The Main Advantages of Minimalism

[@barbaraluningham5761]

I enjoy Rachel’s channel because, unlike some of the “minimalists” who are so animated and have “runaway” messages, she is easy to listen to. I sometimes have to stop their videos and chill to slow my brain down. Rachel is informative and calmly presents her message.

[@kamloopscruiser874]

The peaceful quiet approach Rachel has is so much easier for me to listen and learn from too.

[@lindawarner7046]

Agree!

[@niram6707]

Barbara, I agree. I am someone that is quite organised when it comes to my home. However, I have become an even better home maker by listening to her videos. She is a genuine soul, sharing her own struggles, success and wonderful tips.

[@MercyUS]

🦋so true; she’s gifted to have thought through the psychology of it too! Wisdom!

[@donnagrant950]

"Your 🏠 home then becomes, **Enough.**". I love that word. Thank you for the encouragement to keep me us on track. There are a lot of forces pulling in the wrong direction daily.

[@emilymosley3184]

I had to clean out my parents home after their deaths. They were “organized hoarders” and even though I was not a hoarder, I vowed not to put my child through that. I’m fully on board. Thanks!

[@lindawarner7046]

Oh, same for me. After cleaning out their house, my husband & I practiced Swedish death cleaning, so no one would have to go through what my brother & I went through.

[@eileenlester4342]

Amen.

[@Theresa-jq3dw]

🙌amen!

[@donnagrant950]

Me too... Amen!

[@nannychachi]

I've said it before, but I'll continue to say it: I love your channel. Your videos speak directly to me and I'm putting minimalism into practice. My sewing/craft room seems to be the biggest mass of things that "fantasy Charlotte" needs to tackle. I've already taken 2 huge loads out and will conquer that mountain.

[@normag016]

Today my exercise bike/clothes hanger (for the past 20 years!) is being picked up by a junk company. Thanks for all of your encouragement.

[@no_peace]

I just moved mine to the door last night so I can get rid of it today!

[@Catmom3]

Mine has been menacing me for about 15 years 😕

[@evasochocki5209]

My two favorites are that you can improve your health because you have more time to make better meals and to exercise. I just thought of that a couple days ago. You are absolutely right about that. And also the thing about feeling guilty if you sit down to read a book and you have all that thinking about I need to declutterthat back room, I can't find things anymore, I really shouldn't be sitting here reading like this, am I just procrastinating.....

[@SoZen08]

I love how enthusiastic you are, and how you always pay attention to the emotional aspects of decluttering and minimalism. I've been stuck in chaos (inside of my mind and outside of it) for so many years. You inspire me!

[@jannajacob219]

"Material things are here to serve us"-light bulb moment. It's actually obvious, but we are brainwashed and guilted to think that we need more, more, more, or we are trying to relive the feelings of love and acceptance we felt when they belonged to our loved ones. I am working on this, and I appreciate your gentle way of talking. Thank you.

[@ariwithlove]

Just sent this text to a friend whom I shared this video with. “This lady had really encouraged me so much. I find I watch the videos not only for a how-to, but for encouragement for who I really want to be. Hope you’re having a good day. Thinking about you a lot and praying for you in this season! 💕”

[@Nourishingminimalism]

❤️❤️❤️

[@petmomful2260]

I am enjoying binging on your videos. I got rid of 2 big plastic toys my granddaughter outgrew, that were in the corner of the garage. I put a small table there. I keep boxes there, and I slowly fill them as I declutter. When my husband goes somewhere, he takes the full boxes and drops them off at the charity sight. This has been a great system for us, and I am really feeling the freedom of decluttering, and "undecorating." It is amazing how much more relaxing my home feels!! I am going to keep going.

[@bearbeitertollhaus8771]

Yesterday startet cleaning the kitchen, decluttred 3 boxes. But today totally overwhelmed and sad I can't keep up. I will keep trying. Thank you for your advice.

[@no_peace]

You can do it! I'm a hoarder and I still have some work to do, but getting rid of stuff in the kitchen has made my life 100x easier. I thought I'd never be able to get it done. Once I got kind of ruthless, it took about two days to remove enough stuff that I felt rewarded and validated instead of just overwhelmed. And now all my normal dishes fit in the dishwasher! Now I wash every dish every day and it's one of the easiest things I do all day. It used to be painful. The most impactful things I did were keeping only enough dishes to get me through 1.5 or so days, and getting rid of complicated plastic tubs that were hard to wash and hard to put away. I think the thing that suddenly made it possible was hearing Dawn the Minimal Mom talk about how she doesn't regret giving things away even if she could have used them, because giving the stuff away means she has a clean, functional house. So it's rewarding to give stuff away, and having a clean, manageable house is worth the risk that you might get rid of something you end up missing. I kept giving stuff away (a lot of stuff honestly) and then needing it later, but I never got rid of enough stuff so my house never got clean or organized. I was feeling the regret but there was no reward to counteract it, and I still couldn't find things when I needed them. I'd do all this work and give all this stuff away but it would still look and feel terrible. So I'd regret giving stuff away and then be even more afraid to get rid of more stuff because I "might need it." Once I realized that was why it was so hard to be ruthless and get rid of enough, I was able to let it go. My kitchen was REALLY BAD but it only took me about two days of decluttering to make it usable and two more to make it somewhat open. For about five years before that I was spending hours and hours every week fighting the kitchen, but I never really got anywhere. In addition to Dawn's videos, this channel and Dana's channel (A Slob Comes Clean) have helped so much too. I often listen to them while I work. Anyway I know that might not be your struggle but I just wanted to share in case it might be useful. I wish I could explain how much better I feel. I don't want to spend my whole time on earth moving stuff around.

[@bearbeitertollhaus8771]

@@no_peace Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. It's good to hear that you are making progress. Take care

[@renel7303]

Sometimes it's easy to get carried away, do too much at the get go a d then crash. Try doing a little less next time, maybe one box worth, only one shelf or drawer, some artificial limit you create to prevent overwhelm. You didn't acquire everything in just a day or two. You really won't be able to remove all the excess overnight. Little bits at a time are OK. You'll get there eventually.

[@Izabela-ek5nh]

Set a time for declittering like 2 hours and no more at time. Get a reward. Have a walk in a break. :) watch inspirational photos and videos to keep up motivation :) (I am also doing a difficult kitchen cabinet today and forgot to set a timer - I'll do it now. 45 minutes.)

[@bearbeitertollhaus8771]

@@Izabela-ek5nh That is a good Idea. I usually do as much as I can literally ' until I drop' and then I beat myself up because I couldn't do more. So here I am working on a schedule. I will try and stick to it. Thank you!

[@couponqueen34]

I'm so thankful I stumbled upon this channel. It's helped me so much! Thank you so much.

[@RD-vo5vq]

This episode spoke to me! My Mom was a hoarder not an extreme hoarder but she did have a lot of stuff. So here I am getting older finding myself in my Mom’s same situation. I do have anxiety and that anxiety leads to depression and my Mom had the same thing. So it makes it hard to stay motivated. She was born in the 1930’s so she saved everything! (for those that don’t know people that lived through the Great Depression tend to keep everything) I’ve been steam lining my stuff I just have to stop second guessing myself and just push through it and get rid of things I’m not sure if I should.

[@donnajones9006]

My and my husband's parents were from the same era so kept everything. So much stuff.

[@juneo5795]

Rachel, you are the first person I can actually relate to. You say the same things I am thinking, and you've inspired me to get off my butt and start decluttering! Thank you so much!

[@kamloopscruiser874]

Breathing room, in energy levels, time and my home. I love what you said about stripping away to find ourselves and becoming generous in giving away. I hated trying to sell stuff, but giving it away brings joy and peace.

[@howbethdoesit5695]

Another awesome talk Rachael, thank you.

[@leilaezawa6475]

I love your wall boxes shelves in your kitchen! I love wood, boxes and minimalism so, that's such a great hack!

[@kristingibson3342]

Thank you for your videos! You are so approachable, nonjudgemental, caring and full of the TRUTH.

[@lisahinton9682]

Rachel, you made some very powerful, thought-provoking points. Thank you.

[@MelindaPlainandSimple]

So motivating! I love being reminded of all the benefits of minimalism and simplifying.

[@qormi1000]

Love the way your house looks. Very nice.

[@homemakingwithdenise]

I like this…life more efficient.

[@janpetsch620]

Well, I am a hoarder and I have been working thru it. My brother who has passed away and my folks were huge hoarders. Anyhow, found money...that was the good thing. Sis and I found $1,000s in their stuff. :)

[@rajeshwarihemmadi3229]

So rightly expressed

[@lindawarner7046]

I love your home! Excellent video!

[@1213LB]

The "no need to protect all of it" really hit me. We love in FL and when there's a hurricane headed straight for us I am always scrambling to gather (and try to find) important stuff that we may need to take with us if we evacuate. I don't like living like that. So that is just one of my reasons I am working on becoming a mini almost. It's so hard!

[@loreestahl5783]

Abundance therapy.

[@amma7244]

I can’t believe your channel hasn’t taken off yet. I find you so calming and non judgemental and you are inspiring me to take a minimalism progress check and avoid triggers to bringing new things in. Thank you for all you do. ❤️

[@Theresa-jq3dw]

Excellent!

[@doraedwards9999]

And now Watch me pull out cooking pots and pans that are never used, eleventy seven cookbooks I’ve never used for anything more than a picture book and haul them away to bless someone else that may actually use them.

[@beverlydeardurff5366]

How do you practice minimalism when your husband doesn't want to get rid of anything? My husband grew up, he didn't have much. He's a packrat, saves items he doesn't use, and doesn't have a "home for anything". He can't find anything. I know that I've got to get rid of my unused items and not worry about his stuff, but it's difficult to work on minimizing our "common places" when he's not on the same page as me. Everything that I've read includes the entire family.

[@jentrotman649]

Where do you store your wood? Odd question, I know lol. But I also have a wood stove and my indoor go rack takes up space, and then somehow 'sheds wood chips'.

[@Nourishingminimalism]

Wood does shed! We don't use wood to heat the house, it came out about equal in price, so we haven't used wood for years. When we were using wood, I found I would have to sweep/vacuum frequently.

[@MercyUS]

Rachel do you have anything that you enjoy collecting? Is is possible to be a minimalist and still have a collection of something? Thanks!

[@Nourishingminimalism]

I have a decent amount of colored pins... because I like writing in my planner. 😁 But I have to set limits on myself, because it's so easy to collect, but it's not all actually used/enjoyed.

[@tinatacklesit1448]

Love your content! Question (and it's OK if you don't want to answer): What do the markings on your right arm represent? They look so cool...

[@Nourishingminimalism]

Thanks Tina! I have 10 lines, representing all my children: 6 black lines with the first initial of my living children and 4 white lines with hearts for miscarriages. ❤️

[@tinatacklesit1448]

@@Nourishingminimalism oh my.... Such a beautiful dedication. I LOVE your channel and appreciate all that you share.

[@terricarver4873]

🌹💚🌹💚🌹

[@rgoonewardene380]

This video comes off as being quiet judgmental. Having enough cutlery and crockery to last more than one meal saves me a lot of time. I simply put things in the dishwasher, and turn it on, last thing at night. Having more than a week’s worth of clothes means, I can run fuller washing machine loads, and air-dry them, which is far more environmentally friendly. Just as an FYI, my wardrobe is an accumulation of over two decades, buying few essentials a year, and disposing of items that are in shreds.

[@Nourishingminimalism]

I'm glad you've found a system that works for you. I simply share the system I have found that works for me. No judgement. 😊

[@NLY1WAY4U]

Rachel gives us what works for her. We all have our own style of decluttering/minimizing. The benefits are amazing. Try it. You might like it.

[@lyndahayley7382]

Gee, sure hope your husband tells U how Adorable U are, & Clever too!

[@Nourishingminimalism]

😊 thank you