minimalism | figuring out when it's time to declutter

I'm trying to pinpoint the exact moment when I became sort of neurotic about minimalism. was it last week when I borrowed five books about decluttering from the library? or was it the week before when i read forty amazon reviews on a book about organization to find out if it was "truly" the right one to purchase? (i did, and it wasn't). Maybe it was last year when we welcomed our new son and I became aware of all the things that come with having a child.

No, I think it was the year before when we moved across the country and I discovered we hadn't really used that opportunity to cleanse ourselves. We had paid movers to bring all of our belongings to our new apartment in Ontario. After much discussion, we decided that it would be cheaper than buying new things. Eight Thousand Dollars later, with a charge per pound, there I was staring at a couch that was falling apart, clothing we never wore and an endless series of electrical cords for devices that had met their maker years before.

White Dwarf by An Te Liu - this sculpture is featured at the gallery I work at.

 It's a giant death star of outdated technology so it seems appropriate to interject here.

To make matters worse, we were back in our home province where our parents had been storing things for us. More specifically, where my husband had been keeping a storage unit. Every day, he would bring home a box of antiquated belongings, including vhs tapes, knife sets, key chains, plastic binders, floppy disks, and storage containers for floppy disks! Jackson's soon to be nursery was a frightening landscape of outdated technology, unused stationery and tchotchkes.

And for that reason, having a baby is the best thing that ever happened to us. Although we desperately need an office or studio space (especially me, working from home), Jack's imminent arrival forced us to clear the clutter and create this beautiful space.

But of course, as mentioned above, babies come with their own baggage. And so it's safe to say that I've been on a minimalism spree for awhile now. I've been taking it more seriously lately (hence the research). I'll talk more about it in future posts, but for now, I see some things that need to be tossed...