Jul 13, 2018

The life-changing magic of NOT tidying up

Owning as little as you can means you have almost nothing to tidy up.

Which means you won't have to brainwash yourself with the life-changing magic of tidying up.

Which means you won't have to waste time on chores like... making your bed.
Our bed (for 2). 1x queen mattress, 1x queen fitted sheet, 1x queen comforter, 1x memory foam pillow, 1x body pillow (concealed by comforter).

Because when you have that few things, it's hard to ever create big messes to tidy up.

Serenism isn't about getting in the habit of arranging and organizing everything to look perfect or showroom-ready all the time. It's about not having to because of the lack of things.

Think of how much time you could save on tidying up. Or money, if you hire cleaners to constantly put away your stuff. I won't even get started on the math. But if you derive joy from tidying up and/or throwing away money to hire cleaning help, then by all means, continue to do so. Or, if you're somehow okay with becoming like the Hoarders.

But... How can we not make our bed?

Because it's not worth the daily effort to straighten out a single comforter. And all our bedding is white by choice. The un-straightened comforter and the less-than-perfectly positioned pillow blend into a visually acceptable white mixture. Remember what I said above about not having to look perfect? Plus, it's also healthier to not make your bed.

Don't we need a bed frame? A box spring? A headboard? Bedside tables?

No, no, no and no. Our mattress is perfectly fine being directly on the ground. Headboards are dust magnets. Bedside tables are clutter magnets. Seriously, how many things do you really have to sleep next to?

Why is there only 1 pillow? Is this really a bed for 2?

The pillow and body pillow belong to... the hubby. I'll let you in on a secret that shocks many... I GAVE UP MY PILLOW. And body pillow. About a year ago.

I grew up all my life having a pillow, and for the most part, with a body pillow. But truth be told, I'd never been 100% satisfied with any pillow, be it generic or some brand-name memory foam. And morning after morning, I would find my body pillow at least a few feet away from me, if not on the floor. Which meant I didn't need one while sleeping. So if I hated my pillow and I wasn't using my body pillow, why keep them around?

So I challenged myself to sleep with neither. The hubby rolled his eyes at me and said I'd regret it. Turns out he was wrong. It felt weird the first couple of days, but I got used to it, and before long, I forgot I ever had those pillows on my bed. Bonus: I no longer have to adapt to foreign pillows while sleeping away from home now.

And yes, the hubby gets to keep his pillow(s). His threshold for what he needs to sleep with is different from mine. And for those who have back/neck/apnea problems, it's perfectly fine to stay with your current pillow setup. I'm not telling you to toss your pillow if it that means kissing your beauty sleep goodbye.

My point is simply this:

If you challenge yourself to forgo something you thought you always needed, you might surprise yourself like I did.

And you'll be surprised at the life-changing magic of forgoing those things you once had to tidy up.

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