10 Ways to Become a Minimalist

I recently read somewhere online that people in western Europe own 10'000 things on average. If you think about it, that really isn't very much. (You could also compare it to a developing country in African where some people can count their belongings on ten fingers.) We should all strive to own less. I wrote a post last week about my experience with minimalism and how it has been the best stress reliever that I have discovered yet. Own less, experience life more...that is my new motto!

Here's how you can do it too:

1.  Throw away the half used lotions, shampoos, and soaps that you don't use in your bathroom.
(You can also do this with pens, pencils, dog toys, kids toys...etc.)
2.  Burn your candles, don't save them for special occasions.
3.   Put DVD and CD contents onto a external hard-drive and give away the hard copies.
4.   Limit sentimental things to 1 box.
5.   Stop stocking up on stuff, only buy what you need.
6.   Keep your two best sheet sets, get rid of the rest. (same with towels)
7.   Get rid of old t-shirts, socks, and underwear. (Why do you keep those anyway??)
8.   Limit kitchen items to one set:
(one set of pots: small, medium, large, 1 muffin tin, 1 cookie sheet, 2 mixing bowls. You DON'T need more than that unless you are running a restaurant.)
9.   Cancel cable, sell the TV. (You can watch news/tv online on a computer or ipad.)
10.   Don't keep books, donate or sell them when you are finished reading. Or just get a kindle. (You can also borrow, trade, and/or use the library. I am a huge fan of trading. Nothing brings more joy than trading one good book for another.)

11.   Turn all of your closet hangers around (backwards) and as you use a piece of clothing flip the hanger back to the correct position. This will show you what clothes you do not wear anymore- then get rid of those clothes.

12.   For items you may be questioning: put them in a box, close the box, and put it out of sight (in a closet, basement, or attic) Later, when you find the box just get rid of it, do NOT open it. You can even make a note to yourself on the top of the box before storing it.

Helpful hints:
-Stop thinking you might need something for later. Instead go outside, experience life, explore. You don't need anything for that. (And if you find there is something you need after you've gotten rid of it you can always borrow it or find it again at a thrift store.)
-Tell yourself that you will be just fine without 'said item' that you are debating getting rid of. If you don't use it regularly, then you probably don't need it, and won't miss it.
-The less you own, the less that owns you. You will feel more free!

A Minimalist Lifestyle will help you:

• Become more creative
• Get outside more
• Have a clearer mind
• Consume less
• Focus on what's important
• Save more money
• Live with intention

 Some great articles and resources:

-A great article: Living with Less, A Lot Less
-Great for motivation, especially his facebook page: Becoming Minimalist
-Less on minimalism, more on zen. Still good stuff though: Zen Habits
  

A Minimalist Lifestyle

This picture is of our bedroom. Yes, we have a dresser and a closet, but this is basically it.

I have had a few small bouts of living a minimalist lifestyle, like living in a 200 square foot studio apartment in South Korea, but not until this year have I purposely wanted to live that lifestyle. Since getting married, (about 3 years ago) Andy and I have moved apartments or houses roughly 10 times. That means that on average, we have moved about every 4 months for the last 3 years. What can I say, we like to keep things interesting!

After Andy and I eloped for our marriage, we had a wedding party for all of our friends and family to help us celebrate. When we invited people we specifically said 'no gifts', we didn't want to acquire more things. It was a simple start to a marriage with plenty of kitchen utensils and not much else. That was how we liked it though. I mean, what else do you need in life?! With each move that we made, we acquired more "stuff". Building a life with another person quickly adds up to a lot of "stuff".

Society tells us we need a couch to sit on, a TV to watch, fancy serving trays for parties, and a bookshelf full of books. This is all consumerism and marketing at its best. Society has marked holidays, weddings, having babies, and birthdays as times that you should BUY and give. There is less emphasis these days on just enjoying each others company and being together. We are addicted to buying and owning things. With tv, newspapers, magazines, and society norms all telling us to buy and accumulate more, we are not only wasting our money, but our time. "Things" require maintenance. Maintenance takes away from time and enjoying life. The more you have, the more of your time it takes, the less you enjoy and appreciate other people and life itself. However, the less you have, the more you can get out to enjoy life and loved ones. (My soapbox speech of the day.)

Moving to California at the end of December was our 10th (or 11th, I can't remember) time moving since we were married. It was our largest and most stressful move yet. We moved all the way across the country, from Virginia to California...right through a Midwestern snow storm none the less. We also rented the largest moving truck, 16 feet long. As we drove across the country, I stressed about our stuff getting tossed around the back of the moving truck. I stressed about how we were going to unload our moving truck up 3 flights of stairs into our new apartment. I stressed that our apartment wouldn't be large enough (2 bedrooms) to fit our stuff. It was one stress on top of another, all brought on by our "stuff".

Despite my stresses, everything worked out. It was not fun though! We parked our moving truck in the middle of the street all day while just Andy and I moved our belongings up 3 flights of stairs. We ended up hiring some guys to help us and by the end of the day everything was successfully in our apartment. I was so stressed and tired of all the "stuff" we owned, that I just about lost it. I told Andy I was at the end of my rope and that if we didn't get rid of at least half of our stuff I was going to lose it. So we did just that.

Andy and I spent the first week in our new apartment sorting through our stuff. We quickly discovered that the majority of our things were either useless, or duplicates. So out they went! We were able to whittle our things down to half the amount of what we moved with. And...we are still getting rid of things. At the end of each week, we have another bag or box of things to go. With each box that we get rid of I feel lighter, more positive, and more happy. It is wonderful! We are also discovering that the less we own, the more we get out and do things. We have adventures and truly enjoy life because nothing is keeping us at home.

I hate that it took us 3 years of accumulating things and 10 times of moving to discover how wonderful it is to live a minimalist lifestyle. I am happy however, that we have finally reached this point, and we will continue to have even less in the following months. What a sigh or relief. It has been the best stress reducer that I have discovered yet!

In a future post I will give tips on how to become more minimalist.