Moving home is the perfect time to re-evaluate how you live in your home and I have been thinking about becoming more minimalist. I’m not sure I could completely embrace minimalism but it seems like an ideal way to live – all clutter, stuff, and childrens’ toys neatly stored away when they are not being used. It all sounds very appealing but I’m not sure that true minimalism can actually work with young children living in the home. I know the benefits of minimalism: less stress because everything is easy to find, a more attractive home and a home that is easier to keep clean, but I’m still not convinced it would work in reality with a family. Or if it did, it would not be conducive to a happy, carefree atmosphere for the children.

And, of course, minimalism isn’t just about de-cluttering and simply getting rid of all that stuff – it is about creating enough storage to neatly store all the things you do actually need for day-to-day living. But even if I could create enough unobtrusive storage in my new home, where everything could be hidden out of sight behind closed doors, there is more to living in a minimalist way than storing possessions away. The whole family would have to be dedicated to (or taught to be dedicated to) keeping the home that way. It would take an enormous amount of discipline on the part of everyone. The children would have to put every toy and book away after it had been used and before playing with something else.

But if I could create enough storage space and the whole family could develop this discipline then maybe our new home could be a calm, stress-free living space – no more dusty shelves stacked with books and ornaments, just beautiful pieces of furniture with clean modern lines and contemporary artworks taking pride of place. With a beautiful, calm, stress-free family living there – well, we can all dream…