There are a plethora of self-help books that will guide you towards leading a happier life. Maybe you’ve bought the majority of them and even applied a lot of what’s been said. But do we really need all this advice? If there could be one habit we could adopt to be generally more happy it would make our path to happiness and wellbeing much easier.
So what is it? Well, it’s the concept of ‘less is more’ or, in other words, taking a more minimalist approach to life.
What Minimalist Living Really Means
Minimalist living may conjure up images of a bare house or cutting down on the stuff we enjoy – in other words, we must sacrifice enjoyment to be happy. Our modern world offers us so much to choose from and surely living minimally means we’re not taking the full advantage of what we can have, right?
It doesn’t have to mean giving up on our favourite things or getting rid of all our home comforts. As a concept, what minimalist living really means is recognising your worth more than the worth of material things.
We can get very caught up in the things we want – those things that satisfy short-term – instead of focusing on what we need. Another way of looking at it is giving ourselves the sense of freedom – freedom from the external things and freedom from the need for possession.
This doesn’t have to be a life-changing task but rather a shift in mindset and perspective towards what you consider is important to you.
How Living Minimally Will Benefit Your Life
There are so many benefits to creating a more minimalist life, not just for your physical living space but for your positivity of mind – it’s a process of decluttering and decluttering can do wonders for our general wellbeing.
It allows us to refocus on what’s important, creating more energy and time for ourselves. Buying and maintaining the stuff we have is a real money drainer so eliminating possessions also eliminates worry and stress, opening up a sense of breathing space.
But It Also Comes With Difficulties…
Many of us find this a hard concept to put into practice. As mentioned before, we live in a time when we’re bombarded with a never-ending selection of stuff at our fingertips. Society makes it so there’s a certain expectation – we can’t live without a mobile phone, we should keep up with the latest fashions, we need to continually upgrade to make sure we’re not falling behind.
All this can make it difficult to declutter our lives and take on a new way of approaching how we live. But once you start considering yourself, your self-worth and what’s important to you rather than what’s important to your society, it can be a truly freeing experience.
Put It Into Action: Ways To Go Minimalist
Becoming minimalist doesn’t have to happen overnight. Making small shifts is a better way to sustain a long-term perspective on decluttering. Starting the process little by little will help you to feel a slow but sure difference in the way you approach life and ultimately make you feel lighter and happier.
1. Clear Out Your Wardrobe
The best way to start is with your clothes. How many of your clothes sit in the wardrobe or drawers only to be pulled out once or twice a year – or more than likely never? This process of throwing out items of clothing can be a very liberating experience. More often than not, they are taking up unnecessary space and you’ll be surprised at how much you won’t even notice they’re gone once you’ve thrown them out.
Give yourself a challenge of getting rid of any clothes you haven’t worn in the last 6 months. Watch as your stressful mornings of outfit dilemmas disappear.
2. Do The Food Challenge
Eating well is a must but our shopping bills can be way more expensive than they need to be. Enjoying minimalist living doesn’t mean scrimping on good food and eating the same boring meals every day in the name of ‘less is more’. Being savvy with the types of food we buy and finding interesting recipes that use cheap and tasty ingredients, can slash our shopping bill by more than we think. It’s about training ourselves to shop smart and really be mindful of the choices we make.
3. Declutter Your Living Space
It’s very tempting to buy decorations that will look good in our home but over time it can add up. Once we’re used to stuff being around us we’re almost blind to it. Take time to really look around and see what needs to go. Keep the things that are meaningful or really suit the scheme of your home and consider giving away things that don’t have a place anymore. This can include furniture or the accumulation of kitchen utensils – remember duplicates are rarely necessary!
4. Travel Lightly
How often when travelling, do you pack way too much? We think of every possible scenario that could potentially happen that justifies taking much more than we need. Most of the time we don’t use half the stuff we take. So if you’re going for a week then pack for 3 or 4 days. Not only will you have less to carry, but you’ll realise you can live with a smaller choice.
5. Declutter Your Mind From Social Media
It’s normal these days to be glued to our phone and check social media several times a day but is it really necessary? How many times do you scroll through your Facebook feed and think why am I looking at this again?!
This approach to minimalism is purely for your mind. Give your brain a rest and make a conscious effort to not check social media. Don’t beat yourself up when you do, but just note when you do it and question yourself. Over time you will notice you check it much less and you’ll feel happier for it.
So, adopt the ‘less is more’ philosophy and see how decluttering your life will work wonders for your mind and perspective on what really makes you happy.
