For This House
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
Minimalism has become quite a trendy word and lifestyle in the last few years. Maybe it was Marie Kondo’s “Spark Joy” theory or it could be the retail inflation of everything that snagged people’s desire to live with less.
For me, minimalism is not about being trendy. It’s about realizing how few things I actually need to live a happy and comfortable life.
About 4 years ago, my husband and I decided to travel through South America for a year. We began selling and donating anything in our 400-square-foot apartment that we didn’t actively use. Even in such a small space, we were shocked by how much stuff (especially clothes) we had that we didn’t use.
After about half a year of downsizing, we packed the “essentials” into bins and boxes to store in a crawlspace for when we returned, and packed a 40L backpack each to live off of for a year.
Three-and-a-half years later, we’re still traveling and living out of 40L each (although the backpacks have now been upgraded to carry-on suitcases cause we’re getting old). And it is amazing how little I miss anything we left behind.
In fact, when we pull out the bins we left behind of clothing and home items we thought we absolutely needed to keep, we are about ready to donate it all because it turns out it’s not nearly as essential as we thought!
So, let’s go through some of the tips I have learned while downsizing to a backpack. I will focus on clothing because that is often the main area of weakness, but most of these tips can be applied to any area of your life you find cluttered!
Before you embark on the journey of downsizing your belongings, ask yourself what is your WHY. Minimalism shouldn’t be motivated by pride or guilt. But if you find yourself looking in your closet and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of clothing items you own, ask yourself what you hope to achieve by reducing that number.
Do you just want more space in your dresser so the drawers close properly? Do you want less laundry to deal with? Do you want to reduce decision fatigue in the morning by limiting your outfit options?
Having a clear purpose for downsizing will allow you to feel more fulfilled when you actually do it.
One of the most helpful things I learned years ago is the Hanger Trick. Each season, hang all of your clothes on hangers BACKWARDS in your closet. After you wear something, hang it back in your closet properly.
By the end of the season (or any decided amount of time), you will have a visual representation of what items you actually wore the last few months. Any of the items that are still backward require assessment of whether you truly need them or not.
This is probably one of my greatest weaknesses, especially with dresses. I used to have SO many dresses for “what if events” that I was never actually going to be invited to. Like “what if I am invited to a wedding at a winery in early spring where I’ll need a short dress with long sleeves that’s not too hot and not too cold?”
The reality is that these events usually never happen, and even if they do, I end up forgetting that I even own that dress and always borrow or thrift another one anyway. So if you find yourself saving an item for a very specific hypothetical scenario, get rid of it.
This also applies to clothing you are keeping for a specific body type. It can be hard to part with pieces you once loved or would love to love on your body, but the reality is that these provide unnecessary discouragement when they don’t currently fit how you would like. And even if you save them for years until they do fit, your style and needs can change. Our bodies will always fluctuate and change so every piece of clothing should make you feel beautiful as you are right now.
One thing I’ve learned from living out of a backpack is that I can’t own any piece of clothing that only serves one purpose or only fits with one other piece of clothing. For example, I only have space for two pairs of shoes (one sneaker and one sandal), so you better believe they both match with anything I wear! My dress, shorts and pants can all be worn with either pair because I’ve chosen staple shoes in neutral colors.
One thing I’ve found helpful for applying this to clothing is keeping all of my bottoms un-patterned, so all of my tops can match with any pair of bottoms (shorts or pants).
So look through your wardrobe. Can every item you grab be styled into multiple outfits? If you have a cute blouse that can only be worn with one specific pair of pants, maybe consider swapping it for another staple item that is more multi-functional.
This one is hardest for me with items I genuinely think are cute or stylish but still never wear. It could be an item you bought because the style looked really cute on a friend or maybe it was a gift from someone and you really WANT to love it but something just feels off. These are the items you often pick up from your closet, maybe you even try it on, but you always default to wearing something else instead.
If you find yourself second-guessing whether you like the fit or style of a piece, it is not worth keeping. You will likely always be hesitant, and even if you do wear it you won’t feel totally yourself.
The goal is to look at your wardrobe and love every item you see.
There seems to be some pressure (especially for women) not to duplicate outfits. Have you ever had it when visiting with a friend that you jokingly say “Don’t judge.” because you’re wearing the same outfit as the last time you saw them? Why do we feel some level of embarrassment about wearing our favorite shirt three times in the week?
My husband literally owns two pairs of the same black jeans and five of the same shirt in different colors that he rotates through all week until he does laundry and starts over again. Now I enjoy a little more diversity in my outfits than that… but it’s taught me that no one else is paying attention to what you wear so don’t fear rewearing outfits.
This one goes out to all my budget girlies who love a good sale or thrift. There’s something wired in us that when we see something cute on sale or secondhand, we can convince ourselves that we are somehow saving money by buying it (because we could be buying it at full price!). But the reality is, unless it is a staple item that adds to your wardrobe, you’re just buying another clutter “what if” item.
Now, after saying all of this, I don’t want you to feel like you need to throw out everything in your wardrobe and convert it to a neutral-colored hyper-functional set of clothing. What you wear SHOULD bring you joy and make you feel like you!
So if that means keeping lots of patterns and colours, oversized sweaters, loungewear that you’d never wear in public or other items that you genuinely love, please don’t donate them all. When I come home from traveling and have room for a few wolf shirts, yellow cardigans and funky dresses, it makes me so happy!
Living with less is not about having few things, it’s about every single thing that you own having a PURPOSE, and if one of these purposes is bringing you joy, then it is worth keeping.
If you’ve been struggling with an overstuffed closet, I hope this gives you some inspiration to reassess your possessions this summer. It is freeing to live with less and I promise you, once it’s gone, you’ll never think of it again.
Sarah is a goofy Canadian girl currently living the unconventional life of travelling the world with her husband as digital nomads. Her love for experiencing new things has led to 3+ years of travel while running a social media business, but nothing is quite as sweet as spending summers home in BC. Sarah is always trying to balance her desire for adventure with her desire to maintain strong connections with family and friends because life is too short to take anything for granted.
