Minimalism isn’t just about having less in order to save money and have nothing. For this mama, it is about peacefulness and mental wellbeing for myself and my family. I am sure all mothers understand how fragile your mental health feels in the first year or two of your child’s life, not including the hormonal, physical, and mental roller coaster of pregnancy beforehand. For me, it’s so much more than just a way to fight consumerism and sustainability. While I am no perfect minimalist (because they don’t exist and everyone does minimalism in their own way), I try to be intentional about what I bring into my space. As a Stay-At-Home Mom, I am in the same spaces very often and am heavily influenced by it. I moved into the minimalism mindset roughly a year before I got pregnant with my son. It has been a little trickier holding onto it with my son and my husband having more than enough items in our space. My husband, from what I can gather, just doesn’t see the benefits of minimalism because he is not home enough to get the full effect of it. And as far as babies go, they’re very hard to not buy everything for. Marketing targets mothers and their love for their children very often, so all the cute little baby items play with your maternal instincts and emotions in a way that I very often cannot say no to. Babies have a way of making you want to give them the world and all of the things you think you wanted as a kid, but then they only play with the box. So, lessons learned.
Really though, minimalism has not only saved our space and wallet, but also lifted such a weight off of my shoulders. As I mentioned on Instagram, the mess of motherhood and children is a mess I have never liked. I don’t like to be visually distracted, constantly cleaning, or running from the clutter by leaving the house… Even though I definitely do all of those every once in a while, I try my best to be proactive about the items we own potentially bringing more stress than satisfaction. Parenting can be stressful enough at times. Mental wellbeing is much more important for your family. Not just for the sake of functionality in your house and as a person, but also for the fact that clutter just adds to the already huge load of to do’s which really push the feelings of inadequacy and general discomfort to the forefront. If your own wellness isn’t worthy of your attention, you’re setting yourself on the path to your breaking point.
In babies, minimalism is far from the norm, even in the age of the terracotta, linen, Montessori, trending parenting aesthetic. While there’s nothing wrong with a beautifully styled playroom or closet, it is hard to say no when someone already bought your child something you don’t like or won’t use. While intentions deserve a resounding THANK YOU, the extra/unwanted items in your home will feel burdensome especially when they come from someone you love dearly. So, it is important to find your boundaries early and have the conversations before they’re complicated, not just for your baby’s items, but also for yours.
And a bonus to the minimalist lifestyle is that your child is not also overstimulated or easily bored! With less toys/toy rotations, children aren’t looking at the same toys or so many toys that their brain can’t process all of the exciting new information. Not only will you benefit from minimizing visual overstimulation, but your baby will too. I don’t know how extensive of research has been done regarding children’s attention span with blinking, buttons, singing, etc. toys. However, from what I have read and can see in my child so far, the quicker the reward for pressing the buttons, the less attention my child plays with a toy and the faster he expects the world to happen. Having less toys expands your child’s creativity, too! They have to think of new ways to play with old toys and the toys aren’t the ones doing the playing. This is why the Montessori method is loved by so many-the toys are plain and children can think of ways to play with the same toys for years and use them in new ways that expand their thinking.
The key takeaway here is that minimalism in motherhood is POSSIBLE if you want it to be. As long as you know your boundaries and make them known, people should respect them. Your family deserves a peaceful environment and you have to work toward what makes your family run smoothly with the least amount of stress and the most amount of fun.
Below is my FREE Minimalism and Motherhood Printable! Filled with mindfulness questions for new moms in a journal format. I hope the questions help you explore your tendencies and your family’s goals.
Not So Motherly Instincts 