10+ Reasons Every Army Family Should Try Minimalism
I’m late to the party.
Again.
This time, the party I’m late to is the Pinterest-worthy, Instagram-featured stark white, and most importantly clean homes of the millennial generation.
Gen Z might like to knock us for our side parts and skinny jeans but one thing we have gotten right is minimalism.
Maybe not minimalism in the form of artwork, music, or literature. (Not my style, at all, actually. I hate the thought of sacrificing cultural flare for a uniform palette… but I still won’t condemn it because art, music, and lit should not please all!)
Today I’m talking about the “buzzword” version of minimalism in the modern-sense of the world: intentional, un-consumerist living in a simplified house.
10+ Reasons Every Army Family Should *Try* Minimalism
I say “try” because it’s true that not everything works for everyone. I don’t want to sit here on my corner of the internet and tell you how you should live.
But trying something is not a full-blown commitment. Maybe just try it for one PCS and see how it goes? Minimalism can be addicting, so sometimes trying it is all it takes to become a full-blown minimalist!
1. Less to Move
If you’ve ever done a dity move, I don’t need to say anything else here. You know it. You get it.
2. Less to Unpack
Even if you’ve NEVER done a dity move, anyone who has moved houses even ONCE will get this. You’ve unpacked your stuff before. You’ve hauled it. Then you’ve reorganized it. And you’ve rearranged it. It gets old. Just stop.
3. Less to Break
Am I the only one who has literally watched my furniture die in the hands of a moving team?
I know I’m not.
I still remember my guitar’s swan song as it dissappeared ON THE BACK of a mover (he was carrying it like a musician signing autographs). In my last move, I had a mover wave goodbye while hand carrying my facial steamer out the door in his arms. The “tale of the couch that was sawed in half to fit in the door” story I heard as a child was possibly fabricated but also somewhat believable. After all, the moving team sawed/snapped all four legs off my dryer during our second PCS.
Bad things happen to our good things.
The less we have of them, the less there is to break. There are less financial losses involved and less of a headache feeling frustrated that they packed a delicate glass lampshade in with your garage weight set.
4. Less Fits Better in a Variety of Houses
Fun fact: one year I had three different houses and the square footage went from 1,200 to 735 back to 1,220. All in one year.
You gotta be able to fit all your stuff in a variety of layouts, floor plans, and designs.
Otherwise, you might end up having to put furniture where it doesn’t belong (hallway piano anyone?) or use a coat closet to store anything but coats.
5. Less Claims to Makes after the Movers Break Things
Because they will.
Have you ever struggled to track down where you got something, when you purchased, and where proof of purchase might be?
I now keep a “big purchases” folder that holds the receipts of anything major I purchase (over $75, because that’s definitely major for me haha) that I would want replaced if it went missing. This could be tough for some if you’re a big spender or just have really, really nice things, so set the threshold for your bottom line.
Document what you can at least!
6. More Freedom to Redecorate
Times change, rooms change, and people change.
If you have less things, it will be easier to re-style a room. It’s a lot harder to re-style a collection of 100 floral vases and contrasting metal frames. But a simple solid-color couch and empty wall shelf can go a million ways.
This obviously doesn’t apply to everyone, as house re-decorating is not universal fun. But for those who get bored of their four walls, it’s a lot easier (and cheaper) to redecorate if you have pared down your belongings to an intentional lot of less.
7. More Opportunities to Take Fun Assignments
Trying to figure out storage while you take a whirlwind 10-month assignment to Paris could be enough of a setback to accepting it. Get rid of your stuff. Say “oui” to Paris.
(I actually had a conversation with someone who turned down an assignment to France because the thought of moving for so short a time was not worth it. <–they had other valid reasons too. And sometimes you just CAN’T accept an offer for promotion/emotion/personal reasons. But the concern over “the hassle of stuff” shouldn’t have to be one of those reasons. Most “things” are replaceable but experiences are not!)
Say “oui.”
8. More Liberty to Explore your New Surroundings
If you’ve landed somewhere that is famous for “being what you make of it” then there might not be much to explore. However, if it’s like many of the military bases around the world (in a town you aren’t from), there are likely going to be surroundings to explore and activities to try.
Instead of creating a shopping list every weekend, you’ll be able to create a bucket list every weekend. Seriously! I still keep the occasional list of “things to look for” on my phone. But the majority of my phone sticky notes are now things to do, things to remember, and thoughts that will escape me if I don’t write them down. Not shopping lists. I don’t miss the hundreds of shopping lists!
9. More Focus on Getting Involved in the Community, Make Friends… Basically LIVE
Moving is jarring enough. Changes in surrounding can be emotional. Unpacking is a hassle. Making friends can be tough. Finding enrichment activities, sports, gyms, etc can take a while. Don’t get me started on changing doctors, dentists, veterinarians, etc.
You want to spend your first couple months settling YOU, your kids, your family, your pets. Not your linens. Not your boxes and boxes of art supplies. With less stuff, there is more time to get you settled (before you get unsettled again in a couple of years).
10. More time to shine
The Army loves a volunteer. That saying is real! There will be countless times for you to volunteer, or sometimes be volunteered, and having a “ready” house will benefit you in many ways. You’ll be *more* ready to host at the drop of a dime, but also you’ll have less to take care of in your own home so that volunteering outside of it is a possibility.
11. Bonus: Less STRESS, More Energy
The last thing any military family (or non-military for that matter) needs, ever, is more stress. Less stuff = less stress. It means less strain! Less stuff = less obligations at home. It means less energy spent on things and more energy spent on each other. Every military family needs more time together!
Ready to get started?
I’m no expert, so I’ve rounded up the experts who can show us how!
STEPS FOR GETTING STARTED
Everyone has a different way of going about this. You can’t go wrong trying a variety of methods, because chances are a few of them won’t work for you and a couple will absolutely yield the results you want.
The Minimalists’ Approach
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, better known as the Minimalists, have a successful blog, popular podcast, three excellent books and renowned Netflix documentary on the minimalist movement. Their mantra is simple: “Let go of the unimportant things to make room for the important ones” (also known as “love people and use things”) and their method is simple:
- Have a packing party, where you box everything in your house up. AKA PCS for us military fams
- For the next week, only unpack the things you need. (harder to do with scrambled PCS boxes)
- After your initial week of essentials, go through the unused, boxed items and dispose of accordingly (trash, recycle, donate, sell, keep).
With our most recent PCS, we did a modified version of this. Our household goods came in two shipments (isn’t military life exciting?) and that made it a bit more challenging (HECTIC). But we tried to loosely base our unpacking upon the Minimalist’s model, unpacking slower than we ever have before so that we could be intentional about what came out of boxes (hence why we still have 3 closests full of boxes)… oops. edited: down to 1 now!
Marie Kondo
Her Netflix series made her a household name and her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has become synonymous with minimalism, even if unintentionally. Her method, though ordered on the principle of keeping things tidy and organized, has helped countless hoarders become minimalist. (After all, who wants to fold 75 t-shirts into triangles?)
Her take on decluttering is very methodical. Those who have had success with it emphasize that order matters. Kondo recommends that items be minimized in units, meaning that all the items of a single category be gathered and dealt with in the same exact spot (all household clothes gathered into one space to be minimized, etc).
Her categories must be completed in this order:
- Clothes (all wardrobe including shoes, jewelry, accessories)
- Books (text, decorative, homework, art, fiction, children’s, etc)
- Papers (school papers, magazines, fridge displays, desk drawers, bills, receipts, car stash)
- Kimono (household things: kitchen items, bathroom products, decor, toys, linens, etc)
- Sentimental items (photos, cards, gifts, dried flowers, baby’s first hair cut clippings, etc)
These categories are ordered to build upon each other in a snowball effect, starting with what is the easiest to declutter (everyone can tell if a ripped sweater is bringing them joy or not) and to end with the hardest items (will I ever need this hair clipping or baby’s first napkin in the future?)
Her mantra is “Only keep what sparks joy” and it’s effective as a minimalism tool because surely there are a lot of things in every house that do not spark joy. (like 3 closests full of boxes)
Non-Method Methods
If subscribing to a certain decluttering style is not to your taste, Youtube has a ton of modified approaches. I like videos by Sarah Therese and Pick Up Limes. While neither of them are channels dedicated to the “art” of minimalism, both have great discussions and tips on the movement.
Pinterest is chock full of 30 day decluttering challenges and minimalism checklists. If you follow me on Pinterest (or check out the side bar) you can see the pins I’ve been saving lately. They are all about this topic!
Lately, I’ve downloaded a lot of books on my kindle (how minimalist haha) and think the following titles are worth a read!
More Than Enough: How One Family Cultivated A More Abundant Life Through A Year of Practical Minimalism by Miranda Anderson
My Year with Marie Kondo: A Magical Year of Tidying Up by Dana L. Jacobson
Stop Buying Bins: & Other Blunt but Practical Advice From a Home Organizer by Bonnie Tomlinson
Miss Minimalist by Francine Jay
Personally, I like to do a mix of ebook inspiration, Youtube declutter tutorials, and Pinterest challenge pins.
This month, I wanted to complete a 14 Day challenge…nothing too big or life-changing. I created a 14 day decluttering challenge that was a mix of “the bad” (the unpacked closets…oof) with some “neutral” or high traffic areas in the home (craft supplies) that could use some love.
While this challenge certainly did not transform my house, it filled up a donation bin and excited my “minimizing” appetite for the coming months of spring cleaning. It wasn’t as fun as some other challenges I’ve seen (those digital detox and journalling ones look way cooler) but it was tailored to my household’s needs. Play around with category options and create your own challenge to get started!
Last but not least, leave a comment below if I’ve missed something! How do you think minimalism compliments the Army lifestyle? And how did you get started?
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10+ Reasons Why Every Army Family Should Try Minimalism
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