You’ve probably heard about minimalism in art and music. Maybe also when it comes to interior design.
But what does it mean when it comes to living? Does it mean our lives become colourless, boring, and repetitive?
No. It’s the opposite. It’s about what truly matters. It’s about letting go of stuff that doesn’t serve us in order to make space for things that do. It’s a journey of finding who we are and where we want to go.
We accumulate so much stuff in our life. That is how we live. If we need something, we buy it. If we feel bad, we “treat” ourselves. If we are celebrating something, surprise, we also treat ourselves.
We also spend time in shopping centres as a form of socializing and belonging. So basically, everything we do is connected to shopping in one way or another. And without even realising it our closets and homes become too small, our schedule too packed and our free time is gone.
Minimalism gives us a way out. A way out of the busyness of modern life. A way out of spending money (and time!) on things we don’t actually need. It can help us realize what truly matters so we can focus on it, without the fear of missing out.
DO YOU NEED TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE?
Chances are you’re here because you feel like you could live with less.
But if you’re still not sure, then I suggest your start by looking around. What do you see? Clutter? Loads of things piled on more things?
Does your brain start thinking about what it needs to do or does it relax and enjoy the view? Does your home make you feel inspired or stressed?
This is your starting point. However you got here, this is where you are and first, you must look at it and take it all in. Write it down. Write about how you feel.
And now think about how you WANT to feel at home.
Is it inspired, light, at peace, playful, free…? Your house, your rules. You can design different emotions for different rooms. Walk from room to room and notice if there are any differences in how you feel.
And if you need more inspiration, try looking online for pictures and ideas of spaces you would like to live in. Write it next to the ‘now’ column and compare.
Whatever the difference, minimalism is a great tool to help you get there.
Once you know that it’s time to make a change and you also have an impression of what you want, then it’s time for action! 😉
THE BENEFITS OF DECLUTTERING AND LETTING GO
Yes, decluttering can take a lot of time and not all people enjoy it.
Some love it (guilty 😉 ), but some just want to get it out of the way so they feel lighter as soon as possible. But it doesn’t matter in which category you are, for all of us our results must be worth the time and effort we put in.
So if minimalism is the supposed answer, what happens when we implement minimalism into our life?
1. Fewer decisions
So many people don’t know that our daily energy is somewhat limited. We think there is something wrong with us, when we have decision fatigue or we don’t seem to have any motivation left, especially at the end of the day.
So if we truly wake up with a specific amount of energy, what does that mean? With minimalism, we let go of so many things, which in turn makes deciding easier.
Have you ever tried to pick between three ice cream flavours or 30?
If so, you know the difference. In the first example, the decision is easy, it doesn’t take much time and it doesn’t leave us with the fear that we missed out on something. While the other option means we probably experienced decision fatigue and were unsatisfied with our choice because in the back of our mind we were thinking, what if we missed out on a better flavour?
If your days are simpler and you have fewer decisions to make or fewer items to choose from then you are left with more energy to spend on something that matters.
2. More time
Less cleaning, organizing, repairing and shopping means… you guessed it, more time!
Time with which you can do whatever you like. Start working out, try some new recipes, learn a new language or just spend more time with your family and friends.
We owe it to ourselves to enjoy our time and minimalism brings us one step closer.
3. Tidier home
You can think of yourself as lazy or unorganized, and yes, maybe minimalism won’t make your organizational skills perfect, but it will help you keep your home, room, car or office tidier.
Imagine doing a puzzle with extra pieces.
Whichever way you put them, the puzzle still doesn’t fit. And the problem is not you, but the number of pieces. So once you figure out what the ideal number of pieces you want is, then putting it together becomes fun.
You will be very surprised by how much easier it can be to live with and maintain less stuff. And you probably won’t just get rid of stuff, but also the furniture you kept the stuff in. And sometimes that results in moving to smaller houses or apartments. But that doesn’t mean that is something you have to do.
4. More peace and inspiration
Our brain is always working. It processes everything we see.
So sometimes items around us can be a big distraction, which means we don’t have as much space to think.
We all know that when we want to work or study it is very difficult to do so in a cluttered room. So when we declutter we open up our spaces and our minds in order that we can think and create.
We become inspired and also find it easier to relax.
5. Money saved
With minimalism, we are rethinking our relationship with the material world and are questioning if things can really make us happy. That shows in less frequent and more conscientious shopping.
As a part of letting go, we can also sell unwanted items and make some money. Be it selling a coat or moving into a smaller home.
6. Clarity
When we talk about minimalism we talk so much about the things we buy and own. But it is so much more than that.
Yes, in the beginning, we have to make small decisions like, do I need this phone manual or eight kitchen knives? But with time, we come to bigger questions as well.
We can almost say small items are training us to deal with bigger decisions that are coming our way. Because every time we say no to something we don’t need, we become more confident in who we are and where we want to go.
Minimalism is for everyone. For someone, it means traveling the world with only a small backpack, and for someone else, it means reducing from three cars to one.
We are all different, so it’s only logical that minimalism is going to look different for all of us. It is important to listen to yourself and take your time.
We didn’t accumulate everything overnight, so one day won’t be enough to let it all go. Be patient and enjoy the ride 😉 And if you want even more clarity on how much stuff should we own, read this blog post next: How much stuff should we own?
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