A minimalist mum says her house is so empty after throwing 2,000 items away it takes just 10 minutes to clean - from top to bottom.
Lauren Tyson, 30, decided to "hire a skip and go crazy" following a travelling trip.
Having lived off just the contents of her backpack, she realised she didn't need loads of possessions.
Lauren and her husband, from Suffolk, now keep as few items as possible in their home.
She says she first became interested in minimalism two years ago - and quickly became "hooked".
Lauren said: “My husband and I went backpacking for a year where we travelled to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and New Zealand.
“It was such a chilled out and easy time - we didn’t have to think about what we wore or anything, and it was fine.
“It made us think long and hard about whether we needed most of the stuff we owned in our lives.”
“As soon as I became aware of the [minimalism] movement, I was hooked.
“The pure amount of stuff that comes with owning a house is ridiculous.
“It’s helps my mental state to have everything minimal. The less I can have the better.
“Clutter and mess stresses me out, if I know I’m going out and it’s messy I can't control."
Lauren, who used to have a job selling skincare products, and husband Roy Tyson, 36, an artist, previously lived in an old 1700s cottage in Suffolk, where they had accumulated a “mass of stuff.”
They had two boys, Roman and Lennon, aged one and five, after their travelling trip.
And it wasn't until 2021 that Lauren said she started reading up on minimalism.
She said: “When we were moving, we just though let’s get rid of everything. We hired a skip and went crazy.
“If we hadn’t used it in a while, found another home for it.
Lauren tries to always rehome items rather than throw them away, and advocates for sustainable minimalism.
She said: "I'm not a massively sentimental person.
"We have one box in the garage of children's stuff which is special paintings and crafts they have done.
"Apart from that, I have an outfit they came home from hospital, but I have trained myself to not have sentimental attachment to items."
Lauren says reaction to her minimalist living from friends and family is mainly positive.
She said: "Lots of people say it’s lovely.
"We had some comments of people saying ‘Oh have you just moved in?' Or 'Are you moving home?' But we don’t mind."
Lauren says she has a list of 'rules' she now lives by.
She said: “When you’re moving house, if you wouldn’t spent £1 to move the item, then you should get rid of it.
“The other thing is holding onto clutter, we say if you can buy it for under £5 then you don't need to hold on to it when moving.
“Everyone keeps everything thinking one day they’ll need it, but they never do.
“We don’t have lots of furniture, our lounge is sparse. We don’t have cushions on the sofas.
“We don’t have ornaments, they are just things you have to clean.
“Lot’s of people think I love cleaning, but I don’t actually enjoy it. I do a full ‘house reset’ in ten minutes.”
Lauren earns money from social media where she talks about adhering to a minimalist lifestyle.
She can make a few hundred pounds from viral videos - but is wary of doing brand advertising.
She said: “It would kind of be hypocritical if I was advertising loads of brand stuff, as I am all about not keeping lots of stuff.
“It’s more of a hobby. I would earn more if I had a full-time job. It doesn’t really pay my mortgage.”
But she says spending less money on stuff allows her and her family to continue their other passion of travel.
Lauren’s top tips for decluttering your house are:
- Start small, don't tackle a whole room at once
- Start on your wardrobe and smaller things to de-clutter at first, rather than getting overwhelmed
- Do five to ten minutes per day – you'll be surprised how much progress you can make
- Donate the stuff you get rid of to refuges and charity shops, don’t just throw it in the bin
- If you’re moving and you can buy a thing for under £5, then you don't need to hold on to it
Lauren Tyson, 30, decided to "hire a skip and go crazy" following a travelling trip.
Having lived off just the contents of her backpack, she realised she didn't need loads of possessions.
Lauren and her husband, from Suffolk, now keep as few items as possible in their home.
She says she first became interested in minimalism two years ago - and quickly became "hooked".
Lauren said: “My husband and I went backpacking for a year where we travelled to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and New Zealand.
“It was such a chilled out and easy time - we didn’t have to think about what we wore or anything, and it was fine.
“It made us think long and hard about whether we needed most of the stuff we owned in our lives.”
“As soon as I became aware of the [minimalism] movement, I was hooked.
“The pure amount of stuff that comes with owning a house is ridiculous.
“It’s helps my mental state to have everything minimal. The less I can have the better.
“Clutter and mess stresses me out, if I know I’m going out and it’s messy I can't control."
Lauren, who used to have a job selling skincare products, and husband Roy Tyson, 36, an artist, previously lived in an old 1700s cottage in Suffolk, where they had accumulated a “mass of stuff.”
They had two boys, Roman and Lennon, aged one and five, after their travelling trip.
And it wasn't until 2021 that Lauren said she started reading up on minimalism.
She said: “When we were moving, we just though let’s get rid of everything. We hired a skip and went crazy.
“If we hadn’t used it in a while, found another home for it.
Lauren tries to always rehome items rather than throw them away, and advocates for sustainable minimalism.
She said: "I'm not a massively sentimental person.
"We have one box in the garage of children's stuff which is special paintings and crafts they have done.
"Apart from that, I have an outfit they came home from hospital, but I have trained myself to not have sentimental attachment to items."
Lauren says reaction to her minimalist living from friends and family is mainly positive.
She said: "Lots of people say it’s lovely.
"We had some comments of people saying ‘Oh have you just moved in?' Or 'Are you moving home?' But we don’t mind."
Lauren says she has a list of 'rules' she now lives by.
She said: “When you’re moving house, if you wouldn’t spent £1 to move the item, then you should get rid of it.
“The other thing is holding onto clutter, we say if you can buy it for under £5 then you don't need to hold on to it when moving.
“Everyone keeps everything thinking one day they’ll need it, but they never do.
“We don’t have lots of furniture, our lounge is sparse. We don’t have cushions on the sofas.
“We don’t have ornaments, they are just things you have to clean.
“Lot’s of people think I love cleaning, but I don’t actually enjoy it. I do a full ‘house reset’ in ten minutes.”
Lauren earns money from social media where she talks about adhering to a minimalist lifestyle.
She can make a few hundred pounds from viral videos - but is wary of doing brand advertising.
She said: “It would kind of be hypocritical if I was advertising loads of brand stuff, as I am all about not keeping lots of stuff.
“It’s more of a hobby. I would earn more if I had a full-time job. It doesn’t really pay my mortgage.”
But she says spending less money on stuff allows her and her family to continue their other passion of travel.
Lauren’s top tips for decluttering your house are:
- Start small, don't tackle a whole room at once
- Start on your wardrobe and smaller things to de-clutter at first, rather than getting overwhelmed
- Do five to ten minutes per day – you'll be surprised how much progress you can make
- Donate the stuff you get rid of to refuges and charity shops, don’t just throw it in the bin
- If you’re moving and you can buy a thing for under £5, then you don't need to hold on to it
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FunTranscript
00:00 Join me in my journey to becoming a minimalist.
00:02 Over the past year, I challenged myself
00:04 to declutter our possessions.
00:05 I'd say that we have a pretty minimal home,
00:07 but I wouldn't say that we are minimalists.
00:09 I've noticed over the past few months
00:11 that things have started creeping back into our house.
00:13 And I'm the kind of person
00:14 that gets really stressed out over mess.
00:16 I've decided that today's the day
00:17 I'm gonna start my journey to minimalism.
00:19 For me, being a minimalist
00:20 doesn't just mean owning less possessions.
00:22 It's minimizing everything in my life.
00:24 Anything that doesn't bring my family joy or service at all,
00:27 we will be decluttering from our life.
00:29 I've decided to start in the kitchen
00:30 because this is somewhere we spend a lot of time.
00:32 So after going through all these boxes
00:33 of medicines and batteries,
00:34 I decided to keep what was necessary.
00:36 And when I put it back,
00:37 I actually didn't like the look of it.
00:38 And I thought to myself,
00:39 what do we do in this place in the kitchen the most?
00:41 And for us, it's where we tend to make breakfast.
00:43 So I decided to turn this cupboard into a breakfast cupboard.
00:45 The cupboard next to it is where I tend to keep
00:47 all the pasta and rice.
00:48 So again, I went through everything,
00:50 checked some dates, cleaned the cupboard down,
00:52 and then got rid of anything that we don't actually use.
00:54 And now just looking at these cupboards
00:56 brings me so much more joy.
00:57 They look clean, neat, bring me so much more peace.
01:01 Things I do in my minimalist home
01:03 that make our mornings easier.
01:04 My eldest son is four and started school this year.
01:07 To help him get ready in the morning more independently,
01:10 I bought one of these wardrobe dividers from Ikea.
01:12 There's five slots inside, one for each day of the week.
01:14 And I pop his uniform and PE kit into these
01:16 so he can just pick one out each day.