How do you escape obsession?

[bluepianist]

I watched the Netflix documentary called "Minimalism" and loved it...but also hated the world afterwards. This was about two years ago. Today I'm still obsessed with minimalism. I used to own about what the average person owns, and since then I've tried to minimize my personal items. Every time my room gets messy, I go through a lengthy process of putting items away to donate. Then I reorganize the whole dang space again and again.

It doesn't help that my family isn't exactly on the same wavelength as me either. When the whole house is messy I feel like I can't function + I don't have the motivation to clean 50% of the time.

So I guess my question is: how do you learn to live with the mess?

[HelpingElbow]

Hi bluepianist

You seem to defend both sides of the situation. Hence, you might never arrive at a solution.

You say you can't live in a mess and at the same time you say you're in no mood to clean it. This is not OCD!

Come on, make your mind and clean the room. Don't be in a mess.

[bluepianist in reply to HelpingElbow]

This reply just upped the anxiety. Please be respectful in your responses

[Hidden]

You appear to have healthy cleanliness and tidiness of your room, your room is the one thing you can control. But...something stands out...I can’t imagine that you would collect more stuff after donating it to downsize. OCD would have you not let things get unorganized, you’d be obsessive about keeping everything in its rightful place, turned a certain way, etc. not let it get messy again.

And add to the mix, the rest of the household doesn’t follow your methods, so your having anxiety not ocd.

[McK456]

Hi bluepianist, I have not seen the documentary, but when I’m in an episode, usually depression, I purge items. Just coming out of an episode now and I donated 3 bags of my clothing.

I am not a clean freak by any stretch, but I know I feel more calm when things are orderly. One trick I’ve come up with is setting my timer for 15 minutes & doing what I can. Even tonight, being on this site, I’m allowing myself one hour to read & respond. I find it encouraging to read the thoughtful replys......& it’s actually calming too.

If you don’t mind me asking, has becoming a minimalist helped you. I’m asking because I have a lot stuff & I pretty much wear the same items over & over.

[bluepianist in reply to McK456]

Thanks for the reply! And yes, minimalism has been very helpful. Though, it can be a long process and may include lots of donating and what not. I believe that it is worth it in the end. It's also best to start off with smaller goals. And continue to achieve small goals throughout the process. If you make a goal to be a minimalist in just a week, you might stress yourself out! So my advice is to take it slow.

[Hidden]

All I can say is you can only control yourself, not the other people in your house. Live the way you want to but let them live how they want to.

[bluepianist in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the advice.