It is easy to stack your cupboards with unnecessary items that you might need later but never actually do; it can be quite a challenge when you plan on decluttering before moving places. As simple and minimalist as you might consider your lifestyle, there is bound to be a bundle of stuff you can live without.
In the United States, every fourth person’s house is cluttered. It has become relatively easy to accumulate items, but it is equally valid that minimalism is today’s popular living choice. People prefer to live simpler lives with the current trend of tiny houses.
A minimalist, a very ‘intentional’ living style, where there’s nothing that isn’t needed. You can apply minimalism in all aspects of your life, from the number of possessions you have to the relationships you give importance to.
But most importantly, it concerns your living space. As the term suggests, it refers to ‘minimizing’ your lifestyle until only what is required is left. If you are striving for a minimalistic lifestyle, the following tips will surely help you out:
1. Take apart one room at a time
When you take the impetus to remove clutter, the biggest challenge is to decide where to start. It seems like a daunting challenge when you think about dealing with the entire house. However, you would not find it as challenging if you go one room at a time.
Start with the room you think would be the easiest to clear. If you come across unnecessary items that cannot be discarded, you should allocate a storage room for such belongings. If you don’t have enough space in your place, you can also rent storage units in your vicinity.
2. Allocate separate zones
When you manage to scan your place for items you can take out, the next step is to decide what to do with the possessions. It would help if you began by allocating different zones like things to ‘sell,’ ‘recycle,’ ‘donate,’ or ‘throw away. When decluttering, you can allocate separate spaces to keep all these items and deal with them at the end.
3. Remove unnecessary decoration pieces
Yes, the urge to keep home décor items around the place to maintain the place’s aesthetic is real. But if you intend to minimalize your lifestyle, you must limit such possessions to only those especially valuable. Decoration pieces that don’t hold real value in your life only take up space.
Take out all the decoration pieces and then sift through them; you should only be left with ones with sentimental value, like gifts from special people or family photos.
4. Hold back on the urge to shop
Once you have scanned and decluttered your space, it’s time to maintain it. To achieve this end, you need to change your mindset. Be clear on one thing; get only what you need. One major problem today is that online shopping has made buying a lot more convenient; as a result, ‘impulsive buying’ has become all the more problematic. Impulsive buying is what you do in the spur of the moment, usually due to window shopping.
To shop for quality and not quantity should be your priority; be sure to buy intentionally and invest in products that will last long. Instead of going for a large number of shoes, for instance, spend on a high-quality pair. A significant one-time investment will save you money in the long run and also keep your place clear of clutter.
5. Spend more on experiences than material possessions
One aspect of a minimalist lifestyle is a greater emphasis on experiences than material things. Experiences last while stuff you buy, if not serving any purpose, only takes up space, drains money, and ultimately finishes.
Looking at it the other way around, a minimalist is already cutting down on extra expenses and would thus have more money to invest in gaining new experiences. Go ski diving, skiing, or mountain climbing with your family instead of loading your house with decoration pieces. Once you manage to incorporate this mindset, you will see yourself having much more fun.
6. Digitalize where you can
One significant advantage of today’s all-pervasive digitalization is that it dramatically reduces space usage. If you are into video games, movies, or books, you likely have trouble storing away all your collections. You can easily find e-books, online video games, and movie players, so switching your collection to the online platform is best.
This will save you space, allow for easy access at all times, and cost you much less. Also, you might notice that many of your books and movies are left unused most of the time. You must decide to let go of certain books and save an online copy instead if you can’t.
7. Clear the clutter regularly
Decluttering shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Regular tidying will help you maintain your minimalist lifestyle and make it last. This involves more than just discarding unnecessary items every once in a while.
Make it a daily routine to tidy your living space, mainly when you live with children, a mess is inevitable, and all your deep cleaning efforts will go to waste if the apparent outlook of your house is cluttered.
Some places, like your child’s playroom or bedroom, would need daily attention, while others, like your attic, might only need to be cleared seasonally.
8. Practice mindfulness
Being a minimalist is more than just adopting certain practices; it is about having a minimalist mindset. Most prominently, a minimalist is content and happy with what they have instead of wanting to own more and more possessions.
If you keep believing that you will be happy once you have this possession or that, it will become a vicious cycle of hoarding stuff and consistently trying to acquire the next prized thing. Mindfulness can help treat this problem by allowing you to focus more on what you already have and be grateful for it. Make mindful meditation a routine, and it will bring you peace.
Final words
Living a simple, minimalistic life is much easier and more satisfying than always aiming for more. Once you embrace a minimalist lifestyle, you will see a positive impact on your well-being, you will be able to save money, and get more free time on your hands.
To begin down this road, begin by decluttering one room at a time. Then maintain it by controlling your urge to buy things you don’t need and tidying regularly. Remember that experiences matter more than material possessions, so invest more in experiences than hoarding. This way, you will see your life transform in no time.
