City life got you feeling claustrophobic?
Here are 10 tips to maximize minimalism!
Is less more?
Most people usually associate minimalism with the simple concept of having material things.
But minimalism is more than just having a few items at hand, it’s all about reassessing your habits, motivations, and purpose. Living a fast-paced life in the city with little time for leisure, it’s understandable why people seek sanctuary in their homes, where they are most comfortable. However, a cluttered home can be worse.
Maybe going away for a few days isn’t an option, or maybe you’re short on funds for that R&R you so badly deserve... Either way, there are other means by which you can declutter and feel great about yourself, your home, and your life in general.
The following tips can help you maximize minimalism as you take your first steps towards clutter-free living and a more enlightened disposition in life.
1. PURGE -- Don’t just organize
Even just looking at this feels good, imagine living in this!
Organizing just means you’re moving things around. At the back of your mind, you know you still have some unfinished business. You can ignore that nagging feeling for a bit but in time, it’s going to pile up and might even be the tipping point of your sanity.
2. STOP Bargain Hunting
Step away from the sale! if you don’t need it? Thank you, next!
Remember, it’s not really a bargain if you make up in quantity what you claim to have saved in discounts. Take the bargain as it is and always balance between your needs and wants. What if it’s really cheap? Just because it’s a shirt for a $1, doesn’t mean you need it.
3. Use it or lose it
Which of these shirts don’t belong? Let it go. Let it go!
We all know that one shirt you have stored away deep inside the dresser. It’s old, it has holes everywhere, and it hasn’t been used in ages. Your high school band shirt, a concert shirt from 1987, something that belonged to the one that got away. Keep the concert shirt (‘cause it’s vintage now, duh) and lose the rest. Sentiment is a hoard monster. Let go, live in the now. After all, nothing of importance stays hidden for that long. No one puts their baby in a corner!
4. DO.IT.NOW
Set a date and stick to it.
The longer you wait, the higher your clutter will pile up into an uncontrollable heap. If you wait for the urge to tidy up, you could be waiting forever, pick a date to do the deed and stick to it. There’s no better time than the present to make some changes that will benefit your body and mind.
5. Replace rather than increase
Function first, everything has a purpose.
Buy a shirt, take one out of your closet. This decluttering strategy puts functionality first. I mean, you wouldn’t buy an additional toaster, if one is underperforming right? You’d replace it. This way you’re making space instead of asking yourself if you have space for more.
6. Don’t let consumption consume you
Sometimes the conquest is greater than the reward.
Mmmm…that ‘brand-new’ smell - it’s undeniable that shopping makes people feel good otherwise, retail therapy would just be called something else -- like impulsive buying syndrome. But at the end of each day, the temporary highs brought about by small purchases will remain as they are, temporary. So always remember to take control of your emotions so you never ever have to suffer any sort of buyer’s remorse.
7. Omit needless things
Just you and your thoughts. Imagine the productivity in a space like this!
This doesn’t just refer to tangible items. It refers to everything that causes clutter to your life. Old files on your computer, emails you’ve been meaning to delete, the works. If the task makes you want to close your eyes and turn away, you know it’s time you take a seat and start purging.
8. Fix things instead of replacing them
A few good tools to fix the things that you can’t put a price tag on.
Nanna’s watch, dad’s old toolkit, that heirloom sewing machine that’s been in your family for 5 generations. Some things you just can’t put a price to, so replacing is just not an option. You’ll never be able to ‘buy’ meaning, so roll up your sleeves and invest in maintaining or fixing them instead of buying new!
9. Form attachment to PEOPLE NOT THINGS
The best things in life live in your heart.
No material possession will ever bring you comfort the same way a fellow human does. So focus on people and the value they add to your life and not things that will fade over time and leave no memories whatsoever.
10. Start at home
Everything in its place.
Equip your home with only the basics. You’ll be amazed at how much space you free up emotionally and mentally without all the distractions. Minimalism should extend to your outdoor spaces and how much you spend on them as well. Don’t get caught up in the cycle of maintaining an image or throwing money away. Invest in yourself and let only positivity in with MegaGrass low-to-no maintenance synthetic turf perfect for a minimal life.
Your state of mind is every bit as important as your physical state. These systems work hand in hand in providing you a life that you would love to live. Invest in the things that matter. Declutter, detoxify, de-stress. Remember that when your core is impaired, everything else goes down with it.