Where I Am in My Minimalism Journey

My home is finally decluttered to a level where I feel comfortable. Is my home perfect? No. Have I gotten rid of everything I do not want or need? No. Am I aware of everything I have? Yes. Do I feel comfortable with the amount of stuff I have at this current moment. Yes. Today I'm going to share two dark secrets concerning my minimalism journey. Get ready for my confessions.

Secret number one: I'm not rich. In fact, I'm among the poorest in the country I live. I'm a student with zero income and lots of expenses. I also share my home with my partner who's in the same situation as me. It's a struggle, but we get by. Because of our situation there's no way I'm going to follow a lot of the minimalism advice bloggers give. There's no way I'm going to get rid of something because of the 20-20 rule (if you can get it within 20 minutes of your home for less than $20 - chuck it) because $20 could be a weeks worth of food if we're really lucky and play our cards right. I can't afford getting rid of things I'm not 100% sure we don't need.

Not following all the guidelines of minimalism means that there's a bit of excess in our home, which leads to my second secret: I am more than okay with having a little excess. I'm okay with having a few extra coffee mugs in case one breaks. I'm okay with having a few extra towels and pillow cases, because they will break eventually and if we have room for them, they can stay. Having a half empty closet is not a priority, having a functional one is.

My partner was away for a couple of days two weeks ago and I decided to use my time alone to once and for all go through our entire home and declutter and organize everything. It was extremely overwhelming and I regretted my decision approximately 546 times, but in the end it was worth it. We now have the functional space that is easy to keep tidy, which is what I wanted and we both needed. As time goes by, we will be getting rid of additional stuff as things break and get used up. I do look forward to that, but it's allowed to take time and as of now, my home is where it's supposed to be.