Do you ever find yourself at moments in life where you feel like there’s just way too much going on? Maybe you’re snowed under at work, or your schedule is looking far too hectic this month. Perhaps you get home to a messy house that’s littered with things you don’t need.
Whatever it is, you’ll have no doubt wished at some point you could step back from it all and take a break. Through the concept of minimalism, you can.
What is minimalism?
Minimalism is the notion of living only with the things that you truly need. It relates especially to material goods but can link to other areas of life, too. The idea behind minimalism is it allows you to spend your time surrounded by fewer material items, meaning you have more time and freedom, as well as less distractions, to live life to the full.
Why should you bother?
There are plenty of potential benefits from adopting a minimalist lifestyle. A cluttered house usually means a cluttered mind, and minimalism looks to remove that disorder from your life, therefore enhancing your mental wellbeing:
- Mental and physical health:It’s far too easy to over-commit to a schedule that you can’t keep up with. Likewise, we can be bogged down with the desire to own an array of possessions we simply don’t need. If you release yourself from these worries, you give yourself the time and freedom to focus on more important things, seeing everything with improved clarity of mind.
- Relationships: Speaking of more important things, we can often get lost in material goods at the expense of our personal relationships. A case in point would be our inability to drag our gaze from our phones when in each other’s company. Lose the distractions to offer more of your time to the people who matter.
- Money: If you’re buying less stuff, you’re spending less money — it’s a simple as that. Minimalism is more about finding a sense of clarity than managing your personal finances, but saving money is a happy side effect of the process.
- Purpose: Once your mind is demisted from more unnecessary matters, you’ll have a clearer idea of what you want to achieve, which in turn gives you a more meaningful purpose in life.
How do you go minimalist?
Each person’s minimalist experience is different. You set the ground rules of what minimalism means to you. That might mean anything from only working with a limited wardrobe through to a full revamp of yourlifestyle.
You want to create as clean a state as possible to work from— don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself when it comes to establishing what you do and don’t need. Operate a “use it or lose it” policy with all items, create categories for the key possessions you do own and look to create as much space in the home as possible.
