I’ve traveled a lot in my life. It’s a hobby I love, and I’ve visited 45 countries so far. I spent a good portion of my 20s on planes, for work and for fun. For most of that time, I had no idea how to travel light. I aimed to make my checked luggage exactly 50 lbs, maximizing what I could bring while avoiding fees. On top of that, I’d bring a heavy carry-on and a large backpack on the plane – stretching airlines’ definition of “personal item” to the limit. I mentioned in my minimalism story that when I…
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Designing a Minimalist Wardrobe For most of my life, I was pretty clueless about style. I had way too many clothes but somehow still struggled to put outfits together. When I tried to declutter, I had no idea where to start. When I started my minimalist journey, one of the first steps I took was creating a capsule wardrobe. That involved decluttering most of my clothes and creating a curated collection of pieces that could be mixed and matched. I had no idea how to approach this, so I did some internet research and learned how to design a minimalist…
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Have you tried decluttering before and found that, despite the purge, you still have more than you need? There are some things we all have that are obviously junk – you know how to identify and declutter them. But other things survive the decluttering process over and over, continuing to take up space in your home after multiple spring clean-outs. This article describes some bad reasons that you’ve held onto these things. Once you can identify those, it will be easier to recognize which items seem worth hoarding but are, in fact, clutter. Bad Reasons You Hold Onto Clutter –…
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How to cut down an overstuffed wardrobe might be the most frequently asked question I’ve seen in online discussions around minimalism. Fast fashion has created a situation where almost everyone has closets stuffed with an overwhelming amount of clothes, shoes, and accessories. Those of you who are familiar with Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method know that clothes are the first area she recommends tackling when decluttering your home. Her reasoning is that we know clothes are easy to replace and it’s therefore a relatively low-stakes process to hone your decluttering skills with. But I’ve found it plenty difficult to part with…