Daylight Saving Time to Minimize

The calendar says it's not quite fall yet, and we don't lose that daylight hour until after the clock strikes Halloween this year.  Since you may be spending more time at home than at the football field, I hope you have time to get some decluttering done.  

You may have been enraptured by Netflix's "The Home Edit" -  I know I have been glued to the show and the organizing of Khloe Kardashian's garage, wondering how her daughter has a Bentley, and I do not.  It's a mini Power Wheels one, but come on. 

I do love the pretty rainbow styling they put on all the items they organize, and their enthusiasm is contagious.  However... 

They aren't much for editing.  In their book and their show, they clearly establish that they can organize anything, and that you can live with your stuff if it just has a place (and $500 worth of Container Store product).  I love Container Store as much as the next OCD mom, but decrapifying definitely doesn't mean buying more plastic and keeping 95% of your stuff, just because it's labeled.  

The Home Edit gals offer up boxes for "sentimental items, maybe one for each family member" and store them out of sight.  In the attic or basement, for those of you above sea level.  I challenge you to think long and hard about sentimental items or those you feel compelled to keep.  Maybe they were a gift, or you feel guilty sending things along the way to someone who could use them.   Guilt has no place in minimalism; it takes up far too much room.  

Your things have no intrinsic value; they only hold the value that WE assign to them.  This is why gold coins are sometimes a jackpot and sometimes a paperweight.   My litmus test is always to ask yourself  "does this add value to my life or have a purpose?"  For me, Sharpies in every color do both - I use them for various household and work chores, and I am cheered up by their rainbow decoration to my desk.  I am not tossing half the colors to have fewer Sharpies because I don't need to.  I use them, and they make me happy.  

We just have to remind ourselves that every white t-shirt or rubber band ball we possess can't add value or have purpose.  As the adage goes, "if everything is important, then nothing is important". 

As you dust off your fall decor and embrace temperatures below the melting point of steel,  enjoy "The Home Edit" but put the emphasis on EDIT.   Consider what adds value to your life and what you want in your space.  The Cowtown Minimalist is here for you, both virtually and in your home should you decide to seek professional minimizing help!  

Hit me up on email at cowtownminimalist@gmail.com and in the meantime, happy decrapifying!

A Few Tips while you Sip your Quarantini

As the first whiffs of pumpkin spice permeate the sweltering summer air, we turn our hopes to fall and its optimism that the Dumpster fire of 2020 will somehow recover. 

Most of us have been coping in some way with the inconveniences, nay, horrors that the pandemic has brought us.  As we have navigated Covid infections, layoffs, and virtual school, minimalism probably isn't what keeps you up at night.  This reset that we have been forced into control-alt-deleting our lives may, in fact, be the perfect time to embrace a minimalist lifestyle. 

Perhaps you have chosen to keep your kids at home for remote learning for the first semester, or maybe forever.  This means organizing their supplies and work location to promote a decent attitude and a comfortable quiet space to learn.  Time to assess how many boxes of crayons that you saved from the last few years of elementary school are really necessary.

Lots of cooking at home?  Pull out all those utensils that make the drawer impossible to open and do an audit.  You're spending time there, so make the kitchen clutter-less (notice I didn't say clutter-free; I'm not an animal).   Group your often used ingredients together, which makes store runs or click-and-pick-up lists more efficient, and you'll avoid unneeded duplicates.  I like using these clear bins in my pantry and fridge to hold like items.  I label them so no one leaves a sock or baseball in the bin CLEARLY marked "condiments" (note: it still happens).

What about your home office?  Whether you work at home or just run the house from your command center, it's paramount that bills, office supplies, and paperwork are managed accordingly.  Make sure you have a recycling bin and/or shredder near where your mail comes in, and keep stamps/envelopes handy for those few bills that require an actual check (insanity).  Finding only a 40 cent stamp kicking around when the current rate is 55 cents is dang irritating.  I like to keep the paper to a minimum, or even ZERO, so things that require my attention at some later date get scanned immediately from my phone through Genius Scan. I can then email to myself or store on my phone.  The images look pretty decent, too, even if you're not the Ansel Adams of documents. 

You're likely not commuting carpooling as much right now, so use this time to clean and declutter that car!  Empty out all those pockets, console, and the glove box (will you put gloves in there? I can't say...) and only put back what you actually will use.  Tip o' the hat to those of you who keep your reusable grocery bags in your car and USE THEM (although the stores act as if they are a raging hot zone of infection now and won't touch them should you attempt to bag your purchases with your own bags). 

Best wishes and kindest regards navigating the virtual school year, zoom calls, and take out margaritas (definitely the best thing to emerge from quarantine)!  We're here to help; just shoot us an email or DM on Instagram.  I'm not entirely confident when I see large corporations like Apple or Purina tell me "we're all in this together", because I don't see them popping over to check on me or knock a few bucks off my cell phone bill.  But OUR DMs are open for your questions and comments, should you feel led.