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Out on the farm, it’s hard to keep a balance between stuff you MIGHT need and stuff you THINK you might need.
There is no true minimalistic lifestyle on a farm in the middle of nowhere. You have to keep stuff for the blizzard that might happen, because if you don’t, WHEN that blizzard happens – whether tomorrow or 12 years down the road – you will NEED that stuff to keep your animals from getting sick or dying, or to keep your house warm, and your family clean and fed when the power doesn’t come back on and the roads are blocked for weeks. |
Simply put, on the farm or out in the country, you must be prepared for the possibility of the unexpected happening. You can’t afford to clutter your house, barn, and yard up with stuff that you don’t need and can’t manage, but you need to keep enough things that will save your bacon and make your life easier during a catastrophe.
So, what does that look like? Where do you begin to identify what is too much and what needs to go away?
So, what does that look like? Where do you begin to identify what is too much and what needs to go away?
Start with one room
First of all, let’s start with where you live. Pick one room (ONE. ROOM. You over-achievers, I’m talking to you) and look at everything around you in this one room. What is your first impression? Do you feel overwhelmed, or relaxed? What kind of feelings do you want to have when you enter this room? What kind of feelings does it give you now? Can you focus here? Does it look like there’s a lot of clutter? What kind of clutter is it?
For me, let’s go to my living room (that is on the opposite end of the house from my bedroom that I really should work on but am admittedly procrastinating on). In my living room, it’s movies, books, office stuff, and knick-knacks that hit me in the face. It looks like a mess. I want to come into this room to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family. Right now, I can’t relax. It’s overwhelming. There’s so much stuff! As I look around right now, I see that I could minimize MOST of this.
We have a lot of blankets and pillows, more than we technically use at one time. However, if we have one of our rare but dangerous Oklahoma blizzards that no one is ever prepared for, and the power is out for almost 2 weeks straight, those blankets and pillows are going to become very important for keeping kids, pipes, and animals warm and dry! What do I do to make them less of a clutter object? Keep the blankets folded and use a ladder or quilt rack to hang them from, and keep the pillows on the couch or on beds.
For me, let’s go to my living room (that is on the opposite end of the house from my bedroom that I really should work on but am admittedly procrastinating on). In my living room, it’s movies, books, office stuff, and knick-knacks that hit me in the face. It looks like a mess. I want to come into this room to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family. Right now, I can’t relax. It’s overwhelming. There’s so much stuff! As I look around right now, I see that I could minimize MOST of this.
We have a lot of blankets and pillows, more than we technically use at one time. However, if we have one of our rare but dangerous Oklahoma blizzards that no one is ever prepared for, and the power is out for almost 2 weeks straight, those blankets and pillows are going to become very important for keeping kids, pipes, and animals warm and dry! What do I do to make them less of a clutter object? Keep the blankets folded and use a ladder or quilt rack to hang them from, and keep the pillows on the couch or on beds.
Video organization
Now, turning to our cabinets full of movies – What would these movies do for us in a blizzard, even if we were on generator power? Or God forbid our air conditioning dies during a week of 100 degree weather! Or a flooded house! They would all be ruined in short order! What do these movies do for me or my family? Nothing. We really don’t watch that much TV, and who has time to sit and watch all of these 1-3 hour adventures anyway? I can get rid of most of these movies, others I can take out of their cases and put into DVD organizers that take up less space, and the favorites could be displayed in one little area of the entertainment center. That would minimize so much visual noise and clutter in my space, thereby making it a more relaxing area for me to enjoy.
Office supplies
Okay, moving on!
There is a box – a literal BOX – of office supplies. It sits right next to the file cabinet and desk (our house is rather small, so the office is in the living room). It’s stuff that we already have plenty of – staples, sticky notes, highlighters, etc. and it is also where we have thrown the instruction manuals for everything. For our larger appliances, I can put the manuals in a baggie and tape it to the appliance. For the smaller appliances, I should file those manuals into a smaller box and probably put them into the garage. Or throw them away. Who really reads instruction manuals anyway?
As for the extra office supplies, why do we need so much extra? I’m not going to staple an intruder to death, use sticky notes to feed a fire, or feed my dog a highlighter during a food shortage. If those extras don’t fit into the drawer with the other supplies, then they need to go to someone else who will use them. They don’t need to take up precious space in my house.
There is a box – a literal BOX – of office supplies. It sits right next to the file cabinet and desk (our house is rather small, so the office is in the living room). It’s stuff that we already have plenty of – staples, sticky notes, highlighters, etc. and it is also where we have thrown the instruction manuals for everything. For our larger appliances, I can put the manuals in a baggie and tape it to the appliance. For the smaller appliances, I should file those manuals into a smaller box and probably put them into the garage. Or throw them away. Who really reads instruction manuals anyway?
As for the extra office supplies, why do we need so much extra? I’m not going to staple an intruder to death, use sticky notes to feed a fire, or feed my dog a highlighter during a food shortage. If those extras don’t fit into the drawer with the other supplies, then they need to go to someone else who will use them. They don’t need to take up precious space in my house.
Books, books, books!
The books and bookshelves STAY. Okay, well, some of them could go. Like, the Obama Diaries. It’s funny, but it brings me no real happiness, and it’s a one-time read. Same goes for Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm, but they are CLASSICS AND THEY STAY. OKAY? So do my 5 copies of The Hobbit and 2 sets of Lord of the Rings.
Okay, enough about the books. They all stay. Moving on.
Okay, enough about the books. They all stay. Moving on.
Usefulness vs. emotional attachment
The knick-knacks need to be minimized for sure, but I have lots of emotional attachment to them. What do I do with those? Honestly, if I can’t find a way to make them useful, I need to throw them away or sell them. They collect dust, which is bad for family members with allergies or asthma. I don’t have enough time to keep them clean. And, there is SO MUCH STUFF in my house that immediately assaults the visual senses, no one can enjoy the cute little knick-knacks anyway.
My Windstone Edition dragons are big-time dust collectors, but they are heavy and can be used as bookends. So, I have found a use for them. I can also sell them for very good money if I MUST get rid of them. (I collect dragon stuff like a dragon hoards gold)
My Bobble Head Baby Groot, however, is only useful for keeping me amused. And believe me, he amuses me greatly. Any time one of our teenagers stomps across the house, a door slams, the baby throws something, or my husband drops a weight on the floor, Baby Groot dances and bobbles to delight me. However, he collects dust and takes up space. One arm is broken off. He often gets lost in other clutter that collects around him. He is not even worth anything if I were to try and sell him. Most of the time, honestly, he brings me no joy. The most I could do is move him out to my car, into a flower pot on the porch, or simply throw him away. Poor little guy. I love him so, but he’s otherwise not good for my mental or physical health.
My stereo is also useless. It has AMAZING sound. However, it can’t find a radio station to save its life, and if the power goes out, it’s useless. I only use it to save the battery in my Bluetooth radio, which is smaller, CAN find radio stations, and has a weather radio, a light, a solar charger, and can be hand cranked in an emergency. There is literally NO REASON for me to keep my giant dust collecting stereo, other than my daddy gave it to me, and it is therefore precious.
My Windstone Edition dragons are big-time dust collectors, but they are heavy and can be used as bookends. So, I have found a use for them. I can also sell them for very good money if I MUST get rid of them. (I collect dragon stuff like a dragon hoards gold)
My Bobble Head Baby Groot, however, is only useful for keeping me amused. And believe me, he amuses me greatly. Any time one of our teenagers stomps across the house, a door slams, the baby throws something, or my husband drops a weight on the floor, Baby Groot dances and bobbles to delight me. However, he collects dust and takes up space. One arm is broken off. He often gets lost in other clutter that collects around him. He is not even worth anything if I were to try and sell him. Most of the time, honestly, he brings me no joy. The most I could do is move him out to my car, into a flower pot on the porch, or simply throw him away. Poor little guy. I love him so, but he’s otherwise not good for my mental or physical health.
My stereo is also useless. It has AMAZING sound. However, it can’t find a radio station to save its life, and if the power goes out, it’s useless. I only use it to save the battery in my Bluetooth radio, which is smaller, CAN find radio stations, and has a weather radio, a light, a solar charger, and can be hand cranked in an emergency. There is literally NO REASON for me to keep my giant dust collecting stereo, other than my daddy gave it to me, and it is therefore precious.
Things could be gone in a heartbeat.
But, if a fire were to take our house, my precious things would be gone. As it is, I’ve had a fire ALMOST take my precious things, and I ended up wishing it had, because cleaning the ash and soot off everything was nearly impossible and took me YEARS to get done. The dust storm that followed the fire ruined many things to the point that I was forced to throw them away anyway. You would not believe how much better I felt mentally and emotionally (and physically!) once I had cleaned my living space and felt like I had room to breathe again (literally and figuratively).
All of this to say that THIS is how you minimize in an environment that doesn’t allow you to live as a minimalist: Look at what is around you. Even the stuff that you have a mental attachment to (which is mental clutter, let’s be honest). How often do you clean that? How much time do you spend with it? How does it serve you? What kind of situations can it serve you in? And if a fire were to come leave it a mess, would it be worth trying to save? Would it be replaced immediately, like a tent, underwear, or a phone? Just how important is it to your survival? Could you take it with you to live in a small apartment?
All of this to say that THIS is how you minimize in an environment that doesn’t allow you to live as a minimalist: Look at what is around you. Even the stuff that you have a mental attachment to (which is mental clutter, let’s be honest). How often do you clean that? How much time do you spend with it? How does it serve you? What kind of situations can it serve you in? And if a fire were to come leave it a mess, would it be worth trying to save? Would it be replaced immediately, like a tent, underwear, or a phone? Just how important is it to your survival? Could you take it with you to live in a small apartment?
Organizing the Barn
The same goes for your barn! When will you use that spare saddle blanket? How many screwdrivers do you need? Are you ever going to fix that broken thing over there? When will you finish that project sitting in the corner? How many tents and sleeping bags do you need?
Sometimes, you will have good answers and reasons for holding onto things: you often DO need more than one screwdriver. You sometimes need a spare saddle blanket. It’s good to have more than one radio in an emergency. Those snow shoes will be a huge life saver during the next blizzard. That bottled water is important during a boil order. That stockpile of food will come in handy if the road is blocked for a couple of weeks. You DO go camping once every year, so the tent and sleeping bags need to stay.
Other times – many times, in fact – you need to own that it is just clutter and if you don’t use it regularly, you’re not going to use it, and it needs to go away.
Sit down with yourself and learn the difference between what you use, what’s really important for your survival in a catastrophe, and what is just taking up breathing/mental space.
Oh, by the way, this goes for the stuff in your storage shed too. If you don’t use it to the point that you need to store it, and you barely remember what all is in there, it’s time to have a garage sale, donate it all, or have a bonfire. Just sayin’.
Sometimes, you will have good answers and reasons for holding onto things: you often DO need more than one screwdriver. You sometimes need a spare saddle blanket. It’s good to have more than one radio in an emergency. Those snow shoes will be a huge life saver during the next blizzard. That bottled water is important during a boil order. That stockpile of food will come in handy if the road is blocked for a couple of weeks. You DO go camping once every year, so the tent and sleeping bags need to stay.
Other times – many times, in fact – you need to own that it is just clutter and if you don’t use it regularly, you’re not going to use it, and it needs to go away.
Sit down with yourself and learn the difference between what you use, what’s really important for your survival in a catastrophe, and what is just taking up breathing/mental space.
Oh, by the way, this goes for the stuff in your storage shed too. If you don’t use it to the point that you need to store it, and you barely remember what all is in there, it’s time to have a garage sale, donate it all, or have a bonfire. Just sayin’.
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The harshness that is Western Oklahoma has never left Kathryn lacking for a story to tell. When she’s not outrunning a wildfire, chasing a tornado, or watching the sun set in the West, Kathryn can be found on her couch, transforming the scenery she has seen into words and blowing them into her imaginary world, where dragons fly free. Learn more about Kathryn on Instagram. |
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