A minimalist shares seven ways to live with less and still keep smiling | At Home with Marni

I have a personal question for you. Only you can answer, but you should ask: How much is enough? In a world of hoarders and minimalists, where do you fall on the continuum, and where would you like to fall?

I’ll tell you, if a hoarder is a 10 and a minimalist is a one, I’m a 3.5. I’d like to be a three. I don’t like clutter. I battle it daily. But I do like my stuff: my collections, my clothes, my books, my jewelry, my artwork, my travel memorabilia, my dishes, much of which, some could argue, is unnecessary.

Giving up much more feels like giving up coffee. Why? I don’t want to live an austere life. I do, however, want to live a well-edited life. And purging our excesses, my friends, like eating right and exercising, which are also good for you, takes discipline.

While I don’t strive to be a vegan ultra-triathlete monk, I do aim for self-improvement and welcome tips and insights that lead toward better living.

Stuff – mine and yours – has been on my mind since I spoke last week with former “Hoarders” host Matt Paxton. He and I talked about what makes hoarders hoard, why they have such a deep need to accumulate and cling, and about the other extreme, minimalism, which he’s learned to embrace since merging households with minimalist Zoë Kim.

Curious about what drives minimalists to whittle their belongings to the essentials, I got Kim on the phone. An active Instagramer (@RaisingSimple) and author of “Minimalism for Families” (Althea Press), Kim kicked off our conversation with a disclaimer: “First,” she laughs, “I am not an organized person. Organizing is torture for me. I don’t want to make lists or fold clothes. I learned that the easiest way to organize your stuff is to get rid of it.”

Hard to argue with that.

Her journey toward minimalism began 12 years ago, she said. She was looking for ways to create less waste in her kitchen and saw photos of a minimalist’s home. “I felt jealous of all the freedom she had from stuff.”

She began embracing the lifestyle. As more kids came along – she’s a mother of four and, since blending families in November 2020 with Paxton, added his three to the household – she wanted to make sure her home and life didn’t get overwhelmed with stuff.

“I don’t necessarily love the task of decluttering, but I am highly attuned to benefits,” she said. “I crave that outcome.” Her trigger is stuff on the floor, whether it’s the kids’ clothes or sofa pillows the dogs knock down.