There is no doubt that minimalism has been trending online. Ever since that Netflix documentary “Minimalism” came out, the internet has become obsessed with getting rid of stuff. More specifically, people have become obsessed with owning as few things as they possibly can. I, too, have started to follow the trend.

If you asked my family about how my journey to minimalism is going, they would probably laugh. My bedroom certainly does not look like that of the guy in the minimalism documentary. I envy that guy. My closet is absolutely packed with sweatshirts--and only sweatshirts. Due to the fact that I completely ran out of space for actual clothes, I bought 2 separate racks which I have filled with more hanging clothes. And of course, I have a dresser that is also filled to capacity. I know what you must be thinking….I definitely don’t sound like much of a minimalist.

Believe it or not, a couple of years ago my room was much worse. During my sophomore year of high school, I remember having a small path in my room from the door to my bed. The rest of the floor was piled high with clothing. It wasn’t that I kept going out to buy new things. It was just that I never took the time to let anything go. I literally had a dresser full of clothing from middle school that I had grown out of, while all of my new clothing laid in a pile on the floor.

Something happened when I went to college. My habits changed. I was expected to fit everything that I would need to live for a whole year into the trunk of a car. I will be the first to admit that I totally struggled to do this...and I even had some things shipped to school because I couldn’t make them fit. However, I quickly realized that much of the stuff I brought with me to school got shoved behind my bed. I never needed it and when my parents came to visit, I sent them home with a car-full of all the stuff I never used.

I felt SO much better without all of the clutter. It did nothing but distract me from what’s important. Before I cleaned my stuff out, I could never find anything that I needed and I was constantly sifting through unimportant junk. Once the clutter was gone, everything that was in my space had a purpose. There was not a single thing that I did not need or use.

It took way less time to get ready in the morning when I only had clothes that I actually liked to wear...and I could study at my desk because it didn’t have so much clutter preventing me from spreading my books out. I was really starting to realize how much better I felt without the clutter...and I became determined to make my room at home just as clutter-free as my dorm room.

As you can probably tell from my previous description of the state of my room, this journey to minimalism has been a challenge. I find myself holding onto items if they haven’t been worn yet or if they were given to me as gifts (even if I have no intention of wearing them). It can be hard to let go of things sometimes, but I know that I’m not alone. My advice to anyone who is on this journey as well is to just let things go and don’t look back. I can assure you that you won’t miss whatever it is that you have thrown away/ donated. In fact...you’ll feel better after doing it.