Minimalism Tips: How to Decide What to Keep

Typical clutter

But we can’t get rid of everything. We are constantly deciding what to keep and let go of. Clutter becomes clutter when it becomes a burden on our lives. Everyone has a different tolerance level.

Once we feel overwhelmed, we are ready to declutter. We continue discarding, selling, and donating the things that are no longer useful in our lives until we reach what I like to call a minimalism plateau.

It’s the point between knowing that you still have more decluttering to do and wondering if you’re taking this minimalism thing too far and regretting some of the decisions you made.

We decided to keep these items (the crib and play kitchen) so they can be available in the future at the cottage for grandkids. In no way do we intend to push them on our girls.

So what is it about this particular comment that had me stop and think? It was a bit accusatory. It made me feel like a hoarder. But it also made me stop and think about why I chose to keep these two items. It really had to do with thinking about the future. These items will be stored for a while.

But the comment made me wonder if I was sending mixed messages out there. I noted that I was clutching on to things that weren’t necessarily useful.

Then I snapped out of it. This is my life and my decision. What is it about minimalism that makes us think that we keep nothing or everything?

Enjoying what we keep

My definition of minimalism is that we get rid of the excess so we can truly appreciate the things that we do choose to keep. It’s about being intentional about our choices. I will never tell you to do things exactly the same way I do them.

We have worked very hard to get the inventory down in our home to a very manageable level. It is up to us to determine what we keep. The same goes for you. If things resonate with you, keep them!

I think the reason Marie Kondo’s method is so important is that it helps people pick out the items that are of value to them and to decide what to keep versus what to give away.

It’s important to pull from the pile what to keep versus what to give away. That makes it easy to give things away that do not give you that same feeling, that same spark. Ultimately you have the freedom to keep what you want and get rid of what you don’t want to keep.

Here are my short guidelines on how to approach deciding what to keep:

Or do you put things and photos in hiding on display instead?

But ask yourself if you still enjoy having this item around. Do you still find value in holding on to it? With time, connection can be lost or fade even with the most sentimental of items.

Do you take it out of its box from time to time to hold it and look at it? Shoving items into a dark storage space and forgetting about them is not usually something you enjoy having in your life.

If you take one thing away from this discussion, let it be this: Give yourself grace in this process because there are no set rules about living as a minimalist. The goal is to be intentional in your choices.

5. Decluttering clothing

This is all part of the journey. One reason that Marie Kondo's approach is intuitive is that it is actually much easier for people to pick out the items that are of value for them.

It’s easier to make a decision based on what you want to keep rather than what to get rid of. By setting out all of the things in a specific category, say clothing for example, a person can very easily choose their top favorites that spark joy, as she would say, and pull them from the pile to keep.

Minimalism: How to decide what to keep

Those are my short guidelines about the basics of minimalism and what you might consider keeping and why.

Ultimately, you have the freedom to keep the things that you want to keep and get rid of the things that you don't.

Let me know in the comments how you decide what to keep and what not to keep in your home.