A 21-Step Guide To Embracing Minimalism
Even though you spend hours looking at your wardrobe and choosing what to wear, you still think, “I have nothing to wear!” Are you tired of picking up and putting down all the objects one by one while dusting? Are you wondering where to put summer clothes, winter clothes, blankets in the house? Do you constantly think about the things you should do but don't do and get angry at yourself? Do you love forests and nature, but do you feel remorse when you think about what you consume? If you have said “yes” to many of these questions, it is time for you to get acquainted with minimalism.
Minimalism can be a helpful philosophy to adopt if you feel overwhelmed by the clutter in your life and are tired of constantly thinking about and managing all your possessions. It can also be beneficial for those who feel stressed by the constant influx of information and social media interactions. By embracing minimalism and simplifying your life, you can free up time and energy to focus on the things that truly matter to you, such as nature, personal growth, and relationships. Famous figures like Steve Jobs and Einstein, who were known for their minimalistic approaches, demonstrate the potential benefits of this way of thinking. If you are interested in exploring minimalism further, consider starting by decluttering your physical space and reducing your consumption. This can help you live a more intentional and fulfilling life.
1. Write this down somewhere: "Less stuff, more memories!”
The more things you have, the more you need to devote time and money to their maintenance, cleaning, arrangement, storage. Think about it; would you prefer to be able to make a trip to the country you want to go to the most and to save memories that you will remember for a lifetime, or to buy a new item that you will throw away after a while?
2. Decide on your style and needs.
This is not a very easy step. You need time. Think about your lifestyle; if you commute to work by bus, why are there so many high-heeled shoes? Or if you live in a place with no sea, why should your closet be full of swimsuits? Things that you don't like or that you will wear very rarely just because they are fashionable. Decide on your favorite colors and do not go out of them. Rely on neutral colors in this regard; neutral colors such as black, white, beige, gray and plain, basic clothes are always a lifesaver. Make a list of clothes that you think will be useful to you. Look, Audrey Hepburn is so elegant in just a jet-black outfit in that photo. Why? Because she's Audrey Hepburn. Just kidding, we gave an example of elegant because it is very simple.
3. Take down your entire closet and eliminate it one by one.
Yes. Don't be lazy. Empty that closet. Things that you have bought and have never touched in the last 1 year, for some reason do not make you happy. It may seem a little difficult at first, but don't worry; if you haven't worn it in the last year, you probably won't wear it next year either. Wash, iron, repair those that are in good condition and give them to someone who needs them more than you. Make a note of what you don't like about the clothes you gave: it wasn't perfect, the fabric felt uncomfortable, I didn't like the pattern, etc. so. Later you will also need this list.
4. Do not go shopping without a list.
Remember those two lists you wrote earlier? Take them with you when you go shopping. This way, you will be buying the ones that will really work for you. After buying only the things that work, you will realize that you don't really need the others that much. Control yourself! Fuchsia color may be fashionable, but if it's not on your list, it means it will be garbage next year.
5. Buy less, buy better.
So, over time, you will start buying less; buying less means being able to save more money and get into less debt. Instead of having 10 polyester blouses made by poor Chinese workers who work for abdominal satiety and that you buy cheaply, have 2 more expensive blouses made of natural material that are produced under more ethical conditions.
6. Apply the last 4 items to other areas of your home as well.
Hundreds of storage containers piled up on you when you opened the kitchen cupboard, ten different cake molds that you found cute and bought but didn't use, that set of glasses that came as a gift but you don't like the design, CDs that you don't listen to anymore, books that you finished and won't read again, boxing gloves that you bought on a whim and dusted in the warehouse sometime... Put them all in a corner. Throw away what will be thrown away as well (you can't throw batteries and electronics in the trash normally, attention!).
7. Get acquainted with the” Gift Economy".
Rest assured, there is someone who needs all of these items you have reserved more than you do. Look for places where you can give these. Study terms such as “Gift Economy”, “Gift Circle”, “Barter Sunday” from the Internet and participate in those formations. If they are expensive products, you can sell them to second-hand shops or you can sell them online and make a profit!
8. Apply these steps that you have applied to things to other aspects of your life now.
Just like that, sit and think. What do you devote time to? What interests or hobbies do you have? How many people do you really enjoy meeting on Facebook? What are your career plans? Create free time for yourself during the day and think about these issues thoroughly. Could it be that the main need underlying the fact that you bought hundreds of teddy bears was to get compassion from someone?
9. Have you thought about it thoroughly? Good. Close all social media accounts that you don't use now.
Close them one by one. Just leave the 1-2 that you use the most. If you have opened dozens of blogs, close them too. Don't let your mind stay there. Besides, your inbox doesn't fill up because of the update emails that come every day.
10. Do a “friend detox” on social media.
From the accounts you say ”keep“, delete the people you don't really want to meet by doing a ”friend detox'. Oh... it was hard, but you did it. Now you've got rid of that annoying guy who goes to the Maldives and sends photos of his feet, but actually never calls you. There are only people on your list that you really care about and that you see often. They are not going to come to you and say, “Why did you delete me?'. They won't ask. They didn't care about you anyway.
11. Also clean up your emails, SMS, phone book.
All the ads from places you're not interested in, all the messages, all the things that occupy your contacts... What is the need? These are all things that tire your mind a lot without you realizing it and distract you. Delete or unsubscribe.
12. You don't have to take all the responsibilities on yourself.
You don't have to catch up everywhere. You do not have to be perfect. You don't have to keep your house fully clean, pick up your kid from school every evening by yourself, do a double major at the university. Determine your main needs and what you really want to do and find someone to help you with the mandatory ones. If you take all the responsibilities on yourself, people may not understand that they need to help you.
13. You don't have to do everything that society expects of you.
Everyone says to you, “get married now,” but maybe you want to travel the world. They say, ”Have a child,' but you don't feel ready. They ask, “Haven't you become a manager yet,” but you want a completely different career. Between all this, you go back and forth and question yourself. Let go of people's thoughts. This life is your life. Do not live it according to anyone's wishes.
14. Do not be too ambitious for your hobbies.
Do you have to be a super musician, a great cook and a freaky ice-skating athlete at the same time? Or what kind of stress are you putting yourself under to become? However, even very simple things can make a person happy. Walking in nature, spending time with friends, listening to music...Are you doing the hobbies you are interested in because you really enjoy them, or are you pushing yourself to achieve success by doing that hobby in the “perfect” way? It may be difficult to distinguish this at first. But ask yourself this question really, really sincerely. Leave only the activities that make you happy. Be true to yourself.
15. It's time for the trash on your tongue.
We are always complaining, gossiping, blaming it on others, we're yelling in traffic, talk just because, and we end up hurting people and ourselves. We may be exhausting ourselves by exaggerating things that aren't actually there. Try not to complain at all for 1 day. Even call it” complaint fasting'. Let's see how you will feel at the end of the day!
16. Live more ethically, sleep peacefully at night.
Remember our expression” polyester blouse made by Chinese workers'. There are so many wrong choices in your life that we make carelessly like this. For example, the garbage sorting issue is still not being implemented properly. However, just as it is important to consume less, it is also important to follow where what we consume goes. Why don't you start a movement in your own neighborhood that will benefit everyone? Let's give the first hint: you can find a system for baby strollers that have been left to rot in warehouses. (They're all very expensive things, you know, right?)
17. “Oh no! I can't be minimalistic about what goes into my stomach!”
We have cleaned every area of our life from junk. But what about the junk food that gets into our stomachs? Just as we have adopted the principle of “few but high quality” in clothes, we need to do the same in this regard. Just as buying to buy, talking to talk, doing to have done is bad, eating to have eaten is also bad. The more high-quality but small amounts of food you eat, the more you will discover that you enjoy the food you eat much more. It is healthy!
18. Notice how you spend your time.
You do all of the above and still say, “I can't keep up with anything!” if you say that, you may not be using your time effectively. Maybe you are on Internet for too long? Maybe you've been watching too much TV and wasting the whole night? Pay attention to what you devote time to during the day and write down your findings. In fact, you will be surprised to see how much time is left for so many things.
19. Do not multitask.
This is not being “resourceful”. If you don't talk on the phone while driving and call them back when you are out of the car, rest assured that the person on the other side won't die of heartbreak. But while you're trying to answer that phone, you-and the others in the car- could crash and die. To pay attention to what you are doing, stop doing other work.
20. Enjoy the silence.
Create a quiet time zone for yourself that you can escape from time to time. Just set aside half an hour or an hour for yourself. Whether it's prayer or meditation. Just stay alone with your mind, without doing any work. You will notice that the waves in your head have calmed down, and over time you have become a calmer person.
21. Finally: Be grateful for the things you have.
As Cicero said “If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need.” Of course, everyone's needs can change. But also think about the things that really make you the happiest and be grateful that you have them. And remember, minimalism is a lifestyle and a process. Don't expect it to happen just like that. Reduce it over time and realize how much reduction frees you.
Which one do you think is the best tip for minimalism? Tell us in the comments!
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