Living with a non-minimalist

..Or more like how he lives with minimalist me..

Now I think we can all agree that becoming minimalist is a choice and can come at many different scales for many different reasons.

Some of the main things that spurred me towards a minimalist lifestyle is:

• As a designer I’m a bit obsessed with style and visually pleasing environments - to me less stuff helps with that.

• Less stuff also means less anxiety and responsibilities. By this I mean, with every product you buy theres the upkeep/maintenance that comes along with it. e.g. Owning a car also means insurance, tax, petrol, services, cleaning .. and the list goes on. Now I’m not saying don’t own things but know their full cost to you.

• I’d prefer to invest in spending time with people/doing activities or saving towards a bigger or necessary things.

It’s not easy.. Lets start there.

Now my other half is the main person I live with.. We’ve lived together for a few years now and he moved in with a, lets say, decent amount of ‘things’. I just about managed to persuade him that the Simpsons comic collection (he didn’t realise he still had) should stay at his mums house for the time being…haha!

I think because I had already been listening to my minimalist inspirations and had to clear out my room ready for Ash moving in, I was already in the mindset.

To be fair to him he loves his things and loves to have them on show.. whereas I clear everything away! Ah!!!

In my own head its a constant battle between my own OCD to clean and accepting what he loves.

Now.. a lot of the time its my own obsessiveness that takes hold but theres certain things I look at to create a space which we both enjoy spending time in.

• We have minimal amount of cabinet tops/furniture.

  It’s simple - the less space on the top of furniture, the less places we can just put things.

  The things that are placed on top of cupboards etc. are specifically put there e..g plants/radio/clock/lamps.

• We agree to a space which I can’t get my hands on.

  His bedside table is his.. So however many ‘ornaments’, mugs or other bits and bobs sit there, I try oh so very hard to say nothing. This is solely his space.

• I remind myself that I am not perfect.

  Minimalism is not an exact thing to stick by. I do not stick by my own ‘rules’ sometimes so why should I ask someone else to. Also some days I am full on OCD minimal and others lets be honest, I just can’t be bothered.

We have a pretty chilled relationship and I appreciate every day that Ash accepts my organisation madness! If you want to see a peek into our little room we (kind of) call our own (in my parents loft haha) I’ve got a post talking about Tiny Living vs. My Living and how we slowly are investing in Interior Decor for my Future Home.

There are MANY things that are difficult about living with someone, without minimalism coming into it at all. If you have recently or are planning on moving in with someone, let me know what you’re most exited about!!!