A minimalist mom who threw out 1,000 items from her home has thrown away so much that she’s now forced to use paper plates for guests.
Dagbjört Jónsdóttir, 39, originally from Iceland but now living in Odense, Denmark, first started practicing minimalism 10 years ago after finding herself “overwhelmed” by the clutter in her home.
She divided her property into sections, and for the past ten years she has removed at least two items a week from each section – before moving on to the next.
The mother of two has said goodbye to sofas, chandeliers, plates, glasses, mugs, clothes, towels and much more.
Dagbjört Jónsdóttir, 39, originally from Iceland, got rid of most of her family’s belongings and now everyone has only two outfits each
Dagbjört first started minimalism 10 years ago, after finding herself “overwhelmed” by the clutter in her home.
Dagbjört Jónsdóttir’s minimalist kitchen. She got rid of most of the things and each family member has only one set of cutlery, one glass and one plate
She does not keep her children’s drawings, but chooses to photograph them and store them digitally.
Dagbjört has also removed everything her grandparents and parents have left her – including old clothes and jewelry – because she “sees no point in it.”
The family only has one set of cutlery and plates each.
Mother-of-two Dagbjört says she and her family soon began to notice a change in their mood and were much happier with less stuff.
They now prioritize experiences over objects – with Dagbjört saying her children would rather “go to the beach” than play with toys.
The sitting room in Dagbjört’s house. She got rid of all the appliances, including the dryer and microwave, but still has a TV
Dagbjört’s children have kept some toys, but she says they would rather go to the beach than play with things at home
A minimalist lifestyle is the idea of living with less stuff and using only what you really need.
Dagbjört, a freelance marketer, said, ‘I’ve lived all over the world and moved around a lot and realized I didn’t need all these items.
‘I started my journey about 10 years ago.
“I was overwhelmed when I came home every day and saw all the things I didn’t need.
“I made a plan to clear two items a week and after two years I realized I could keep up that journey little by little.
“I started noticing a lot of change in myself and my family. We were much happier.
“Because we got rid of so much, when we have people over with paper plates we eat because we only have a few of everything.
“We only have one towel each and we don’t have many clothes. Just enough for a few outfits.’
Dagbjört says becoming a minimalist was about figuring out how to change her way of life.
She said, “If you look around you can enjoy just jumping in the rain with your kids, you don’t need any working stuff.
“I noticed that my kids played with toys less and now we have empty cupboards and we go out into the world together – we don’t need anything.
“First it was putting things in a box and keeping them for a year and if I didn’t touch them I would get rid of them.
“But now I don’t attach myself to anything, sentimental or not.
“For me it’s to have the feeling inside and enjoy life.
“If you do too much, it’s easier to quit because you got rid of too much.
Dagbjört Jónsdóttir’s minimalist kitchen took very little time to pack during a move
The hallway in Dagbjört Jónsdóttir’s house is completely clutter-free with only a houseplant adding some color
There is a single picture on the wall in Dagbjört’s living room. Instead of holding her children’s artwork, she takes a photo and stores it digitally
A houseplant is one of the few decor elements in Dagbjört’s living room after she started her clean-up project 10 years ago
“Now when people give us gifts, they know us now and they give us experiences instead of items.”
Dagbjört explained that her reasoning behind dividing the house was to help her not get overwhelmed during the cleanup process.
She said, “I divide my house into 12 sections and tidy up for a year.
“I take one section per month and divide the room into four weeks so it’s not overwhelming and easy to maintain.
“Then I can take two things a week in that room.”
Despite throwing away more than 1,000 items, Dagbjört says her children don’t miss their toys.
“Shortly after Christmas or their birthday, I notice that they play less with toys they’ve bought,” she said.
“Their room gets cluttered with toys they don’t play with, and they appreciate it more when there’s less stuff.”
“We’ve seen over the years that they appreciate going to the beach with us instead of playing with toys.”
Thanks to her minimalist approach, Dagbjört can now be a lot more selective with the things she buys.
She said, “If I see a purpose for using something, of course I’ll buy it, but if it’s not useful, I don’t see why I need it.”
Dagbjört posts content on social media about her minimalism, but says not everyone agrees.
“In my opinion, it looks very calm,” she said.
“A lot of people hate on TikTok, but to each his own.
‘It gives us peace of mind and it is more environmentally friendly.
‘People think it’s weird that we don’t have pictures of our kids on the wall, for example, but we have things in a book and we just do things differently than other people.
“Some have also said that I am poor when I have fewer resources.
“It doesn’t affect me at all, I know I’m not poor, I work for myself and we have our house and our car, so those comments don’t really affect me.”
Dagbjört has learned a thing or two about tidying up and is now writing a book.
She said: ‘The method of dividing your house gave me the idea that I could make a book out of it.
“I think it can help other people on their journey.”