Sometimes Moms get a bad rap when it comes to tolerating a mess — I’m sure you’ve seen the spoofs of moms marching around the house assigning chores. Regardless of how progressive a family is and how much a partner helps around the home, there’s a lot left in mom’s hands. Where you have children, you probably have a mess and a bit of chaos. And the fact is, that messes and clutter have more of a mental impact on women than men. This part of the reason why minimalism for moms just makes sense.
What is minimalism?
Don’t let the term minimalism scare you. It’s not about denying yourself joy or getting rid of all your possessions. Minimalism is simply having what you need and letting go of the excess.
Be honest. Does your closet have anything in it you don’t truly need? Do your kids maybe have a few too many toys? Are there boxes of items in your garage you haven’t opened in years? Minimalism allows you to say goodbye to unnecessary items that are in the way so you can have more time to focus on the people and things that are important to you. It also provides a good example on relationships with materials possessions for your children — less is more with toys, too!
Even if your partner does everything possible to help around the house — dishes, bath time, bedtime meal prep, homework — there’s probably still clutter and it probably still makes you cranky. So let’s dig in to why minimalism for moms is important.
Minimalism for Moms because…
- Less Stress — With less to keep track of, things are less likely to get lost, and that means a lot less stress for mom. Don’t get me wrong, kids will still find a way, but there will be fewer missing shoes when you’re trying to walk out the door, fewer lost socks, less disappearing homework, or fewer missing computer chargers. When you limit what you have, items are less likely to get lost in the shuffle.
- Less Tidying — When there’s less to tidy, tidying takes less time.
- Less Cleaning — When there’s less to clean and less to tidy up before you clean, cleaning takes less time. It’s much quicker to wipe down a counter when it’s not covered in clutter.
- Independent Kids — When there’s not so much STUFF, kids can be much more independent, especially when it comes to toys and bedrooms. Keeping spaces streamlined with practical bins and labels makes the process MUCH simpler.
- More Free Time — You can spend more time on the things that matter. It’s hard to relax when you look around and your home is a mess. With less mess, there’s more free time for yourself and for your family. Have a family game night without staring at the dishes in the sink. Enjoy a family movie night without eying the dust on the coffee table. Or put your kids to bed and sit down with a good book instead of feeling like you need to keep working. Plus. applying the concept of minimalism to activities allows you to prioritize events you enjoy and frees up time you might spend doing less pleasurable activities.
- More Money — When you change your mindset to “less is more” and you decrease your shopping, the savings can add up. Maybe you can do something basic like pay off some debt, or maybe you can take that vacation you’ve been dreaming about. Either way, I bet you won’t be sad about extra cash.
- Less Upkeep — Organizing a space and keeping it organized is much less overwhelming when there’s less in that space. A minimized closet takes much less time than a closet packed to the gills. Minimalism trickles down to all aspects of your home and life.
- More Presence and Patience — Your kids will still weigh you down emotionally and mentally, but you’ll have more energy to deal with that demand positively. Reducing the amount of items you have in your home might allow you to be more present and patient when they need a cuddle or a shoulder to cry on.
- Self Care — Having a peaceful, minimal space will become a form of self care. Luxuriate in empty, calm spaces, especially during those precious naptimes.
So how can you start?
The best way to get started with minimalism for moms is to look around your home and evaluate your space. Imaging what it would be like with LESS. The More of Less by Joshua Becker is also quite motivating, as are podcasts such as Minimalist Moms Podcast.
Glance around the room. See any hot spots? Gather items that are purely a hassle and put them in the trash or in a donate box.
Then go space by space and evaluate what you need in your life. An easy place to identify excess is in the duplicates. Two can openers? Keep just your favorite. An old set of knives you replaced but didn’t get rid of? Let them go.
Kids’ clothes are another good place to dig in. I’m willing to bet your child doesn’t wear half of the clothing he or she has in their room. How many pairs of pants does one child need? Think of a number you think is reasonable, then count how many your child has. If there are more, pass some on.
As you build your minimalist mindset, your path will become more clear and it will get progressively easier to make decisions about what you need and what you don’t.
Give Minimalism a Try
I’m not asking you to get rid of all your worldly possessions, but I do think exploring life with less is worthwhile. Decide you have enough and go from there. To what extreme you decide to take that is up to you. Maybe reducing your belongings by 25% is where you need to be. Maybe 50% will feel better for you. Regardless, invest some time in reducing your belongings and see how it makes you feel. Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
