Minimalism is simplifying your life by decluttering unnecessary stuff from both your home and your mind. From the past years, this term is becoming popular amongst the masses for all the right reasons. The concept of surviving with less is associated with adding meaning to life and living a passionate, joyful life with fewer things. This idea has encouraged many people to change their life by turning over a new leaf.
If you decide to become a minimalist, a feeling of overwhelming takes over your senses; the first thing that comes to mind is that you have to abandon your most precious possessions, which is not entirely true. To become a minimalist does not mean you have to get rid of your car, home, television, or career. It is about decluttering your home of things that are rarely used, and your mind of the thoughts that are hindering you from focusing on the meaning stuff, the stuff that matters to you the most.
There is no one single lifestyle definition that would fit the idea of becoming a minimalist, everyone has a unique way of approaching this concept of downsizing things.
To help you get started as a minimalist, here are the ways that would help.
1- Start with your wardrobe
Our wardrobes are overloaded with clothes that we do not use, or like, or that do not fit us, but we do not have the audacity to get rid of them. It is not that we are overly attached to them, but the fact that we bought them by spending some valuable time and money, makes it hard for us to outrightly reject them. Many studies confirm that we only wear 20% of the clothes we possess most of the time, which makes the other 80% useless to a large extent.
The simple task of offloading your closet from the clothes that are taking up space can make your life more organized and peaceful. It will also leave your wardrobe lighter and the mornings untroubled, as you do not have to dive into the ocean of clothes each day to find that one t-shirt that you wear every other day.
2- Purge unwanted furniture
Furniture lying around your house is another easy step to begin your minimalist journey. You don’t have to work hard to find the furniture that your interior no longer requires. If there is something at every corner of the house, then you have to abandon it. Making your home more spacious will allow you to live with clarity. Clearing your rooms of heavy furniture will reveal the space in your home and will also make for more airflow. This will freshen up your entire home. It is easy to recognize furniture that you rarely even look at, let alone use them. These furniture pieces are not only outdated but are adding clutter to your life in unknown ways. So targeting and purging the furniture from each area of your home is the next step.
3- Decluttering the kitchen
Our kitchens are amongst congested places of our home and still, we feel the need to add more utensils in the kitchen. Cooking does not have to be such a complex task, since, in earlier times, people use to cook in the smallest of spaces using minimal resources. Getting rid of utensils that are not needed, will simplify the process of cooking and will make it more enjoyable. When it comes to utensils, there are multiple varieties of everything, and we can easily cut down on the useless things by sticking to fewer utensils that serve most of the purpose. This will significantly help in organizing the countertops, draws, and kitchen cabinets.
4- Make the most of your money
A great way to make the most out of your money is by spending less. Here, we are not talking about earning more but rather spending the money wisely so it automatically saves itself. Before you proceed to make any kind of purchase, be it expensive or regular, doing adequate research has to be the prerequisite. Provided there is no urgency of doing shopping, which is probably the case, skin through the web, and look for genuine product reviews, search for different prices of the same item on different sites, compare the quality, and buy it only when you see a good deal available. Above all, ask yourself questions such as Do I really need to buy this? Am I going to use it after I buy it? Such questions will let you know whether you actually need the item in the first place or not.
5- Learn polite ways to say no
It is hard to say no when you are interested in exploring the opportunities. As you are seriously committing to focus on the things that add meaning to your life, then turning down invites or offers to go out for no apparent reason has to become a part of your existence. You have to become comfortable refusing to go to a party or an event that takes up your home, and does not fit the idea of minimalist living. It is crucial that you prioritize things that matter to you and politely say no when there isn’t enough time. Spending more time with yourself, and doing the things that matter is more important than spending time with people doing something that you do not necessarily enjoy.
6- Cutting down on entertainment
Entertainment is no longer limited to our TV sets and has reached our comfortable smartphones. With all the social media platforms, short clips, hours-long web series, it is hard to escape from entertainment. An average human spends 2-3 hours every day consuming useless entertainment. While it is important to be informed with the news updates and entertain yourself with your favorite TV show after a rough day, overdoing it is not what a minimalist would do. We do not realize it, but we are spending most of our time sitting on the couch, binging on movies or series for hours. To become a minimalist, reduce your TV time by half, and see how your life changes as there is more time available to do important things than you believe.
7- Make a to-do list each day
Waking up with the absurdity of not knowing what you are going to do the whole day is quite irresponsible. Plan ahead the tasks you are doing, preferably the night before you sleep. For making the to-do list, you can grab a notepad or make one on your phone. Start making the list by prioritizing the most important and difficult tasks. This will help you keep organized as you tick off each task upon completion. One of the ways to become a minimalist is organizing your tasks for the day and eliminating distractions. A to-do list will help focus only on what’s written in it, and thus, aids in making you more productive.
Becoming a minimalist is not at all a complex task, and making small changes will bring substantive improvements. Alter your life with the above-listed and easy to incorporate changes, and relish in the joy of minimalist living.
