Minimalism is sometimes seen as a harmless quirk. However, living in accordance with a minimalist philosophy can solve problems that many people struggle with: an excess of things, a permanent lack of time and… money. Try it and your life may become easier.
Minimalismis the way to freedom through conscious resignation from what limits us in material life. It can also be a means to an end, e.g. making dreams about a long journey come true. Minimalism is not about asceticism, but about better use of time, the joy of life, the pleasure of communing with the best things, not just any things that we only want to use.
5 steps to apply minimalism
1. THINK WHAT YOU NEED
It's not about having a hundred things (or any other predetermined number), it's about changing your attitude towards things. Selecting the things you leave yourself is a great way to get to know yourself better and as an exercise in personal development.
We often try to adjust to our surroundings and adopt habits, lifestyles, priorities or ways of spending free time from other people. The desire to be accepted makes us make choices influenced by family, friends or the media. In the end, we forget who we are, what is important to us, what we like. For this reason, instead of wondering what to eliminate, choose what is necessary, favorite, useful. Don't feel guilty for throwing away something that was expensive or for getting it as a gift.
If you have clothes that you liked in the store, but never put them on, think about why. Maybe it turned out, for example, that you feel bad in blouses and you definitely prefer t-shirts. So these clothes did their job because thanks to them you found out what makes you feel really good. Buying them may have been a mistake, but isn't it even more of a mistake to keep them?
2. GET STARTED
It is necessary to remove all items of one type (blouses, bowls, pens, etc.) and decide which to leave and which to remove. It may seem like a bother, because it would be enough to look into a drawer and take out what is unnecessary. Butinstead of this solution, it is better to take everything out and choose not what you throw away, but what you leave. This way you will reflect on each thing as it is going to be an effort to put back each item, not to take it out.
Organize things not by places, but by categories of things - even if they are in different rooms. This allows you to see how many shoes, belts, vases or cups you really have, even if you keep them in different places around your home. This way, you will get a precise picture of exactly how many items in a given category you have, and it will be much easier for you to eliminate the actual excess.
3. LEAVE WHAT'S USEFUL AND BEAUTIFUL
There are several ways to make a choice. One of them is very simple: you only leave behind what makes you happy. The clothes you like to wear, your favorite books, the most beautiful dishes. You leave what evokes positive feelings in you, and those things that evoke boredom, guilt, anger - you throw away.
Do not look back at fashion or lists of clothes eagerly prepared by experts that every woman must have in her wardrobe. Leave only what is useful and beautiful. It's not about potential utility ("I don't need it now, but it might come in handy someday"), but what you really use. However, do not leave things that you reach for only to consume, "report", but those that you use with pleasure.
Other methods require the use of your imagination. You can treat your wardrobe like a clothes store - what would you buy again? Or imagine that you are going on a very long journey - what will you take and what will you leave? If you can do without this thing for three months, maybe it is not necessary at all? Many items can be reduced to the magic number "1". So: you leave the one, the best one. This may be for perfumes, individual color cosmetics, jewelry, handbags. Cleaning up… in anger can be a surprisingly good way. Then the objects lose their meaning, and it's easier to get rid of those things you weren't sure about, that you held out of sentiment or guilt. Plus, it's a great way to relieve tension and wind down.
4. IF YOU DO NOT LIMIT YOUR BUYING, THE PROBLEM WILL COME BACK
Getting rid of the excess of stored items is an important step on the way to freeing up the space around you, but the crowds of items quickly convert if we allow it. To prevent this from happening, you need to work on your approach to purchasing. How to do it? Avoid temptation, never buy on impulse, always take the time to do soreflection, analysis of all pros and cons. Avoid all free gadgets. Apply the principle: one thing comes, one thing goes (or even more, e.g. when you buy a multifunctional robot, you get rid of a few kitchen appliances).
5. DON'T FORCE ANYTHING
Minimalism is a tool to make life easier. It's not about striving for an ideal, it's about simplifying your life to make room for what you like to do. When it causes inconvenience and problems, it becomes art for art's sake. Do not be discouraged by this idea if, for example, you like collecting something and for this reason it seems to you that minimalism is completely wrong for you. You don't have to be a minimalist to use minimalism. You can use this tool for organizing at home, in a closet or in relationships, but there is no need to fully identify with it.
As we chase after things, we forget that they do not determine our value. Even if you enjoy getting the desired item for a while, it is a short-lived joy. A new "must have" will appear in a moment. And things quickly stop enjoying and we are left with a mountain of unwanted items and … an empty account.
Getting rid of the tiring excess and leaving behind the things we really need frees you and allows you to focus on what is important. It is worth considering whether we have things or whether things have us. This question is only seemingly pointless. But often things take our time and limit our options. We spend time earning it, watching it, figuring out what to buy, and when we get it - repairing, servicing, cleaning, caring for it. We are concerned about whether valuable items will not be damaged, lost or stolen.
It all takes time, which could be devoted to something much more enjoyable - playing with the child, hobbies, acquiring knowledge, physical activity. Things can be limiting when we give up something, e.g. moving to another city or country (because how to transport it all). A person who is not burdened with things gains readiness to change and makes better use of emerging opportunities and opportunities. He's just enjoying life more fully. Minimalism is not about asceticism at all, but a better use of time, the joy of life, the pleasure of communing with the best things, not just any things that we only want to use.
The minimalist lifestyle is not about saving
On the surface, minimalism may seem to be just frugality, only in a new, fashionable change. However, there is a fundamental difference here. Saving continues to focus onon the material side of life, only instead of accumulating objects do we accumulate money. Instead of objects that play the main role in the consumer lifestyle, material resources are the most important in saving, not our needs and preferences. Minimalism does not exclude saving, but only if it is a means to an end: reducing the time devoted to work or making dreams come true, such as a trip or a language course.
Minimalism is eco
Reducing consumption is the most important aspect of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). The less we buy, the less we have to recycle or think about how to give items a second life. Buying less means that no raw materials are used for production and that it does not pollute the environment.
It is important to pay attention to its longevity when buying a new item. If it gets worn out quickly, worn out, or bored, you will throw it away, adding more waste. Therefore, when shopping, choose timeless, good quality, comfortable and practical items that you like 100%.