Don’t Fall Into This Classic Minimalism Trap

I’ve had a lot of changes happen in my life in the past 6 months—we’ve been building a house, had a baby, attended weddings and celebrations, and had changes in our work.

During busy seasons, I tend to default into survival mode and put anything non-essential on the backburner—this time it included many of the habits and routines I’ve developed in order to live a simpler and more minimal life.

Instead of focusing on making our home a functional space for us, I just wanted it to look like an image you’d find in a minimalist spread of a home magazine—that level of perfection is rarely, if ever, achievable, especially not with a toddler and a newborn!

I was falling prey to this classic minimalism pitfall…

Perfection over happiness.

Let’s break this down.

Minimalism and decluttering should hopefully be done with the goal of simplifying your life. We simplify our lives to live more abundantly by doing the things that make us happy.

Therefore, minimalism is a journey of progress toward happiness.

Here’s the catch—what does that happiness and abundant life you’re working toward look like?

Stop and think about that for a minute. What does an abundant and simplified life actually tangibly look like for you?

Maybe it means getting out of debt, being able to travel, crossing some adventures off your bucket list, focusing on your health, or spending more time with loved ones. Whatever the reason, it can’t be someone else’s happy…it has to be yours.

When you try to fit into someone else’s version of what minimalism should look like, something is always going to feel like it’s missing.

So here I was, trying to sift through all of the boxes we had moved and trying to fit my life into what I thought minimalism dictated I should own. Obviously, I was running into a lot of roadblocks and struggling to feel like the space was working for me. I began to feel like my stuff was owning me instead of working for me.

Now I’m working on flipping my mindset and choosing PROGRESS and HAPPINESS over perfection. I’m reminding myself that an abundant life for us at this stage means there’s a little (sometimes a lot) more mess, but also a lot of meals with friends and family, running around with our toddler, family movie nights, playing with Lego and blocks, long walks and outdoor exploration, and sitting on the porch with a cup of tea.

Let’s say goodbye to the pressure for perfection in minimalism this year and embrace our own versions of happy!

Have you fallen into this trap before?