As a diplomat's wife, I struggle with having things that I need for entertaining as part of my husband's job, and wanting a simple and stress-free minimalist lifestyle. Most of the minimalist inspiration out there is too bare and definitely not a realistic goal for our family. 

Then I realized... we don't need to aspire for things that are not reasonable or realistic. We can achieve a more minimalist, yet LUXE lifestyle that allows us to have whatever sparks joy in our lives. We do not need to be spartan or obsessed with what we cut out from our lives. The Kon Mari Method has helped me keep what is meaningful and joyful, while letting go of everything else.

Hence a new brand of Minimalism was born: MinimaLUXE!

When we declutter our lives, we make way for abundance and more blessings in all the other aspects. Consequently, having fewer things also helps us afford better, higher quality things that make every day living a pleasure. 

Some inspiring minimaLUXE spaces below to get your decluttering juices flowing...

Every truly successful decluttering endeavor starts with a dream. Yes, you heard me! You must dream of what your ideal life and space would be. If you have no ideal or inspiration, then there is no guiding star to the madness that you are about to undertake. Because believe me, to declutter, you will first have to get very cluttered. 

For any great change to happen in our lives, there must first be a revolution. It will be tough, it will be emotional,  but the results - a truly MinimaLUXE life - is well and truly worth it. 

Here's what I do to get inspired... to dream!

Watch inspiring TV shows 

Say you are moving homes, or moving countries - like I do every 2-3 years - I like to watch shows like House Hunters International. It gets me psyched!

if you want to embark on a more minimalist life, watch MINIMALISM on Netflix. 

If you would like to redo a room, or your whole house watch The Great Interior Design Challenge.

Or you can also watch Marie Kondo Youtube videos. Here are some of my favorites. I totally re-watch them when I need a push while decluttering.  

Seriously, before going into the task of decluttering, watch something with your spouse, and believe me, you will have more enthusiastic participants!

Create an Inspiration Board

If you like to do it manually, which I don't recommend, because it will just add to the clutter you already have, then by all means. However the most practical way to create a dream board, that you will actually use, instead of just forget and store (More clutter I tell you!), is to do a Pinterest Board. Check out some of the boards I've done before embarking on a project below: 

• Home Inspiration - You can see how my taste has evolved over time
• Organizers - Where I save all the cool home organizing inspo I find online
• Studio Interiors - Not only was this my inspo board, but also my online shopping list for the studio that I was renovating. 
• Workspace - My dream workspace!

The beauty of Pinterest Boards is that you can keep it a secret, and/or have several contributors. Invite your spouse, interior designer and decluttering consultant to the board so they can contribute and comment. It is also easy to delete pins, so you can refine the look of your space as you go along.

#WhiteLiving

What inspires me now? After going through different phases - my first home in Indonesia started with dark wood furniture - I can now say that I dream of #WhiteLiving. Of all the hashtags that make me swoon, and gives me the tingles up and down my spine, it is pictures of Scandinavian interiors, white on white with neutrals, golds and natural greens, that truly make me happy. So I totally went for it!

Repetition of colors, soothe and relax me. Going home is something that I look forward to because I've created a space that speaks to me. What styles do you love and make you feel "home?" Dare to dream and we can make your #minimaLUXE dreams come true!

Some favorite parts of my home...

We had the pleasure of helping Celebrity Mama Blogger-Author-TV Host-Model, Amanda Griffin-Jacob, declutter after she moved to a new space. Amanda wanted to let go of the storage space she had been renting all these years. So it was all laid out and we guided her through the Kon Mari Method.  

The results were drastic. Amanda has a beautiful eye, but she could not have the minimaLUXE space that she wanted, until we disposed of things that no longer fit her current life and style. To allow her style to shine, we disposed of 75% of her belongings. We donated and recycled a lot of things, but also held an online garage sale on DeclutterMNL and her own group Glam-O-Mamas, her proceeds then went to her annual grassroots charity program which she writes about here.

Would you like to see the before pics? It's definitely not blog-picture-perfect but to see the before is to see how much Amanda has achieved in her decluttering journey. Amanda was the perfect client, because she was determined, quick to decide and really internalized the Kon Mari Method of getting rid of anything that doesn't spark joy. 

Again I want to emphasize that to achieve a decluttered life, we begin with absolute clutter.

You need to put everything out in the open so you can touch each item, one by one, and feel which items spark joy. Only those that spark joy are kept and organized. The rest of the items are disposed of properly in an environmentally conscious and sustainable manner. 

One of the things I learned from being a diplomat's wife for the past decade is how to declutter and dispose of things prior to a move. When I knew we were about to move, I would start selling things...

• that we would not be needing in our new post, or

• things that would not fit in our allotted container

...a whole year before the expected move. After some time it felt like my whole life was one giant garage sale. 

It was a lot of work, but I would figure out the most efficient ways to sell in whatever country I was in. I remember when Facebook Groups weren't a thing yet, the best way to sell stuff to other expats in Jakarta was through an ad at the end of a catering menu mailinglist. It was all very low tech then. In Berlin, the best way to sell preloved stuff was through eBay Kleinanzeigen. With the help of a German friend and Google Translate, I even learned to write my ads and correspond with the buyers in German. 

As a trailing spouse and housewife, it felt really good to be able to contribute to our household by selling decluttered items. This was when I realized: I wish I could have hired someone like me, to help prior to a move, so that I didn't have to go through the panic, emotional breakdowns, and losing a lot of money over things I failed to sell.

Instead I could  focus on packing up, psychologically and logistically planning the next chapter of our lives and even enjoying the last few months of posting.

That's why I decided to do this, a service specifically for expats who are moving out of Manila. 

I remember my first every client, Joan. We met her about 2 months before she left Manila, and she was able to go on vacations twice before they left the Philippines for good, after fifteen fun years in the tropics.

I remember thinking, what a great way to say good bye to the Philippines, by enjoying our paradise beaches, instead of getting harassed coordinating furniture pick ups and collecting payment from buyers, who sometimes don't even show up. 

My team and I were happy to do everything for her and just send her a summary of everything and a bit of garage sale cash. We work hard to dispose of everything in the most effective and sustainable manner, so nothing goes to waste. We coordinate pick ups for donation and recycling. We also sell items that still have some value, so they go to new homes and families that will love and celebrate your stuff. 

We are always touched when buyers are so happy with their preloved bargains, that they send us pictures. It's so gratifying, knowing that these things might have gone unused, and disintegrating in storage. 

It also gives us joy knowing that our clients are going to their new posts with lighter hearts, bringing only the things that Spark Joy.