Minimalism is one of the biggest trends of the year. More and more of us are opting to have more minimal lifestyles and more minimal homes.
This could include owning fewer items, having a more minimalist approach to decor and design, having smaller wardrobes, and buying less in general.
It is a great approach to living and consuming, especially in a world where we need to all be making a difference to the environment. It also helps us feel less stressed and overwhelmed in a world that is generally quite overwhelming and overstimulating.
But how easy is it to have a minimalist lifestyle when you have children?
It’s still possible, but it complicates things, that’s for sure.
Avoidably so, children come with a lot of items. Toys, nappies, clothes, feeding equipment, car seats, buggies, the list goes on and on…
If you want to continue to live minimally and have a child, how do you do it?
Here are my 3 top tips to balance both:
Avoid trends
It’s very tempting to buy into all the cute baby and children trends that go around each year. There will always be the latest Nike trainers for babies and the latest fashion trends. Each season of the year you will be bombarded with advertisements for the newest “must-have” items.
Of course, this is the same for adults too.
But for babies and children, it is even less worth your time and money to buy into these trends. They grow out of shoes and clothes in a matter of months, weeks even for babies, and these “must-have” items end up simply clogging up your space.
To be more minimal while you have children, try to only buy what you really need. If your baby has shoes that fit them and look good, how many more pairs do you really need?
Keep things classic and avoid buying into trends
Go for quality not quantity
When it comes to buying anything for your child, go for fewer, good quality products rather than many, lesser quality products.
It is easy to get sucked into wanting your child to have as much as other children around them have, especially at Christmas time.
These days it seems to be about who has the most presents under the tree each year.
Focus instead on getting your children a few items that they can really enjoy and cherish for years.
If something breaks, try and get it fixed or repaired before you throw it out and buy something new.
Doing this will keep the number of items in your house to a minimum and it will also help your children to value their things more. It will help them grow up with a healthier attitude towards buying and will help them to understand that more doesn’t always mean better.
Recycle and donate to charity
When your child does inevitably grow out of things, get into the habit of recycling and donating them. It is easy to get attached to items and keep things out of sentimentality, but this again only ends up clogging up your house and making things feel overwhelming.
Keep the odd thing for memories sake but donate as much as you can.
It will keep your home and life minimal and it will also help out someone in need who needs to buy things second-hand.
Being minimalist in your life and your buying doesn’t just help you, it helps others around you and the wider world.
Therefore, it is worth still keeping it up as much as you can when you have children.
Millions of us making a small difference every day is the best thing we can do for the planet.
