Day 78 - Minimalism

My stepmother once told me that my house looks like a dorm room and I consider that a compliment.

I spend at least a half an hour a day, walking around my house, picking things up and throwing things away.  A neat, clean house helps me stay calm.  Meanwhile, my family, (all home) seem to spend a fair majority of their day randomly leaving things around the house to fester.  I seeth as I watch this transpire all afternoon into the evening, waiting for them to pick up their refuse.  It rarely happens.  My daughter sweeps the floor every day, (her choice) but I picked up 5 bowls from next to her bed the other day.

I encounter art supplies, electronics, chip wrappers, empty soda cans, and glasses.  I don't know why this happens.  I have begged, pleaded, and threatened in the past.  My son actually had the audacity to tell me he needed me to walk around with him and tell him what to pick up.  I have no words for that one.

I cannot imagine what our home would look like if I didn't have a minimalist decorating style.  I like to keep surfaces free of knick-knacks in favor of plants and books or things my kids have made over the years.  I don't have a lot of shelving or "storage" because we don't have a lot of stuff.  If I was a master decorator and had candles and figurines and collectibles everywhere, I think it would be hard to keep things picked up and as a result, stressful.  

Our family is split between 2 borderline hoarders and 2 purgers.  My daughter and I go through our closets, drawers, jewelry, and toiletries on a regular basis and donate or sell what is appropriate or throw out what is not.  My husband and my son prefer the keep everything that has ever come across their desk since birth.  Bless their hearts.  I just cannot understand it.  I try.  I quiz.  I suggest getting rid of some of the stuff periodically to no avail.

Fortunately, we have been able to coexist with these equally opposing styles.  We are respectful of one another's differences.  I find it so interesting that all of us are so different in so many ways.  I might never figure it out but to each their own.

Ps.  My inspiration for this post came from this video.

I thought I was the only librarian with only a handful of books until I watched it!

In celebration of Pride Month, this is one of the few books that I own.  You can find it at my local independent book store, A Freethinker's Corner.