Embracing minimalism has helped me understand the importance of simplicity. It’s the perfect way to live, with less clutter, zero pressure, and stress. Life looks beautiful, and the clarity I enjoy is unexplainable. I’ve experienced positive changes in my lifestyle for years, but recently, I was forced to reflect on how minimalism could affect my relationship with people in terms of hospitality.
I was stuck between the thought of me becoming less accommodating or probably, I wasn’t the accommodating type but didn’t know because I haven’t had this large number of people in my space at a time until now.
To be fair, I am a very accommodating person when the number of guests is few and it’s just a short visit, I mean the quick type, but when it’s the other way around, I find it pretty hard to cope due to how much I love to see my space uncluttered. This is one of the reasons I don’t go about visiting, and even when I do, it’s just for a few hours.
I don’t receive many guests except my immediate family, probably because I am used to having them around. I’ve never had reasons to get my house filled with people, so dealing with this issue is challenging, but the one thing on my mind is that my lifestyle and relationships (accommodating people) must work together.
Captured by me.
Having my space uncluttered is a top priority because of how my immediate environment impacts me. My family knows I appreciate keeping my space neat, but the arrival of my newborn opened my home to friends and family, and I’m struggling to cope with clutter in the form of people and their belongings.
Here, it’s normal for family to assist the wife for days or months, especially for her first time. It was a good idea until it was my turn; families coming to assist are honestly fantastic, but somehow, it’s causing me stress and draining me in different ways.
They’re here for a good cause, and pushing them away because of my values isn’t an option. I must accommodate them without tampering with my mental health, values, and relationships. Telling them “don’t do this and that” when they’re here to assist might sound annoying, creating misunderstandings I don’t want. But somehow, I need to let them know a few things to create a balance but it's hard.
I remember the last time we had a guest stayed for the weekend, I got tired seeing her kid throwing things around. I got distracted a lot of time while been busy and in the end, I had to sit in the bedroom just to reach max concentration. Surprisingly, my guest asked my wife if I didn't like the idea of her coming around for the weekend just because I spent the rest of the day in my room.
I spoke to my wife, who knows how much I love to have a clear space. She politely & stylishly encouraged some of those who came to assist her to go, which they did, but that’s not a solution since there will be another time for them to visit. Do we have to always stylishly tell people to go? If it happens too often, wouldn't it affect our relationship with some family members?
I actually don’t want to get on the bad side of family. I believe minimalism and hospitality can work together with strong understanding among everyone involved, but how? Has anyone dealt with combining minimalism and hospitality contrary to your practices? How did you go about it?
Please note that this isn't a rant or complain, I just want to connect with people with such experience and how they handled things successfully.