As a minimalist we are always trying to downsize. We love to collect memories not things, we long to eliminate the clutter and mess in our homes- but less isn’t always more when it comes to specific things. This is three things I don’t downsize as a minimalist!
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For a long time as I have downsized over the years I sometimes teach a figurative brick wall. I struggle to downsize certain items or area’s specifically! As I have learned and grew in my minimalist journey I have learned that not everything needs to go. Minimalism is there to help enhance your lifestyle not to burden it.
Along with the three categories below I have also put my reasons- this is to help you determine what things you may need to keep or feel less guilt over storing! Let’s get right into it.
Three things I Don’t downsize or get rid of as a minimalist.
1.) Blankets
My first (actually the one that inspired this post) is blankets! I live in a very cold zone- with below zero temperatures and snow for most of the year. Besides being really cautious and smart about buying quality and warm blankets I have also found that it is simply okay to own more because it compliments my living scenario.
My first point to you- a question you can ask yourself if you are struggling to downsize something is this: will getting rid of it lower the quality of life for my outdoors environment? Does this specific item or group of items compliment my living situation? Was it created to be helpful for the weather conditions or environmental conditions I live in?
For me the blankets are a majorly helpful item to have in bulk for our living space! But like I said, we also work to make sure we have quality items that do their jobs well! This goes for blankets too. This is my favorite blanket company. My Pendelton blanket makes me *sweat* in the middle of Winter. (That specific link is almost out of stock! But we also have one of this color too– so cute!)
2.) Recycled Cans & Single Use Cans
This seems like a strange one to most but it’s for really good reasons. We plant a garden each year and grow vegetable starts for our local Farmer’s Markets! This can take a lot of money and plastic to buy containers and pots that can grow and transport these starts. This is why we save our tin cans, coffee containers, small cardboard boxes, newspapers and more! We find this to be a quality genre of items to keep, and we leave them in an organized container during the off months so they don’t hinder our space. Having and saving large amounts of something that mirrors an instance like this one isn’t something you should rethink. Our lifestyle- if we desire to maintain it- calls for quality decision making like this to save us tons of money, help the environment and more!
You can ask yourself- to make this applicable- if the item or collection of items is actually a catalyst or the fuel to a hobby, source of income, a quality way of life you are striving for or living in. This is a big one. If it’s a source as such there is no reason to downsize this area. Minimalism isn’t supposed to equal friction for these specific needs and areas of our lives. If it’s helpful like this is for us then you can stop trying to downsize it- and stop letting it be stressful for you!
3.) Hair Accessories or SENTIMENTAL Accessories
My last big one of the things I don’t downsize is hair accessories or sentimental accessories. Now, believe me, we got rid of a lot of useless, cheap, and unworn jewelry but didn’t go crazy with it. I have actually doubled my hair accessories recently for good reasons!
The reasons for this one is because of different convictions. Though I am strongly convicted to downsize that isn’t my only conviction and I desire to allow room to grow in multiple areas at once.
My conviction isn’t for the hair accessories specifically (lol). But to wear less makeup, to use less heat on my hair- etc. This leaving me to be more creative and mindful with my hair. Learning to do more braids, and incorporate different ways to add beauty to my appearance besides makeup and curling irons. This has allowed me to enhance my natural beauty and to spend that extra hour or two in the morning doing much better things with my time. I can clean house, take better care of myself and spend time relaxing before leaving the house because braiding a scarf into my hair takes three minutes tops! It makes me focus on my skincare routine and hygiene more than my eyelashes and the tint of my eyebrows.
Hair scarves have been my favorite addition lately which means- as I mentioned- my stock has doubled recently! Which is okay! Amazon has such cute ones here!
So if you are struggling to get rid of something ask yourself if it is actually fueling a different conviction, if it is growing you in a different way!
Thank you so much for reading the things I don’T downsize! If this was helpful for you please subscribe! If you have some similar items below that you haven’t downsized let us know in the comments!
