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!