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What is a Minimalist?
Minimalism is about gaining control over your life and distilling it down to the most important parts. By exploring a minimalist lifestyle we identify priorities in our lives and begin to intentionally optimize influences focused around these priorities.
Becoming a minimalist does not always relate to clutter and discarding things. It's also about making important aspects of our lives optimal for the best quality of life.
Understand Why Your Making This Change
Understanding why you want to take the journey to minimalism will not only help you stay motivated on your journey, it will help you to know what exactly minimalism means to you. When I decided I wanted to become minimalist, it was simply to make my space my own and improve my daily life.
I've never been a fan of clutter or holding on to items that have no purpose. My rule of thumb has always been if I haven't used it in a year then I don't need it. Why hold on to clothes you will never use again? Why have drawers filled with miscellaneous nonsense over flowing to the point you cant decipher whats even in there? Even more so why work in a space that slows down your productivity?
Be Clutter Free
The decluttering process is the easiest way to kick start your journey to minimalism. Doing this slowly and in a few sweeps seems to be the most efficient. I did about three or four sweeps of decluttering before I was completely satisfied with everything I got rid of, and everything I kept. When you go through the decluttering process at a reasonable pace the transition will be a bit easier.
Manage Your Time
By making your calendar a simpler and less cluttered space (not scheduling so many appointments/dates), you will have so much less stress. Too many commitments will never allow you to truly live in the moment because you will be constantly thinking about what I needed to do next and if I was going to be late. Talk about anxiety!
The limits you have are the limits you create - even if you have a full time job(or multiple like myself), you are still in control of how you spend your time outside of work. If your work hours aren't working for you, take that into consideration as well.
Build Your Wardore
A capsule wardrobe is designing a wardrobe from the ground up so that every item in your closet can be mixed and matched to every other piece of clothing. Many people have
embraced a minimalist wardrobe even if they aren't minimalist because this allows you to maximize the number of outfits you can create, while minimizing the items you own.
Typically people choose one or two main colors and then add in a few pieces that are complimentary colors. Keeping styles classic allows you to avoid the yearly swings in fashion trends and let you have only the clothes that you love. Accessories, scarves, jewelry and jackets let you mix up your looks so you don't always look the same.
Boost Productivity
We spend a lot of time at work, so it's important not just to have a minimalist home, but also a
minimalist office
. Taking control over all aspects of your life will lead to less stress, better time management, increased income, and a better work life balance.
Building good habits is much easier as a minimalist because you do one important thing that most people don't do: You take the time to understand what's important to use and make intentional changes to live a better life. These intentional best practices will put you ahead of in life and come with great rewards that are easily seen in your personal lives and in your career.
Simplfy Your Diet
A simple diet doesn't mean a bland diet or having the same thing over and over again(or going vegan =P). I first started
on my kitchen by figuring out my
key essentials. I enjoyed cooking and exploring creativity in my meals. But I also know which flavors and foods are most appealing to my palate. I look forward to coming home and preparing fresh dishes for all my meals. Having
a well stocked, but simplified pantry
allows me to do this successfully week over week with next to zero waste.
Savings & Living Debt Free
One of the biggest perks of minimalism (and the one that draws a lot of people to minimalism) is the amount of money you are able to save with a minimalist lifestyle. By spending money on only necessities, you'll end up accidentally saving loads of money.
Because of my minimalism lifestyle I've remained debt free throughout my education, purchasing a car, and purchasing a home. When you start saving and stop thinking about the material possessions you really start to appreciate your passions and quality time with friends and love ones.
Living a minimalist lifestyle can change your life for the better and bring out the beauty of all that life has to offer.
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