigslist.org), and Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) are treasure troves of perfectly good, previously used items. Take pride in becoming the second (or third, or fourth) owner of something; it’s a financially-savvy, as well as eco-friendly, way to meet your needs.

Finally, buying less is the cornerstone of our minimalist lifestyles. Limiting our purchases to essentials is the best way to curb the impact of our consumption. By doing so, we can ensure that we, as individuals, are responsible for less resource depletion, human hardship, and waste. If we truly don’t need another sweater or pair of shoes, let’s not buy them simply for the sake of fashion. Let’s think about the resources used to make them, the factories in which they were made, the cost of transporting them around the globe, and the eventual impact of their disposal. Let’s base our purchasing decisions on our needs, and the entire life cycle of a product—rather than the fact that we like the color or saw it in an advertisement.

Let’s reject being “consumers,” and become “minsumers” instead. We’ll strive to minimize our consumption to what meets our needs; minimize the impact of our consumption on the environment; and minimize the effect of our consumption on other people’s lives.

As an added bonus, such a philosophy helps us accomplish our other minimalist goals: for as we reduce our consumption to save the world, our living rooms will stay clean, serene, and clutter-free!

Now that we’ve established our minimalist mindset, we’re ready to put our new attitude into practice. The following chapters outline the STREAMLINE method: ten sure-fire techniques to rid our houses of clutter, and keep them that way. They’re easy to use, and easy to remember; each letter of the word represents a particular step in our decluttering process. Once we get these under our belts, there’ll be no stopping us!

S
-
Start over
T
- Trash, Treasure, or Transfer
R
- Reason for each item
E
- Everything in its place
A
- All surfaces clear
M
- Modules
L
- Limits
I
- If one comes in, one goes out
N
- Narrow it down
E
- Everyday maintenance

The most difficult aspect of any task is knowing where to start. As we look around our houses, we see piles of stuff everywhere—in corners, in closets, in drawers, in dressers, in pantries, on counters, and on shelves. We may also have stuff hidden in basements, in attics, in garages, and in storage units; although out of sight, it’s certainly not out of mind. If you feel overwhelmed, don’t despair—you’re not alone.

Sometimes it seems that nothing short of a force of nature, or extreme circumstance, will clear the clutter from our homes. We almost wish we had to move cross-country on a moment’s notice, or that a great wind would sweep away everything but our most precious and needed items. Unfortunately, however, decluttering doesn’t happen instantaneously; it’s something we have to work at, slowly and deliberately. Here’s the good news, though: as we get into the groove, we get better at it; and believe it or not, it actually becomes fun!

In fact, nothing prepared me for the rush I got when that first bag of discards hit the curb. What I expected to be a tedious, and rather onerous, task turned out to be exhilarating. I was instantly addicted. I decluttered in the morning; I decluttered in the evening; I decluttered on the weekends; I decluttered in my dreams (really!). When I wasn’t actually decluttering, I was planning what I could declutter next. The high I experienced while decluttering was like no other; it’s as if I could feel the physical weight being lifted from my shoulders. After I’d been particularly productive, I’d twirl around in my (newly) empty space with a huge grin on my face. (I told you this would be fun!)

Before we begin, let’s think back to the first day we moved into our house or apartment. We walked around the bare rooms, imagining what life would be like within its walls. How wonderful it felt to savor the space before a single box was unpacked! It was a beautiful blank canvas, empty and full of potential, ready to be personalized with our own special touch. We relished the thought of a clean slate—what a fabulous opportunity to start fresh and do things right!

We vowed to unpack slowly and methodically, finding each item its own special place and getting rid of anything that didn’t belong. We looked forward to putting everything into perfect order. But then life got in the way: we had to start a new job, prepare the kids for school, accommodate guests, or spruce up the place for a housewarming party. We had to put things away fast, with minimal disruption to daily life, and had no time to judge the worthiness of each individual item. We did the best we could to stash our stuff, and throw the emptied boxes into the attic or basement.

Well, now’s our chance to Start Over. We’re not going to vacate the premises, or empty the contents of our houses onto our front lawns. We’re just going to redo moving day—but now we’re going to take our time, breaking up the gargantuan task into little pieces. We’re going to orchestrate a fresh start for each area of our homes. We’ll simply pick a single section at a time—as big as a room or as small as a drawer—and start over again, as if it’s the first day we moved in.

The key to Starting Over is to
take everything out
of the designated section. If it’s a drawer, turn it upside down and dump out its contents. If it’s a closet, strip it down to bare hooks, rods, and shelving. If it’s a box of hobby materials, spill them all out. Tackling an entire room at once is a little more challenging, as you’ll need somewhere to put all the stuff you remove; a nearby room is most convenient, and will cut down on walking, or climbing steps, as you put things back. If that’s not possible, consider using your front porch, backyard, or basement as a temporary holding area; the effort it takes to schlep things back to the room in question may be all the deterrent you need.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of
completely
emptying the section on which you’re working. We become so accustomed to seeing certain things in certain places, it’s like they’ve earned the right to be there (whether they belong there or not). It’s tempting to say, “Oh, I know that’ll stay, so I’ll just leave it there for now and work around it—what’s the point of taking it out if I’m going to put it right back?”

No—take it
all
out—every single item. Sometimes just seeing something out of its usual spot—and how great that spot looks without it—will completely change your perspective on it. The broken chair that’s been in the corner of your living room for as long as you can remember seems to have staked its claim to the space; it’s like a member of the family, and it feels disloyal (or even sacrilegious) to move it. But once it’s out in the backyard, with the light of day shining on it, it’s suddenly nothing more than an old, forlorn broken chair. Who would want to bring
that
into their house? Especially when the corner it used to sit in now looks so clean and spacious…

Decluttering is infinitely easier when you think of it as deciding what to keep, rather than deciding what to throw away. That’s why Starting Over—emptying everything out, then bringing things back one by one—is so effective. You’re selecting what you truly love and need; and it’s much more fun to single out things to treasure, than to single out things to toss. A curator at an art museum starts with an empty gallery, and chooses the best works with which to beautify the space. Well, Starting Over makes us the curators of our homes. We’ll decide which objects enhance our lives, and put only those things back into our space.

Remember, the things with which we choose to surround ourselves tell our story. Let’s hope it’s not “I choose to live in the past,” or “I can’t finish the projects I start.” Instead, let’s aim for something like, “I live lightly and gracefully, with only the objects I find functional or beautiful.”

Now that we’ve dumped out our stuff, we need to sort through it and decide what to do with it. We’re going to separate our things into three categories: Trash, Treasure, and Transfer. For the first, grab a large, heavy-duty garbage bag (a smaller one will do if you’re working on a single drawer). For the latter two, use boxes, tarps, or whatever’s convenient for the area you’re tackling. Boxes work well if you’re dealing with smaller items; but if the stuff you’re sorting is bigger than a breadbox, designate sections of the floor (with or without tarps), and make separate piles for each category.

Keep an extra box on hand as well; we’ll call it Temporarily Undecided. As you sort through your stuff, you’ll come across things that you’re not sure you want to keep, but you’re not quite ready to part with. Perhaps you just need a little more time to think it over. You don’t want a few tricky objects to throw you off track, or slow your momentum; so if you can’t make a quick decision on something, put it here for now. You can revisit it later and assign it to a pile.

Truth be told, you may very well end up with a full box of Undecideds, even after further consideration. In that case, seal it up and write the date on it with permanent marker. You’re going to put it into “temporary” storage: in the basement, attic, garage, or back of a closet. If, after six months (or a year), you haven’t opened it to retrieve anything, take it to your favorite charity. This box should only be used as a last resort—not as an excuse to avoid hard decisions. The point isn’t to save these items, but rather to save your
space
from items you’re not sure you need.

So let’s start with the Trash: this stuff is a no-brainer. Throw away everything that’s clearly garbage, like food packaging, stained or ripped clothing, expired cosmetics and medicines, spoiled food, nonworking pens, old calendars, newspapers, flyers and pamphlets, junk mail, bottles and containers that can’t be reused, and any broken items that can’t be fixed or aren’t worth fixing. If it’s not good enough for Goodwill, it belongs in this pile.

And I know you know that when I say “throw away,” I mean “recycle if possible.” While tossing things in the trash is easy, we must keep the environment in mind. I don’t think any of us want to be responsible for something sitting in a landfill for the next hundred years. So err on the side of good karma, and recycle what you can: most communities will accept cardboard, paper, glass, metal, and some plastics. Of course, before you pitch anything, consider if someone else can use it; if so, put it in the Transfer pile instead. It’s always better to send something to a good home than to a landfill or recycling plant—even if it takes a little more time and effort. We have to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of the things we buy, including their proper disposal. Be mindful of these issues when you’re shopping—it’s actually a pretty effective way to curb impulse purchases.

The Treasure pile is for the items you’ll keep, and should contain just what the name implies: the things you truly cherish, for either their beauty or their functionality. If you haven’t used something in over a year, it probably doesn’t belong here. Consider giving it to someone with more use for it; or if you have that much difficulty parting with it, put it in the Temporarily Undecided box. We don’t want to devote valuable space to unused stuff; we want to save it for the good stuff! Ditto for knickknacks, collectibles, and other decorations: if you’re not displaying them proudly and prominently, and if you don’t derive true pleasure from their presence, send them off to a new home where they’ll get the attention they deserve.