My 10 year old inspired me to try minimalism
When Lage started throwing stuff out of his room declaring, ‘He didn’t want this junk anymore!’
I looked at the mound of clothes, toys, books, and electronics on the hallway floor and my first thought were ‘He can’t get rid of all that!’
I picked up a new sweatshirt, but my suggestion that he keep it was met with an emphatic NO!
His response made me reevaluate the role of possessions in our home.
Our conversation started along the lines of ‘I hate that sweatshirt and all this stuff makes me feel stressed!’ But, after we finished talking he made me understand that having less clutter and only his favorite things in his room made him feel and function better.
He felt the effects of ADHD less in a calm environment.
For the first time it dawned on me that by minimizing our possessions we could help him feel calmer in our home.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia around the age of eight. A few years later my daughter was diagnosed with ADD and dyslexia.
Her tests showed that she will probably struggle in school even more than her older brother does.
Hopefully, we will not have to go through the Swedish screening process again with our third child. The process for getting a diagnosis in Sweden is a lot more complex than in the USA.
Can Minimalism help ADHD?
I would like to see if minimizing our possessions will minimize the effects of ADHD, ADD, and Dyslexia on my children.
This year my goal is to get through my house, guest house, and all our storage spaces and get rid of at least 50% of our stuff.
I have always had a lot of stuff. I have always been rather attached to my things, especially sentimental items.
My husband on the other hand has been wanting to minimize for years. I was the one who kept holding up the process because I refused to let go of things.
I could never live in a house stripped down to the bare essentials and devoid of everything that makes a home.
In Sweden we have a word ‘Lagom’ that essentially means To have the perfect amount.
For most of us the perfect amount of possessions was surpassed a long time ago.
We live in a very small house. It’s around 1000 ft2 or 105 m2. There is not a lot of space for 5 people. We have a big living room connected to a rather small kitchen diner. This takes up half the house.
You can imagine that the bedrooms, play area, and one bathroom/laundry combo are rather small.
One of the best parts about my first attempt to minimize was getting rid of some big pieces of furniture. It made our small house feel so much bigger!
Unfortunately, I still have some of the furniture and the stuff that was in it, sitting in our guest house! Our entire guest house has become a storage room because I couldn’t decide to let go of things.
Now after walking by a china hutch, some extra chairs, and a desk with a shelving unit for a year I am finally ready to get rid of them.
I cannot find any use for them and they are hindering me from having overnight guests.
Although I am not sure who first coined the phrase ‘Family Minimalism’ which just means a highly simplified lifestyle for your family. I think that describes what we are trying to achieve.
Everyone needs to find the right balance of stuff for their house and their life.
I believe most of us can get rid of half of our possessions with no ill effects whatsoever.
Lets Help Eachother
If you have a similar problem I would love for you to come on this minimizing journey with me. Hopefully, we can help each other meet our goals, and find some positive change that will make our homes a better place.
I look forward to getting rid of my mess so my family and I can enjoy the results. I can’t wait to see if this will have positive consequences for my wonderful family.
If you need more help minimizing check out my posts below.
Don’t make the same 10 minimizing mistakes I did!
A Monochrome bedroom decreased my daughters stress and ADHD
Decluttering kids toys and other monsters in their rooms.
If you have questions or comments send an email to babysnail2002@yahoo.com
