Minimalist living may seem new, but it’s a principle that has existed for centuries, with many records throughout history. Today, it’s a trendy concept that transcends many aspects of life, from fashion, food, beauty, and technology. Other more popular influences can be seen in minimalist homes, interiors, arts, and design, changing people’s attitudes and perspectives towards consumerism.
Yet, beyond the fad, you might still be wondering: what does minimalist living truly entail? Are there any benefits in adopting such a lifestyle? Or, perhaps, where to start? In this post, we’ve gathered the answer to those questions and everything you need to know about minimalist living that will prove that living less is more.
What is Minimalist Living?
Minimalist living can be defined in various ways but it generally revolves around the idea of simplistic living or living with less. Having only what truly matters to you, keeping only the basic and fewest elements while removing the rest, creates the maximum effect and leads you to a simpler yet more purposeful life. What remains are only those that add value to your being, saving you time, energy, and space to make the most out of your life.
For instance, it can be filling your home with stuff that only serves a purpose, decluttering unnecessary items, and spending money on one that you only need. By doing so, you will own what you absolutely require to go about in your daily life.
Others are skeptical about the movement, deeming that minimalist living is boring. Truth to be told, it’s the exact opposite of a tedious life. As you get rid of the superfluous items, you seemingly break a chain from all the burden these material possessions bring. Instead, you can break free, decide on how you will define your life, and make it bigger by freely pursuing your ultimate purpose and goals.
Benefits of Minimalist Living
If you’re curious how can you benefit from minimalist living, here are some incredible advantages when you opt to embrace this lifestyle:
More Time and Energy: Owning fewer items in your home entails spending less time and effort in cleaning, organizing, and maintaining them. Thus, allowing you to allocate them to activities that are far more valuable, such as spending time with your family or working on tasks leading to skill or personal development.
More Money: You might not realize lots of items you are due to influence consumerism or the comparison trap where you think you also must have the things others have just to be happy. By living minimally, you only spend your financial resources on valuable stuff. You save more money in the process and use it on better things, such as quality time with your family or other fulfilling experiences.
Less Stress: Have you tried panicking to tidy up your house before an important guest arrives? Have you gone extremely tired home from work only to see a messy room preventing you from fully relaxing? Having too much clutter around your home only adds up to stress. Imagine if you only have a few things around. Or, perhaps there’s no need to sort anything out at all? Minimalist living is the key to a more peaceful and stress-free life.
Help the environment: As you buy, own, and use less, you reduce your carbon footprint and lessen your impact on the environment, thereby helping Mother Nature become more sustainable. Overconsumption has hurt the Earth for many centuries. By living minimally, you do your part in ensuring that nature can still meet the needs of the people, without putting future generations in peril.
Better appreciation of life: Living less can help you to find contentment with the things you already have, big or small. You value them in a deeper way as you know what you only have are the ones significant in your life.
How to Start with Minimalist Living
Like with any shift in your life, it can be challenging to determine where to start. Fortunately, living minimally doesn’t need to be hard at all. You can begin with these small steps, which will soon help you fully enclasp a minimalist life.
List down.
Do you want to be free from stress? Are you looking to attain financial freedom? Sad that you’re not spending ample time with your kids or doing things you actually love? Write down all the main reasons why you want to live a simpler life. All these will serve as your guide and fuel to embrace minimalism and learn how to grasp what only truly matters.
Find unnecessary things in your home and remove them.
Look around your house, find things that you no longer need, and discard them. It doesn’t mean that you need to get rid of them all at once but taking one step is needed for that big change. If you’re having a hard time determining which one to remove, start with the duplicates. Do you have two sets of baking cups or three copies of the same book? Remember, you only need one. Gift, donate or sell them online as you may see fit.
Begin with a small nook in your home.
As mentioned, the change doesn’t have to happen instantly. You can start with a small area in your home. It can be your kitchen, the living room, your bedroom, or even smaller spaces, like your countertop or your home office desk. Seeing the area with a clean, peaceful vibe will serve as an inspiration. Soon, you’ll be able to expand it towards a fully minimalist home.
Stop buying unnecessary things.
Cease purchasing things you don’t actually need. People often get the urge to buy new stuff when browsing on social media, visiting the mall, or seeing new trends. If you’re part of the people who are tempted by such, cut them out so you can cease cluttering your home. What you can do is devise a guide that will help you filter what you truly need, prevent you from buying those that are of no purpose to your life.
Final Words
Minimalist living can turn your life a hundredfold. It can be pretty uncomfortable in the beginning but having a life that only focuses on what is worthy and freeing it from the unnecessary will surely bring a rewarding and fulfilling change.