Samra On Minimalism

Minimalist Lifestyle

Have you ever packed up your home to move to a new place and thought, “Damn, I have way too much stuff!”? Well, you’re not alone. A recent study indicated that one in four people has a clutter problem all around the world! With so many items weighing us down in our daily lives, it's no surprise that one of the biggest trends in home decor these days is not just a design style but a complete lifestyle change — a thriving movement called minimalism or minimalist living.

What is a Minimalist Lifestyle?

Although this lifestyle has gained more popularity in recent years in light of Marie Kondo's KonMari Method. Its roots go back to Buddhism and was first coined in the mid-'60s by a British art theorist, according to Kyle Chayka, author of The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism. From that point onwards, minimalism has become a way of life that emphasizes living with less and appreciating more.

Minimal Living

Minimalism can be applied to generally all areas of our lives, may it be our schedules, our relationships, or work — but the centre of minimalist living is often our home. When thinking about what a minimalist home looks like, you might first think of pale hues, open spaces, and bare walls, but honestly, every person practice minimalism differently. 

Minimalism doesn’t have to mean choosing simple, boring, or cheap furniture and clothes for yourself. If you only start living by ‘less is more’, minimalism can help you turn your room into something clean and simple. Find substance in simplicity.

Benefits of Minimal Living

While there are tons of benefits of Minimal Living, here are a few that might make it easy for you to decide if this is something for you. 

Clean Less

As a minimalist, you would be spending less time cleaning your house. When you own fewer items, it’s a no-brainer that you don’t need to tidy and clean up as often. Before we extreme decluttered our home, it used to take me hours to just tidy up; now it only takes me 10-15 minutes to walk through and clear the clutter.

Don’t Lose Stuff

Before becoming a minimalist, I was always losing stuff. I wasted tons of time looking for my keys, books, chargers, or even my favourite shirt! Turns out, I’m not alone. An average person wastes about 55 minutes a day (roughly 12 days a year) looking for things they own but can’t find and $2.7 billion is spent replacing lost items every year.

One trick that minimalists use to reduce visual clutter is to give each item a “home” so they know where to find each and every item in their home. Another huge benefit of this is that EVERYONE in the home knows where that thing goes; this means husbands and kids can tidy up after themselves as well. Who doesn’t want that?

 

Better Health

Minimalism is not only good for your house, but it also benefits your health. Research shows that people who live in cluttered environments are more likely to have difficulty sleeping and may even eat more! Now we know where I put on all that weight. 

In another research, female graduate students consumed 103 calories more in messy vs clean kitchens.

Reduce Environmental Impact

When done right, minimalism can be eco-friendly. On one hand, you reduce consumption and excessive shopping, and on the other if you make wiser choices. You can choose higher-quality, expensive, and durable items, shop for ethical and sustainable brands that do less environmental impact and choose pieces that last longer, creating less waste.

If and when possible, you can try to sell or directly give away items yourself because unfortunately donation centres are overflowing, and a lot of donations do sadly end up as trash. But also, please keep in mind that sometimes trash is just trash.

Your stuff is going to deteriorate no matter what and it can either do it in your home or in a landfill.

  

Things To Do Today to Live More Like a Minimalist

1. Remove a box of clutter

A minimalist owns fewer possessions. As a result, their homes feel more peaceful, calmer, more spacious, and less stressful. You may not be able to declutter your entire house in a day (It took me 10 months), but you can make a little bit of progress every week. Try to remove one box of clutter from one room in your home and notice the difference it makes.

2. Clear a surface

Every physical possession in our field of vision results in visual clutter. Our eyes naturally gravitate to the things around us as we subconsciously scan our surroundings on a constant basis. Find a surface in your home that you can entirely clean out (a countertop, a coffee table, a shelf, or a bedside table) and remove everything from it. Notice the clear surface. Now, imagine how you’ll feel once the entire house is cleaned out.

3. Don’t buy excessively and put that money into savings

The average person spends almost $1800 on nonessential items. If you want to take one small step toward living more like a minimalist today, don’t buy a single nonessential item. Then, put that money you didn’t spend into a savings account. Tomorrow, do the same thing. You’ll be surprised how quickly your savings account will fill up when you stop buying stuff you don’t need.

4. Go for a long walk

Walking is good for the soul and the body. It provides the opportunity to think and reflect on life. If you want to live more like a minimalist, go for a nice long walk today.

Notice how wonderful it feels to have some extra time in your day to breathe and relax. And while you walk, consider the direction of your life and if you’re living to your fullest potential. Would removing some distractions allow you to focus more on things that matter?

5. Turn off the notifications on your phone

Now, I know that’s a difficult task, but Minimalists work to remove distractions from their day, whether it's unnecessary possessions, appointments, or notifications like email or social media.

For the rest of the day, turn off all notifications on your phone except for phone calls (even text messaging). See how it changes the feel of your entire day. Tomorrow morning, turn on just the notifications you actually missed.

6. Eliminate one obligation

Minimalism extends beyond physical possessions. Once you start going down that road, it sparks in all our relationships, habits, and schedule. Today, eliminate one obligation from your life that you do not enjoy or does not further your greatest passions and pursuits. Make that phone call, send that email, cancel that reservation… whatever you need to do. Reclaim your time to live the life you desire to live.

 For a long time, as a sentimental person, I struggled with being able to let go of things, whether physical or mental. But embracing minimalism has brought me so much more joy and peace! Don’t think you have to go as far as we did to experience the joys of living minimally and being more intentional with your life. Start by decluttering a little bit at a time, and then decide if you want to go further.

So today, do one thing you love. And then, imagine yourself doing more of that every single day from here on out. And you’ll get a small picture of why people continue to flock to the message of minimalism. Minimalism isn’t about living a boring life detached from reality. It is about rejecting our society’s version of reality and living a focused, intentional life on your own terms. Try out just one or two of these small steps today—and begin experiencing what the rest of your life can look like. You’ll love minimalism and you’ll love owning less.

List of References

1. Amy McKay, 'Japandi, the new minimalism’, <https://www.purebyamimckay.com/japandi-the-new-minimalism/>.

 

2. Kyle Chayka, ‘The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism’, <https://www.amazon.com/dp/163557210X?ots=1&slotNum=1&imprToken=7ec1dc32-7129-16ec-f51&linkCode=ogi&tag=goodhousekeeping_auto-append-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10055.a.32824185%5Bsrc%7C%5Bch%7C%5Blt%7Csale/> 

 

3. Marissa, ‘9 Easy Tips to tidy your kitchen with the Konmari method,

<https://atozenlife.com/declutter-kitchen-konmari/> 

 

4. Maurie Backman, ‘You don't need that: Average American spends almost $18,000 a year on nonessentials’, <https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/07/americans-spend-thousands-on-nonessentials/39450207/>