Filling Your Home with Things You Love

Magnets from Omoi Zakka shop

Decluttering isn't about minimalism; a decluttered home could be minimalist, but it certainly doesn't have to be. Rather, a decluttered home is filled with things that serve those who live there: things that are useful, and things that just delight the owners.

I've read a couple blog posts lately that touch on this theme. First, Small Notebook pointed me to an article subtitled Lessons learned from a thrift store rug. Here's an excerpt — but please go read the full thing, and see the before and after photos.

I want to be a minimalist. I want fewer things so I have more time and energy to create and just be. ...

And yet... I care about the things that surround us. They matter.

Minimalism isn’t so much about having few things (although it is about having few things) as it is about having the right few things. The things you need.

We recently got something we didn’t exactly need.

We had a perfectly adequate rug in our living room. ...

But then Cane ... said he'd seen this rug at the Salvation Army. A nice, big braided wool rug. The kind he really really likes.

And then there was a question on Ask Metafilter about buying art. One of the responders wrote, in part:

Do NOT buy something because it looks "nice." You have to set a higher bar. Find something that would make you disconsolate if you were to not bring it home with you. You will LIVE with this work; it's like a marriage.

And finally, here's something from a shop, rather than a blog post.

Omoi Zakka Shop stocks thoughtful items for everyday life. Taking cues from our experiences in Japan, we are drawn to quality goods that refresh and delight, be it by texture, design, or function. We feel that the best objects are the ones that make you happy to use them.