About a year ago, I made a video titled “Goodbye, Minimalism” where I shared how what had
started out as curiosity and a desire to simplify, had turned into deprivation and obsession.
I had simply taken it too far; drifting further and further away from minimalism and entering
the territory of compulsive decluttering, defined as “a pattern of behavior that is
characterized by an excessive desire to discard objects from one's home and living areas.”
Home wasn’t a fun place to hangout anymore.
It felt dull and incomplete.
Luckily, my dog is black and white, otherwise, I would’ve probably gotten rid of him, too,
since he wouldn’t have fit into the aesthetic.
I knew I needed to re assess myself and my way of living.
A lot has changed in this past year.
I’ll gladly go to a flea market and purchase some things without overthinking it or feeling
guilty.
I’m happy to have five different jackets to choose from, rather than only one go-to.
Getting dressed hasn’t been this fun in years.
I’ve slightly expanded my color palette.
I still love a good neutral, but with sprinkles.
I’m okay with owning things because they’re simply cool, fun, unique or beautiful.
Those are all good reasons for me.
Minimalism has left me with some useful principles that I’ll permanently carry with me.
I continue to live with intention and to not surround myself with things that don’t bring
value.
But it’s my definition of value that has expanded.
Value, defined as: the importance or worth of something for someone: or, how useful or
important something is.
I’ll buy souvenirs from my travels, something that’s been a big no-no for a long time
now.
I’m okay with keeping things that have nothing but sentimental value.
I like going through old drawers and recalling fond memories.
It’s not clutter, it’s part of my story.
Like this book I bought in Paris.
It’s a heavy read, it’s in French, I probably won’t be able to read it, ever, in this
lifetime.
It’s not even a coffee table book, so it’s not adding to the decor either.
But it reminds me of a good couple days I’ve had in my mid 20s.
So when some tiny family member in the future asks why Miss Lana has a book in French, I’ll
be able to tell them the story about when I went to Paris all alone for no reason at
all.
Whenever I’m re-assessing something in my life, or going through a change or when I’m
trying to make a life-decision, I use a very simple system, one that I like to call “simple
inventory” and it consists of three parts.
This portion of the video is sponsored by Notion.
You all know notion is my go-to note taking software although it’s so much more than
that.
It’s how I plan things out, how I coordinate my life, how I keep track of appointments,
habits and more.
I’ve used this system for years, using pen and paper, but keeping it in Notion means
it’s available to me everywhere at any time; you just can’t beat that.
I have an entire workspace in Notion dedicated to “simple inventory”, and I will share
the templates with you in the description box so that you can use it for your own Notion
page.
Let’s break it down: Step 1: Simply take inventory of the situation,
pairing the visual with an emotion:
So, when it came to my home, what I did was, I walked around and honestly assessed what
I liked vs didn’t like about it, really taking note of the connections between how
I was feeling and what it is that was making me feel that way.
So, for example:
I didn’t like the lack of colors in my home (that’s the visual) it made it feel lifeless
(that’s the emotion).
I liked some of the vases I had thrifted (visual) . They came with a story and they added an
element of warmth (emotion).
I didn’t like how empty my kitchen counters were (the visual) As someone who views the
kitchen as the heart of the home, it made the entire space feel empty and joyless (emotion).
Step two is to take what you’ve written, and convert it into two lists: “I want less
of….
And I want more of…”.
Here’s an example.
In step one, I wrote that I liked thrifted vases because they added warmth, so in step
2, that translated into the following:
I want…
Less conventional items, more personal items Less trend, more story
Less impersonal spaces, more warmth
I then take that into a third column, which is, “what can or should I do about that?”
Sometimes, it’s as simple as “go thrifting”.
Other times, the answer is “go to therapy.”
I like starting out with a toggle list for this one where I line up every potential solution
that comes to mind.
If I feel like writing freely instead, I’ll simply create a new page.
There are so many options of what you can do with Notion, so just go with what you prefer.
The third and final, crucial step in the simple inventory system is the visual aspect.
I hand-pick photos from different corners of the internet, and add them into different
albums.
The photos are a clear indication of where I’m at in life, where my mind is at and/or
what I desire.
For example, if I’m drawn to very moody, dark, melancholic stuff, and a lot of heartbreak
quotes, it may indicate that I’m not the happiest I’ve ever been right now.
As for these albums, I’d describe them as joyful and hopeful.
They’re light and don’t take life too seriously.
They tell me I have a desire to express myself more and to be more experimental.
To be more bold.
And more spontaneous.
Now, why is this important?
Well, visuals help gain clarity, in two ways mainly:
Firstly, Do these photos align with the reality of my own life?
Yes?
No?
Slightly?
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Let’s say all your pictures are of the countryside, wearing sundresses and playing with horses.
Meanwhile, you live in a cold, big city.
That can be a useful data point, as it may indicate whether you’re on the right path
or not, and whether you're living and building the life you want.
Secondly, you can compare the notes you took in the previous step, to the photos you’ve
collected.
Let’s say you wrote wanting more spontaneity – can you see that in the photos?
You may notice that there’s a disconnect between what you’re communicating through
text, vs. what you’re communicating visually, and that’s okay, because look, we don’t
always know what we want.
Sometimes, we just like the idea of something, the fantasy we have about it.
This stuff is complicated, but laying it all out there like this has helped me so much
so many times in my life.
I always keep the notion app on my iPhone and on my iPad too so that I can have access
to it at all times.
Sometimes I’ll randomly get a thought or find a photo I like and I want to instantly
be able to put it in Notion.
As for the data points I collected, I definitely noticed a disconnect, in two areas mainly:
my personal style, and my home.
We all value different things.
Some people see their home simply as a place of shelter; a place to sleep, while others
view it as their sanctuary.
As an introvert with two friends, you can probably guess what my home means to me.
To some, getting dressed is just another thing they have to do, while to others, it’s an
enjoyable process where they get to be creative.
As a kid, like many other kids, I loved playing dress-up.
I was Hermione Granger one day, and Pippi Longstockings the dress.
In my teens I had a gothic phase and a bohemian phase.
I’ve always enjoyed using clothes as a form of self-expression; not just to the world,
but to myself, too.
As an adult, my values look different.
Being intentional and mindful of my consumption, as well as keeping my space clean and neat,
are more important to me than having a closet full of things that I can play with.
But I also don’t want to walk through life feel like an extra at a set as I’m out and
about in the world.
I want to have fun with it.
One way of doing that has been purchasing more clothes and accessories second-hand.
It’s allowed me to get some new pieces at a bargain and, I mean, circular living is
super cool.
The same goes for things like eating.
Yes, the whole point of eating is to survive, but to some, it’s more than that.
It can be an artform, a time where loved ones come together.
For example, to me, beautiful plates add to the experience.
While my dream is to have a kitchen filled with pots, jars, cutlery, cups, tools of different
materials, patterns and colors, it’s simply not convenient in my small Stockholm apartment.
So until then, I’m very happy with the small editions that I’ve made, many of which have
been through supporting more small businesses.
I’ve really been enjoying sites like Etsy and randomly finding local artists on places
like Instagram.
Most people probably fall somewhere in the middle.
Personally, I value adding something special to even the most mundane experiences.
Like, drinking water.
Adding a couple slices of cucumber or lime just takes it up a notch.
I refer to those tiny adjustments as “life-enhancing touches”.
I think to me, this shift represents something more.
Minimalism to me was, to a large part, about playing it safe.
Like, you can’t go wrong with white walls.
It’s never going to be out of style, it’s neutral, it’s always going to work.
And that’s how we often walk through life.
And while that’s wise to some extent, playing it too safe can and will hold you back in
many areas of life.
So add a little boldness.
A little more daring.
A bit more risk.
— For so long, I thought life was about finding
oneself.
But now, I don’t think there’s such a thing as becoming your true self.
My true self is now.
It always has been, every second I’ve lived has been my true self in that very moment,
and that self is constantly evolving and changing.
The self is not some destination to be reached; the self is all the time, it’s the journey.
Some things evolve with us, some things we outgrow.
And if we’re smart, we’ll carry with us the good bits from each experience.
I continue to carry much of the minimalist mindset with me, just with some added sprinkles.
Watch me make a video next year titled “I’ve become a hoarder.”
Don’t forget to check out Notion.
I will leave the templates down below.
I’ll talk to you soon.