Minimalist mum has thrown away 1,000 items - and now guests have to use paper plates

2023-08-17 6

Meet the minimalist mum who has thrown away 1,000 items from her home - and is now forced to use paper plates for guests.

Dagbjört Jónsdóttir, 39, first began adopting minimalism 10 years ago after finding herself "overwhelmed" with the clutter in her house.

She divided her property up into sections and for the past decade has been removing at least two items per week from each section - before moving on to the next.

The mum-of-two has said goodbye to sofas, chandelier lights, dishes, glasses, mugs, clothes, towels and much more.

She doesn't keep her children's drawings, instead opting to photograph them and store them digitally.

Dagbjört has also removed everything that her grandparents and parents left her - including old clothes and jewellery - as she "doesn't see the need in them."

The family have only have one set of cutlery and plates each.

Mum-of-two Dagbjört says she and her family quickly began to notice a change in their mood and were much happier having less things.

They now prioritise experiences over objects - with Dagbjört saying her children prefer "going to the beach" than playing with toys.

A minimalist lifestyle is the idea of living with fewer items and only using what you really need.

Dagbjört, a freelance marketer, originally from Iceland but now living in Odense, Denmark, said: "I've been living all around the world and I've been moving a lot and realised I didn't need all of these items.

"I began my journey about 10 years ago.

"I was overwhelmed when I got home every day and saw all the things I didn't need.

"I made a plan to declutter two items per week and after two years I realised that I could maintain that journey bit by bit.

"I started to notice a lot of change in myself and my family. We were much happier.

"Because we've gotten rid of so much, when we have people over, we eat with paper plates because we only have a few of everything.

"We only have one towel each and we don't have a lot of clothes. Just enough for a few outfits."

Dagbjört says that becoming a minimalist was about figuring out how to change her way of living.

She said: "When you look around you can have enjoyment just from jumping in the rain with your kids, you don't need working items.

"I started noticing my kids playing with toys less and now we have empty cupboards, and we go out and see the world together - we don't need anything.

"First it was putting items in a box and keeping it for a year and if I didn't touch it then I'd get rid of it.

"But now I don't get attached to anything, sentimental or not.

"For me, it's to have the feeling within and enjoy life.

"If you do too much it's easier to quit as you've gotten rid of too much.

"Now, when people give us gifts, they know us now and they give us experiences rather than items."

Dagbjört explained that her reasoning behind dividing up the house was to help her not become overwhelmed during the clear out process.

She said: "I divide my home into 12 sections and declutter