Why You Should Become A Minimalist

In a society where endless consumerism is the norm, it can be difficult to not buy things. It has reached a point where we buy things just because we can. Take a look at all your clothing, how much of it did you buy on an impulse ‘spur of the moment’ thought? Another question, how much of it do you actually wear and love? Minimalism is about questioning and limiting the items you own to leave you only with things you love and use.

This new mindset probably goes against your current lifestyle habits. Most people find a lot of happiness in buying new things: the latest iPhone, the latest designer shoes. Minimalism is about removing the happiness-dedication in materialistic things and instead, spending your time enjoying life instead of tidying up your useless items. It’s about spending your money on experiences and memories, rather than buying things for yourself that you do not need.

Some of The Benefits Include:

• Less clutter, less stress, more space
• You save loads of money
• You’ll love everything you own
• You’ll feel more gratitude towards the items you own
• More time to think about important things and focus on personal projects

How can you work towards this lifestyle?

1. Make lists before you go shopping – This way you don’t get distracted by impulse buys. Setting a target for yourself while shopping narrows down what you are looking for.
2. Want vs. Need – Learn to identify your urges. Is it something you want or do you definitely need this item in your life? Personally, I find this difficult with clothing as it can feel impossible to limit what I need.
3. Stop comparing your life to others – Just because someone you look up to owns a certain type of dress, doesn’t mean you need it too. Once you stop the constant comparison you’ll realise that what you have is perfectly fine.
4. Get rid of duplicates – You don’t need two identical white t-shirts, sell one online, someone out there may be looking for a perfect white t-shirt that you have two of!
5. Declutter your home – Start small, but go through all your items and decide what you use, what you love and what you no longer need. It will take a long time but the results will be refreshing.
6. A place for everything – Once everything has a place that it belongs in your home, tidying will be made 100% easier, think about where you are going to put something before you buy it. Do you have room for it?

Although it’s a long process that will take some getting used to, once you have finally reached a point of satisfaction it will feel great. Having fewer items will give you more space to think and be productive. Consuming fewer items of poor quality and buying better quality products will ensure your items last longer, so essentially you will waste less over time. And who doesn’t want to add their part into saving the planet?

Want to learn more? Check out Anuschka Rees’ blog posts on Minimalism here.