The Enemy of Minimalism: Sentimental Feelings.

Explore the challenges of minimalism when facing sentimental feelings. Discover strategies to navigate the emotional attachment to possessions and create a balanced minimalist lifestyle.
 

Oh Sentimental feelings…
The quilt that Great-great-grandma made…
The coffee cup one of the boys painted for me in school… but I can’t use because he painted the inside and it wasn’t non-toxic paint…
The antique doll stroller that was my moms and probably my grandma’s…
Oh and I heard an interesting one today: The first bra she ever wore.
How on earth can someone get rid of the things that evoke such strong emotions?
So I started asking myself some questions:

  • Do I love it? Does it makes me smile? Is it beautiful to look at?
  • Do I use it? Um… to collect dust? That counts… right?!
  • Does it bring me peace? What if the kids break it?! What will he say if he doesn’t see it sitting out?

The only thing that fit into that (from my short list above) was my great-great-grandma’s quilt. It’s now hanging on the wall.
The rest of the items? Did not make the cut. (And that bra thing- that wasn’t me. Honestly. I was thrilled to toss my old training bras in the trash and graduate into something that had a size!)
How about you? What are you struggling to get rid of?
For more minimalism inspiration, click here.

About Rachel Jones

Hi there! I’m Rachel Jones, and I founded Nourishing Minimalism in 2012 at the beginning of my minimalist journey. If you're looking for encouragement in your journey, I created a FREE Facebook Group - feel free to join me there: Nourishing Minimalism Facebook Group and I share videos each week on YouTube

1 Comment

  1. Karen Moberg on 02/23/2015 at 6:57 pm

    Been interesting reading your views on this topic but being older all I can say is that I am so thankful that my great grandparents on down saved things. If not for those scraps of papers and some other things I would have lost a lot of history that cannot be passed down for future generations. Yes I know that it can all be scanned and documented in other ways but seeing the actual papers and working with the same tools they used gives a special feeling. Guess I am not a minimalist. Although I am all for getting rid of stuff that I don’t need or won’t use.

Leave a Comment