i’d like to give you a quick snapshot of what i’ve got to work with as operation: minimalist office commences. so here is a panaromic view of my office on monday morning (a pretty typical monday i might add). after a busy weekend (i am a pastor after all), my office gets pretty cluttered. i have always given time on monday mornings to clean/tidy my office before the new workweek begins. all that to say – it doesn’t always look this bad.
I know that this is a really old post, (but I decided to read your blog from the beginning to the end)
Truth be told, I would have gone crazy working in a office last that.
I used to be very minimalist, and then married a man (and his daughter) who are hoarders, and I have been lost ever since.
We (I) are planning a move this fall, and since she has now moved out, I decided to streamline before the move, so that our next house will be my way, and he can have his own space to do whatever he wants, as long as the Main/family areas are my way.
Wish me luck! LOL
PS loving the adventure of reading your blog from the beginning on
I’m a minimalist, but my partner is not. He has his space of clutter and I have mine of spaciousness. Because of my example, he constantly remarks that he wants his space to be like mine. He has not accomplished this in more than 10 years.
You can always lead a horse to water, but you can’t always make them drink….
His son is the same way. He lived with us for a summer. When he departed, it took me 3 weeks to clean his room.
Wish I had been able to spend my spare time otherwise….
It helps to discard things when others are not around.
If things have been hidden beneath the clutter for a while, they usually don’t even remember that they had it.
If you involve them, it usually just ends in an argument.
Try to discard duplicates first.
I see you have a lot of books! They have been the toughest thing for me to pare down. I realized a lot of reference type books- concordance, Bible dictionary, parallel Bible, etc. are available online. Blue Letter Bible is a great resource. I also started choosing one book a night to look through and decide whether it was something I would read often, or could I get it from the local library whenever I need it. I have cut my book collection in half, and hope to cut it in half again.
Online libraries have more resources than a local library.
This is a great blog you have here. Good to see that you are having some really beneficial results from your new lifestyle choice.
I started getting into a minimalist lifestyle myself a few months ago(thanks to Leo Babauta). I’m really beginning to see the benefits, and am planning to list all of my old items (the ones I won’t give to charity) on eBay when I have some more time. With a T.V., playstation 2 with 25 odd games, an electric guitar, CDs, clothes and more, I am really looking forward to having some extra space.
Well done, and best of success with your future minimalist lifestyle.
There are plenty of alternative gadgets and toys available online. It’s okay to discard old equipment.
How about a category for clothes. Discussion on clothes. Thanks to you, I just know packed up over 100 items of clothing to give to the Salvation Army. This is a huge elimination of bulk from my closet .. 5 bags worth. Yahoo. Liz
Recombine a few clothing items to create several outfits.