A Minimalist's View of Frozen's Anthem: Let it Go

I was teasing my mom recently because she's been talking about the movie Frozen for weeks now. She bought the movie because she heard it was good. I have not yet seen it, but of course, I can sing the entire theme song from memory because it's just so popular! Well, I think the title of that song has some great advice. So, I'll write this post while being completely ignorant about the context of this song, and we'll just wing it.

LET. IT. GO.



I'm talking about anything and everything in your home that causes you to cringe when you walk by it. Do you have a pile of items sitting in a junk drawer that you can stand to look at? Well, let's let Elsa do the talking here. We'll take chunks of the lyrics and apply them to minimalism. This should be fun!

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation,
And it looks like I'm the queen.

Alright, so here we have the perfect intro: your house is your kingdom and if it was cluttered up like mine a few years ago, you'd feel like the queen of a great treasure trove. But it does feel a bit isolated because you don't have the room to really breathe and enjoy your home. What's next, Elsa?

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!

By now, you know there's something not quite right in your life, and you really do want to make some changes. Where do I start? How do I even begin to tackle the clutter in my life? You've tried to buy some organizational totes and you're too embarrassed to admit you totally fell for those bags that you stuff full of extra bedding, sweaters, and sheets that you really don't need, only to realize as you're sucking out the air out of the bags with your vacuum cleaner attachment, that you'll just be tossing these to the back of the closet once you've sealed them in their tomb.

Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know!

Crap, you have visitors and they showed up at the most inopportune time. Why didn't they call beforehand so you could do some speed cleaning?! How are you supposed to tidy up the house when you hear that knock on the door?

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door!

No, no, don't lock the door and run away in shame! This is your chance to make some big changes in your life. You don't need to speed clean once you have decluttered your home. Why? Because everything has a home and nothing is left strewn about. You'll look like the queen on your kingdom and everyone will wonder just how you keep your house so tidy. They may comment how well-polished the home looks and you can probably get away with those unswept floors if people aren't focusing on a pile of magazines or other items that tend to pile up.

I don't care
What they're going to say
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway!

This is the attitude you will have AFTER you've made peace with donating any unnecessary items and letting go of those things you thought you needed. Once you realize that your home has a profound effect on your mental well-being and ridding yourself of the clutter can actually improve your outlook and attitude, then you'll be donating like crazy. Some people may not understand you or why you're letting go of things in your home. That's okay, and you should remember that this change only matters to you!

It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all!

Once you see your possessions as what they really are, whether they be useful to you now, or five years ago, it will be so much easier to decide what stays and what goes. I'm not saying you'll be packing everything up, but you'll realize you really don't need three extra sets of bedding or 50 t-shirts. You'll soon be free of those preconceived notions and feel good about helping someone else out by donating an item that was once useful to you but is now surely much more useful to someone else today.

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I'm free!

So what are you waiting for? You can totally do this. There are no rules to minimalism. It is what you make of it. If that means removing items from your home, that's great! If you find that reducing the amount of time commitments you make each week is helpful to ease your mind, then that's also another way to minimize. Don't compare your journey to anyone else's, because it's a deep-rooted change that takes place, and it looks different for everyone.

Best of luck to everyone during their journey into minimalism, and I'd love to hear how it goes.

Helpful Minimalism Blog Posts
Embracing a Minimalist Lifestyle
Sell your crap. Pay off your debt. Do what you love.
Top 5 Reasons for Cutting the Clutter
Cutting the Clutter: The 5 C's to More Happiness
5 Lessons I've Learned by Decluttering
Cutting the Clutter: Kitchen Revamp