14 Simple Tips for Creating a Minimalist Family Home

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Over time, your home can overwhelm you. A once cozy and welcoming interior can become suffocating due to clutter build-up. From kitchen gadgets to toys, lots of stuff in your home may hold great memories and dictate how you live your life. 

It’s time to get rid of the stuff and say goodbye to your clutter if you want to embrace simple living. One risk people run into when creating a minimalist home is too much simplification, which can create a cold and uninviting space. This article discusses tips to create a minimalist, clutter-free home that embodies warmth and character.

What Is Minimalism?

Minimalism can mean different things to different people. Some minimalists live in tiny homes, while others can fit all their belongings in a backpack. Others are guided by minimalism to define their everyday choices, what they let in and what they keep out. Although minimalism is personal, the common denominator is decluttering. Clutter can be things in your space, but it can also be bad habits, negative thoughts, and junk emails in your inbox.

What Are the Benefits of Minimalism?

Minimalism is taking the interior design world by storm for various reasons. First, it is trendy and makes spaces look lovely. Also, getting rid of stuff and living in a clutter-free space comes with many benefits, such as:

Improved Health

Minimalist living gives you more time to focus on your health. As a result, you can improve your diet, exercise more, relieve stress, and get enough sleep. Living in a home free of clutter also reduces dust and toxins build-up around stuff.

Visual Appeal

Creating extra space in your interior enables you to display beautiful furniture pieces and artwork. Besides improving the aesthetics of your room, a minimalist home enhances the appearance of your decorative elements.

Easy Cleaning

Cleaning several objects or sweeping around many furniture pieces can be tedious. The more things you have in your home, the harder you will work to keep your space clean. Minimalist living helps you keep only the things you need, making cleaning time easy and enjoyable.

Financial Freedom

Minimalism prevents you from spending huge sums of money on disposable objects. Instead, you can invest in things that will last a lifetime. This way, you achieve financial freedom.

Tips to Create a Minimalist Family Home

Here are 14 tips to help create a calm, welcoming, minimalist aesthetic home more focused on its occupants.

Declutter

Decluttering is inarguably the first step to minimalism. Minimalist homes have less stuff and clutter. Do through every room and get rid of things you no longer want. Watch out for clutter hotspots like the kitchen counter, entranceway, and tables, and formulate strategies to eliminate the clutter. A critical rule of decluttering is to work room-by-room–start with the bigger items and work your way down. 

Start with large furniture pieces before going for smaller items like books, household appliances, and décor pieces. Establish whether the items are necessary or just taking up space. This helps speed up the decluttering sessions. You can donate the items you no longer need to a homeless shelter, orphanage, or charity shop.

Make a Home for Everything

One major reason stuff builds up no matter how much time you spend decluttering is that you haven’t ensured everything has a designated home when not in use. Even if you have, perhaps your loved ones have no idea about it. For example, keys, shoes, and bags are often dumped anywhere, and you may have trouble finding them when you want to use them. So instead of letting them lie around, come up with a way of storing them. For example, you can get some hooks for your keys and a shoe rack for shoes. As for the bags, you can get a box or cupboard for them. 

Choose Your Color Palette

Color has a huge impact on your emotions. Neutral tones, pale and soft colors, and a uniform color palette are common characteristics of minimalist homes. These colors enhance openness and emphasize flow and continuity throughout your home.

Use the Space You Have

Think of the different spaces in your home and how you can use them. Ensure that each room has only what is supposed to be in it. 

Ask yourself these questions:

• Which spot do you use to read and work?
• Where do your children play?
• Which place do your friends sit when they come?

For instance, you may realize that you store all your books in the living room but never read them there. So, if you love reading in the bedroom or your kid’s room, consider moving the books there. If you find it hard to separate rooms by function, try zoning them. This is applicable in smaller homes with multi-functional rooms.

Pick Warm Lighting

Most people underestimate the role of good lighting in creating inviting spaces and minimalist interiors. Depending on your preferences, you can choose between cool, warm, or natural light. Position the lighting in strategic spots to open up your space and give it a warm feel.

Set Good Habits to Tidy as You Go

Here are some daily habits you can practice for a clutter-free home:

• Handle physical mail immediately as it comes in
• Wash your utensils after every meal
• Spread your bed after waking up
• Do not store things on the kitchen counter
• Every night, return items to their designated places
• Do not procrastinate

Be Intentional With Your Home and What You Bring Into It

Minimalist living does not mean you stop shopping. While you can still buy groceries and other items, ensure you are intentional about what you buy. Before making any purchase, ask yourself if you need the item. If the answer is negative, do not buy it.

Of course, this can be tricky, especially if you have kids pestering you to get them the latest toys. Check out activities for kids that do not require bringing something into the home without taking something out. Explain why they do not need more stuff and they will understand with time. 

Invest in Quality Items

If you buy something new, consider a quality item that will last a long time. Having a few quality items you love is better than stocking on several cheap items that will fail after a few uses. Also, beware of fast fashion items as they often originate from unethical sources and negatively impact the environment. Instead, get ethically-made items that are durable and eco-friendly. 

Embrace Simplicity

Minimalism is all about appreciating the little things in life. Once you learn to do this, you’ll discover that you do not need everything you thought you did. Also, you’ll realize how much time and resources and time you’ve wasted on things that don’t serve you. Instead of investing huge amounts of money on the latest trends, you can save it or use it to go on vacation with your lied ones.

Try the One in One Out Rule (Don’t Bring Something in Without Taking Something Out)

The one-in-one-out rule states that for every new item you get into your home, one thing has to go out. This is an excellent idea because before making a purchase, you will be forced to think if the item is more important than the other in your home. Following this rule ensures you are constantly decluttering no matter how many new items come in.

Focus on Experiences, Not Things

Over time, you will often remember the experiences you’ve had, not the things you’ve owned. Create memories with your loved ones by going for walks, playdates, camping, and night outs. These matter more than material possessions.

Start Small and Build Towards Minimalism (Don’t Try to Do Everything Overnight)

The good thing about minimalism is that you do not have to do everything at once. It’s not a race to purge everything.

You can start small and stay focused until you have everything figured out. Simple things like organizing your bookshelf and cleaning up your kitchen after cooking can go a long way to creating the clutter-free space you’ve always wanted. Work through one closet at a time to build a capsule wardrobe that defines you simplifying your life. 

Forget the Rules (You Don’t Have to Be Perfect). Do What Works for You.

One thing people tend to forget when cleaning up their spaces is that it is their home, and they can do whatever they want with it and have fun while at it. Your home is essential and has different roles depending on its occupants. So, do not convert it into a space you’d hate spending time in. Everyone has a different idea of minimalism, so do not throw away everything just because you are trying to conform to someone else’s idea of minimalism. Minimalistic design is personal.

Lead by Example

You can only teach your kids to embrace minimalism if you lead by example. Start by decluttering your space and throwing out unnecessary items. Then, encourage them to follow suit and create rules for bringing new things into the home. Also, consider explaining to them why you are living. They must understand how minimalism can make life happier and simpler.

Challenges in Creating a Minimalist Family Home

While creating a minimalist home may seem easy, it is surprisingly more complicated than it looks. You have to think through every piece of furniture and the empty spaces. The biggest challenge, however, is getting all family members on board with the idea. Some may not be as receptive as you. They may not be willing to let go of some things, and it may take much convincing before they do. 

Procrastination is another challenge when it comes to minimalist living. Many people often wait for the perfect time to start instead of just diving right into it. Minimalism doesn’t have to be an overnight thing. You can start by doing simple things like spreading your bed every morning and working your way to the harder stuff.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Minimalist Family Home for You

In conclusion, minimalism means different things to different people because we live in different parts of the world and have different family sizes and careers. Also, we enjoy different fun activities. However, minimalism centers on letting go and the idea of having only the things that can improve your life. It doesn’t mean throwing everything away to achieve a particular look. Minimalist style is personal and about owning less to focus on what’s important to your life. 

Simplify your life, build zen habits, and learn tidying habits to do every day. Remove the distraction that comes with too much stuff you don’t need or want. Learn how to organize and how to declutter your home today. Remember less is more when you look to fill your home and life.

Featured Image Credit: Depositphotos.