Cleaning is Not Minimizing

e·piph·a·ny   [ih-pif-uh-nee]

A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Today was the first day of my quest to become a minimalist and I had an epiphany. As noted above I had this epiphany while doing a simple, commonplace task: minimizing/cleaning my living room.

First, let me say that I am committed to figuring this minimalist thing out and embracing it. For starters I decided that I need to minimize the things in my house.

Okay, acknowledging you have a problem is the first step. So far so good. Second, get the significant other (now known as "wife" on board). This was easy as she volunteered. She hates all the "stuff" we have cluttering the place up. More than once I have seen her angrily throwing things off her desk in search of a missing bill or Macy's coupon that is about to expire. Every time I need to get something out of the garage she stands behind me muttering things like, "I hate the garage... I hate all this shit!" Thus, she is on board for minimizing.

Great, so we both acknowledge there is a problem and we are both motivated to change. Now what?

Small changes, right? Do one thing at a time, right? Yesterday I cleaned up my nightstand and it felt great. I did it in small steps:

1. Remove everything onto the bed.

2. Clean the surface.

3. Put back only the essential things that I really want there (watch, jewelry I wear, my Kindle and my journal and a lamp.)

This worked great, so I figured I would start on the living room. I went in with the same basic plan. I moved furniture out, cleaned the floor and the shelves and the tables, and then started placing things back into the room. It looks great, only one thing... nothing went bye bye. Sure, it's cleaner, more organized, but all the same stuff is still in the house. No minimization happened.

This is not what I am after.

Obviously, I need a plan for actually getting rid of excess stuff, and I need to realize that minimizing is a process that will take some time and thought. Although a big fire is not entirely off the table.

Tomorrow... The basic plan!