Everywhere we go, we are inundated with messages that tell us we need more. Companies create problems in order to sell solutions. In our society, your status is linked to your accumulation of things. You just HAVE to have this electronic gadget, this skin care product, this appliance. In reality, despite what clever advertisements might tell you, these are simply objects that aren’t required for a happy life. In fact, the central idea behind the minimalist movement is that you would be happier owning less. “Less is more” comes to life with minimalism.
Benefits of Minimalism
Minimalism is healthy for your mind, body, and wallet, not to mention the environment. Here are some ways you can benefit from living minimally:
- Less stress. A clean home is a clean mind. When you aren’t surrounded by clutter, you will be surprised at how much less stressed you feel in your home. Finding things is no longer stressful because you don’t have to climb through clutter.
- Greater freedom. When you are no longer bogged down by many possessions, you have more freedom. You can move about the world without worrying about what you own and can instead think about what you want to do and where you want to be. You are also doing your beneficiaries a favor by not leaving hoards of things for them to sift through some day.
- Spend less. When you live minimally, you don’t need to spend money on things or maintaining said things. You have the financial freedom to spend your money on what really matters to you instead of accumulating objects.
- More environmentally friendly. When you consume less, you produce less waste that is damaging to the environment. Living minimally is living eco-friendly.
Collect experiences, not things. When we live minimally, it frees us to spend our money on experiences instead of objects. Travel, go to concerts, take classes in something you are passionate about—with minimalism, it’s all possible.
How to Live Minimally
Write Down Your Goal
Everyone has a different motivation for going minimalist; what’s yours? What does minimalism mean to you? Does it mean you want to declutter a certain room? Do you want to own only the bare minimum? Do you want to stop buying things you don’t need? Think about what you want to get out of living minimally, and in the spirit of the project, keep it simple. Focus on one goal and let that guide you through your process and motivate you when you feel tempted to start collecting things again. Give yourself a clear goal and write down steps to take to make the goal a reality. Set up a system for accountability, whether that is teaming up with a friend or setting reminders in your phone’s calendar.
Discard Duplicates
Chances are, over time, you have accumulated duplicates of many items. You may have kept them on hand because they were a gift and you felt guilty getting rid of them, or maybe you just thought you would keep them “just in case.” The truth is, you only need one. Pack up your duplicates and donate them.
Declutter
This is an obvious step, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult. It’s typical for people to form attachments to objects, and it can be very emotional to get rid of them. Start slow by discarding of things you know very obviously that you don’t need. Anything you suspect you do not need but aren’t ready to get rid of, take and hide it from yourself for a couple of months to create some distance. If you still haven’t had a need for anything you have hidden in that time, it’s time to give it away.
Invest in Quality
When you aren’t concerned with accumulating MORE, you can focus your budget towards investing in high-quality things that are meaningful to you personally. Instead of filling your home with things that you never use, aim for a sparse home that contains a few things that you absolutely adore.
Minimize Your Wallet
When you first start living minimally, it’s a good idea to start with the small stuff. Your wallet is a great place to start, for instance, men's front pocket wallets. At WalletBe, we offer a wide selection of wallets that fit seamlessly into a minimalist lifestyle, such as our functional Front Pocket Wallets or Cell Phone Wallet Purses With a WalletBe RFID Wallet, you can carry only what you really need, leaving you free to live your life minimally wherever you go. Shop WalletBe today!
