Minimalist living: free of clutter
The idea of minimalism has been on the rise within society in the last couple of years. So many bloggers, YouTubers, famous people are talking about minimizing the use of things and simplifying their lives. Tidying up like Marie Kondo, adopting a zero-waste lifestyle like Bea Johnson, or minimal lifestyle design by Mustards – you have a pool of choice of people to follow and get inspired by. And I‘m not the one to argue against it, on the opposite, I‘m a big advocate of a minimalistic lifestyle. Because even Leonardo da Vinci said: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. And who am I to argue with a genius?
There are a lot of misconceptions though about leading a minimalistic lifestyle. Some people say you can only own up to 100 things, you can‘t buy things anymore you enjoy, or have to go everywhere on foot to minimalize your carbon footprint. But minimalism doesn‘t mean that you won‘t be able to buy or own things. It will only mean you will be smarter with your choices and your life will get more balanced and more simple gifting you with a clutter-free home and clutter-free mind.
Let's consider these two scenarios:
In the first one, your home looks like an average household. Your shelves are stacked with statues, gifts that somebody gave you and you don‘t really like but feel guilty of throwing away, paperwork that needs to be sorted ‘whenever you have a free minute“ (even it has been a couple of months minimum) and all the other things that you didn‘t know what to do with so you just put them on the shelf because they don‘t look too bad.
Your bedroom and wardrobe have two sides to them: clothes that you like and wear, and clothes that you bought or don't like and they never get worn. The majority of the time it's all mixed in one so every morning you have to go through all of them to find something suitable and comfortable to wear. And every time you remind yourself sorting out it's something you need to do soon, and therefore add another thing on your mental to-do list.
Your kitchen probably has more utensils than needed, cups which seem to multiply themselves every Christmas or other special occasions; Shelves are not only filled with food that you normally eat but with tins and packs of items you bought and never tried or they just don‘t look as tasty anymore so they are just waiting for their turn while being pushed in the far corner. Altogether, your home is functional enough for you to feel comfortable in, however, the clutter makes you take longer in certain tasks, or you‘re getting stressed enough unconsciously because every time you see something that you said you will do later, you remember that 30page tidy up/give away list and just carry on by pretending it will be done soon, but you never find time to.
Now in the other scenario, you lead a minimalistic lifestyle or at least follow some of its advice. One day, when you decide that you had enough of having too many useless things, you tidy up. Pack up and give away boxes and bags of things you no longer need, that don‘t bring you joy and only collect dust or the things you haven‘t used for years and said „someday“. Now suddenly, you don‘t need a bigger house anymore, because getting rid of things opened up so much space you didn‘t know exist. You tidy up the kitchen and then realise you actually love cooking since you can clearly see the ingredients and don't need to dig through 3 drawers to find a spatula. So you discovered a new hobby and your diet improves as now you only get things you need (not forgetting the treats, of course, minimalism is not about torturing yourself).
You go to your workspace and make sure everything is organised, paperwork is sorted and you have a clear list of to-do things in front of you. So you actually sit down and do some work instead of procrastinating. Now a couple of months later, your house is still on point. Because it wasn‘t just a spring clean. It was a lifestyle change. You decluttered first, learned some tidying up techniques, and started evaluating your buying decisions so everything has its own place. And therefore you‘re much happier as you don‘t need to tidy as much, you know where everything is and you can just go and be productive with the things you need to do now, instead of or reminding yourself of the things you have to do but have no intention to. Win-win situation.
Now I don‘t know about you, but I definitely prefer the 2nd scenario. I like my home clean, organised, and functional. Of course, I still have space to grow until my home looks like Marie‘s Kondo, but I think I‘m doing a pretty good job. I still own the things that will be used someday/later when I have more time, but they have their own space and I‘m clear of what I actually have.
And the best thing is that minimalism starts in your home, but transcends to all your life areas as well. You become more attentive about how you spend your time or who you spend your time with. You are removing yourself from the drama, fake relationships, and bullshit. Instead, you spend quality time with people who are important to you, start working on your goals, and start enjoying experiences more than things. Because now you actually know what matters and what doesn‘t. And you‘re smart enough to make smarter decisions.
I say minimalistic living equals harmony. Do you prefer your life to be the same?
