More and more people want to live in a minimalistic way. But what is minimalism? What results in a minimalist lifestyle? And what steps can you take to live in a minimalistic way? In this article we give you answers to these questions!
Minimalism? What is it?
Minimalism can indicate, among other things, an art movement, an architectural trend and a way of life. Whatever it is about, minimalism always has to do with essence and simplicity. Minimalist architecture, for example, is the construction of simple buildings that have been built with only the essential parts.
Minimalist lifestyle
When you translate this into a minimalist lifestyle, it means that you only live with what is important to you. You only live with the essential elements in your life. That is, of course, a broad concept, because what is absolutely essential for one person may be totally unnecessary for the other.
Do I want this? Do I need this? Am I happy about this?
Minimalism can be applied very broadly to your life. In this article we will focus on minimalist life related to property, but you can also apply minimalism to other elements in your life such as your social contacts, your (full) agenda, your mailbox etc.
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Away with materialism!
Minimalist life means that you have no business that you do not value (anymore). Storing items because you think you might ever need them (which is often not the case), is therefore not part of it. Cabinets full of stuff that you will never look back on are out of the question. Save something because it's hard to say goodbye to stuff, forget it!
In short, gone with materialism. A real relief!
Why a minimalist lifestyle?
After all, we live in a society where materialism still plays a major role. We attach a lot to stuff and sometimes having lots of beautiful things even adds to our sense of self-worth. If you want to live minimalist, you will have to say goodbye to materialism and therefore your stuff. That may sound scary, but believe us, it also yields a lot. We share five important benefits of a minimalist lifestyle:
Wonderfully clear
If you dispose of all that is unnecessary and you only have the essential items in your home, that means an army house. An empty house is a well-organized house. That ensures order and peace in your environment and that has an impact on your psyche. You will find that when your house becomes army and clearer, your head also becomes army and clearer. Not only order and peace in the house, but also in your head.
Photo by: youcanbuyhappiness.nl
Less stuff, less worry
The more stuff you have, the more things you have what you can worry about. Stuff can be broken, things need maintenance, things can be lost and so on. With less stuff you simply have less to worry about. Moreover, you feel no pressure to have much, the most beautiful or the latest stuff. Playing simpler means less stress in your life.
Seas of time
You will have more time because of a minimalist life. You can spend a lot of time searching for your house keys. In a well-organized house, however, you do not lose something so quickly. Moreover, you do not have much stuff left to lose and if that does happen, you have fortunately found it again.
In a house where there are not a lot of things, cleaning goes a lot faster. There is much less to dust off and much less that needs to be moved during vacuum cleaning. Cleaning is less intensive, it takes less time and therefore it is also less bad to do.
In addition, you spend less time on materialism. Shopping you do less, surfing the internet to the latest gadgets you do not do anymore and (yes!) You do not have to spend a whole day on the residential boulevard.
Extra money
If you want to live minimalist, you will probably have to start at home with a big clean-up. If you want to get rid of your stuff, it can sometimes generate a lot of money by selling it via the internet. An advertisement on the internet is now placed so with your phone and believe us, that add will attract more people than you think!
Then you save a lot of money when you are living minimalist because you buy less stuff. You think better about what you want to buy. Before you buy something new, first ask yourself if you really want and need something. You spend less money on (unnecessary) items and prevent buying things you actually not really need. Minimalist life ensures that you have more money for other things that make you happy.
More luck
The above benefits, such as having more rest in your head and having more time, generally increase your feeling of happiness. In addition, you are happy with less and therefore more quickly happy. Because you wonder what you want and do not want, you better realize what makes you happy. That is what you value more. You are more aware of your happiness and enjoy what you have.
The first steps towards a minimalist life
Do you see the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle and have you decided to apply it to your life? Then it's time to take action!
Unlock
We also understand that it is difficult to empty your house and say goodbye to your belongings. Fortunately, it really does not have to be so drastic. Start with one room in your home. Walk through this room, leave all the stuff in the room and ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I value this?
- Did I use this last year?
- Am I going to use this coming year?
- Do I find it (still) beautiful?
- Is it essential for me?
- Does it have an important value for me?
- Am I happy about this?
You understand that the more often you answer these questions with "no", the greater the chance that it is no longer valuable and essential to you. This means throwing away, giving away or selling. So you can then go through every space in your home. Do not forget your clothes, the toilet and all kitchen cabinets! When you have gone through your home and have disposed of (a lot of) non-essential stuff, you will notice that you have automatically created peace in your home.
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Being critical
Now that you only have the essentials for you and your house is well organized and orderly, the intention is to keep it that way. This does not mean that you cannot buy or receive anything new, but be critical. If you want to buy something new, whether it's a planter, a pan or a pair of pants, ask yourself if you really need it.
Make your own agreements
You can make arrangements with yourself. For example, you can agree that you do not buy things twice, that you buy a different piece of clothing for every new piece of clothing you buy or that you do not have more than a certain amount of something (for example, five pens or ten make-up items).
Spread the word
It is always good to inform your environment about your new way of life. Just like with a diet. This prevents you from getting unnecessary gifts for your birthday or souvenirs that you are not waiting for. Others are less able to assess what is important and valuable to you. After all, this is personal. Others can help you, especially at the beginning, to look critically at your stuff and new purchases. Perhaps it is also contagious when others see what minimalism has brought to you!
Finally
We especially want to emphasize that you have to do what suits you. As written before, it really does not have to be (immediately) drastic. You can also apply certain steps. Ultimately, it's about doing what makes you happy!
By: youcanbuyhappiness.nl
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