Mooding for Minimalism

If you've browsed my recently created Pinterest boards, you'll know my overall interior design style is Modern.  In reality, my tendency towards minimalistic space planning - that is, the layout of interior spaces that promote the "less is more" ideology - has been an ongoing struggle for me in my personal space.  Yes, my interior styling at home is minimalistic.  However, it only takes literally a 24-hour period for the accumulation of "stuff"....keys, book bags, toys, mail, shoes, clothes, random paper etc. to overtake me.  I marvel at times and other times, well...I just go berserk!  It's quite funny actually and my husband gives me a side look and says "ok, calm down babe...we'll help you clean up."  Sure he will...until the next time. ;-) I sat this past Sunday in my den thinking and thinking and thinking..."where does all this STUFF come from so quickly?".  If you are a true minimalist, the ongoing creation of new storage is not the solution.  Packing the "things" away for the sake of not seeing them and to make your space look tidy is not true declutter.  A minimalists belief is to eliminate the distractions that keep us from fully appreciating life and, as such, the less stuff we have cluttering our homes (and the less “to-do’s” cluttering our time), the more energy we can devote to the things that are truly important to us. So, what does a girl do with her collection of old Metropolitan Home and Marie Claire magazines? How do I make my family put their "things" in their designated place everyday?  How does one maintain this minimalist home?  I personally believe there are no real answers for these questions.  You'll find on the internet a ton of articles that start with "Top 10 Ways to Declutter...Stay Organized...Live the Minimalist Life"...yada yada yada!  I say, be the visionary of your space, keep those mental images of what your minimalist space should reflect and simply take it day by day. As fellow blogger Miss Minimalism states "minimalism isn’t about emptiness for the sake of emptiness — but rather making room to move freely, think clearly, and open ourselves to the beauty and wonder of life".  I tend to agree. ~ Just Another Day in the Life of All Things Taj