KISS Blog Week 11: Layout and Minimalist Decor

avatar

Hey there, Minimalist community! Reformed Hoarder here, lol, to discuss some of the things I've learned in my progress on decluttering.

Now, my space will never be described as minimalist by traditional standards, even though I have made much progress in decluttering and purging stuff, my style is very colorful and full of art and things that make me happy. I will never have a half empty, monochrome beige-ish home, and that's great by me. I like lots of beautiful things to look at over a blank space.

However, there is a difference between a well-ordered space and one that is Completely Overwhelming.

One of the reasons I began to face my hoarding tendencies head-on was because my previous apartment had very little storage space, so I couldn't hide things away. I had SO MUCH STUFF, in my face, all the time, driving me crazy. So I began to purge.

So now that I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff (and moved into a new apartment), I am working on getting it all nice and neatly organized so that I am not overwhelmed with clutter in my new space, which is smaller than my previous apartment (this process was interrupted by my mother cleaning out her attic and giving me a giant pile of things that had been hiding in her attic for 20 years, which I am still sorting through, lol. But I'll get there eventually). So I'm not "done," but I've made progress! Here are a couple of strategies that make me feel a lot better in my space:

IMG_20220616_123002.jpg

An Organized Front Entrance

This is one of the things that makes me very happy about my new apartment - I actually have a bit of an entrance space (in the previous apartment, the front door was at the end of a very narrow hallway). So here I have my "going out" things (except for shopping bags, which generally live on top of the refrigerator):

-shoes (yes, all of them, year round - which does mean that I have to dust off the boots at the start of winter and dust off the sandals at the start of summer, lol, but that's okay)
-jacket and scarves
-masks
-umbrella
-lint brushes and mirror, so I can check to make sure I'm decent before I leave and maybe covered in a smidge less cat hair than usual ;)
-Yuan's leash for when we go for walks (but his punk vest harness is in my closet, because it would get dusty hanging there all the time)

This not only makes my space feel more organized in the "everything has a home" sense, but also makes it easier for me to not forget things when I go out (like, oh, a mask). I also like having my mirror there so that I can do a quick once-over before I head out the door.

Pay No Attention To The Books Behind The Curtain

Here is an example of decor-as-clutter-hiding-technique. I have a lot of books. A lot of books. I never thought I would be able to purge books, but in the end I purged probably around 1/3 of my huge book collection. And I still have a lot!

In my old apartment, that meant three bookshelves stacked almost to the ceiling. It was easily the most clutter-y, overwhelming thing in the living room. It totally dominated the space. But in this apartment, I have this nice big cubby space next to the fireplace. This building was built in the 80s so these cubbies were meant for people's a/v equipment, which was bulky back in the day. You could easily fit a CRT television (in fact, I used to in the old apartment where I had a smaller cubby), VCR, antenna or cable box, stereo, CD player, record player, speakers, etc. in there, all stacked on top of each other. Me? I fill it with books.

That Tetris of books is 3 or 4 stacks deep, depending on where in the pile you are and how wide the books are. I filled it and then worriedly asked the super of the building if those cubbies are load bearing, because I'm pretty sure that's around a thousand pounds of books in there, no exaggeration. She laughed. I was like, "No, really ...is it load bearing?"

earth flag.jpg

I didn't take a wide shot today because my living room is currently overwhelmed by the rest of the attic stuff while I work on it, but here is a photo from when I first moved in that shows how well it just stashes away that mountain of books and you can't even tell, it just looks like I hung up my beautiful Earth flag for decoration.

This is an example of, "use the storage space you have wisely." Stash appliances you don't use frequently in a cupboard rather than cluttering up the kitchen counters. Put things you pull out occasionally under the bed or in a closet rather than leaving them out. Hide books in a giant cubby behind a flag, lol. There are generally certain things that take over a home, perhaps for you that's childrens' toys, or clothes, or dishes - for me it's books. But you can have your collection of things stored in a smart way so that it's not so overwhelming.

Speaking of purging, I took a bag of clothes from that attic stuff to the clothing recycling bin this afternoon. I offered up a bunch on Buy Nothing first, and these were what didn't get taken or were too damaged to really be worn anymore (the bins ostensibly will take anything worn out and sell it to fabric recyclers by weight, which raises money for charity):

So that's one big bag less from that attic pile taking over my living room! LOL.

This is my answer to option 3 of the Keep It Simple And Smart initiative, "What are some of the factors considered in your room decor and layout to maintain your minimalist environment?" I totally missed last week - BAH - and I really wanted to join in on that one, so I may do it another time when I need a blog idea. Thanks to @millycf1976 for all the inspiration to write!



0
0
0.000
14 comments
avatar

Hello @phoenixwren

Yes, it would be nice for you to share your story on last week's topic! However, let's discuss this lovely one you've presented.

I will never have a half empty, monochrome beige-ish home, and that's great by me. I like lots of beautiful things to look at over a blank space.

I think this is a point that's worth highlighting. I am the same too. I have way too much clutter atm, but I will always opt for a cheerful, artsy collection of things that make me smile.

However, there is a difference between a well-ordered space and one that is Completely Overwhelming.

I totally agree here:)

I also like having my mirror there so that I can do a quick once-over before I head out the door.

I think this is an excellent habit... nothing vein about it. You have to feel good about yourself and then others opinions won't matter much.

"use the storage space you have wisely." Stash appliances you don't use frequently in a cupboard rather than cluttering up the kitchen counters.

I think it can be a struggle to get things down to how you really want them, as you have to consider the space, seasons, and just what you might discard and end of having to replace.

I'm happy you decided to take on this week's topic. It really if for inspiration, so drop by at anytime to see if any of the previous ones might be click with you for any reason:)))

.
.
Oh, my comment turned into an epistle 🙃

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think it can be a struggle to get things down to how you really want them, as you have to consider the space, seasons, and just what you might discard and end of having to replace.

Totally yes. Also why I think I probably won't count myself as "done," even after I get through the attic pile, until I've been in the new space a year or so, because then I'll not only have settled on where things go but also been through all the seasons and know how I use the space during different times.

Oh, my comment turned into an epistle 🙃

Epistles welcome! LOL

!LOLZ

0
0
0.000
avatar

until I've been in the new space a year or so, because then I'll not only have settled on where things go but also been through all the seasons and know how I use the space during different times.

That's the best plan. It's always better to approach it this way and not be in a hurry. That's exactly what I've done for myself here on the boat. Ihave experienced all the seasons now and I know exactly what items can add to my donation box:)

0
0
0.000
avatar

It's actually not too much stuff that bothers me the most, it's when it's not organized. Your space is organized and I love what you did with the flag to cover the books. You have a lot of books, I likey.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I agree, organization is key to me too. Book power! :)

!BEER

0
0
0.000
avatar

Sorry, out of BEER, please retry later...

0
0
0.000
avatar

Those are some great tips that you've presented for apartment/small space living. I like the one about hiding stuff behind a curtain or flag. Thats smart.

The part about the load bearing concern is pretty funny.

Three layers deep! It must be a challenge if you ever need a book from the back layers. You would either need an amazing memory to remember how everything fit together or be really good at tetris. Lol

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yeah, it is a pain in the arse when I need a book from the back, but I'd rather occasionally be annoyed than all-the-time annoyed by clutter, lol. Thankfully I am good at Tetris! :)

0
0
0.000
avatar

For sure. I totally agree.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Watch out for the human traffickers at hivefest. You wont know it until its too late. STAY AWAY! Beware, traffickers can be women or men! They will act nice until they dont. There is human trafficking going on around this type of crypto. I have witnessed it. They literally have attempted my murder and are trying to kill me with V2K and RNM. Five years this has been happening to me, it started here, around people that are still here. Homeland security has done nothing at all, they are not here to protect us. Dont we pay them to stop shit like this? The NSA, CIA, FBI, Police and our Government has done nothing. Just like they did with the Havana Syndrome, nothing. Patriot Act my ass. The American government is completely incompetent. The NSA should be taken over by the military and contained Immediately for investigation. I bet we can get to the sources of V2K and RNM then. https://ecency.com/fyrstikken/@fairandbalanced/i-am-the-only-motherfucker-on-the-internet-pointing-to-a-direct-source-for-voice-to-skull-electronic-terrorism ..... https://ecency.com/gangstalking/@acousticpulses/electronic-terrorism-and-gaslighting--if-you-downvote-this-post-you-are-part-of-the-problem if you run into one of them you may want to immediately shoot them in the face. 187, annihilate, asphyxiate, assassinate, behead, bleed, bludgeon, boil, bomb, bone, burn, bury, butcher, cap, casket, choke, chop, club, crucify, crush, curb, decapitate, decimate, deflesh, demolish, destroy, devein, disembowel, dismember, drown, electrocute, eliminate, end, euthanize, eviscerate, execute, explode, exterminate, extinguish, finish, fry, grind, guillotine, gut, hack, hang, hit, ice, implode, incinerate, kill, liquidate, lynch, massacre, maul, microwave, mutilate, neutralize, obliterate, off, pop, poison, punnish, quarter, ruin, shank, shock, shoot, shred, skin, slay, slaughter, smoke, smother, snipe, snuff, squish, stab, strangle, stone, suffocate, suicide, SWAT, swing, terminate, torture, terrorize, whack, waste, wreck. You better fucking kill me.

0
0
0.000