“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be
useful or believe to be beautiful.” ~ William Morris
Have you ever noticed that every time you move you
need a bigger truck than the last time you moved?
People love to collect things, and we have a tendency
to keep collecting things in order to fill the available space in our homes
(and sometimes beyond).
I’m a firm believer in the idea that material
possessions do not equate to happiness, so I recently started to explore the
idea of living a minimalist lifestyle, to see if a less cluttered home would
result in a less cluttered mind.
I concentrated on decluttering each element of my life
by reducing the amount of material possessions I owned and removing those that
were unnecessary. This allowed me to focus on those items I valued most.
I followed the seven steps below to declutter my
possessions:
Step 1: Categorized my possessions in order to sort
through them one at a time (clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, cosmetics,
electronics, books, etc.)
Step 2: Gathered together everything I own from one
category, so I could see the true extent of my possessions.
Step 3: Immediately discarded anything that jumped out
at me that I no longer required.
Step 4: Analyzed all remaining items to identify
whether I loved them. After careful consideration, I discarded anything I
didn’t love or need.
Step 5: This was a step where I pushed myself to be
more ruthless. I questioned whether I really truly loved the things in my “keep
pile” and removed a few more.
Step 6: Tidied everything I had decided to keep neatly
away.
Step 7: Gave everything I wasn’t keeping to friends and
charity shops and sent some things for recycling.
The process of removing all material possessions I no
longer required from my life taught me a number of lessons:
1. Mindful purchasing
We purchase many items on a whim, with little
consideration of need or desire. What a waste of money to buy something you may
not even particularly like!
A thorough decluttering session teaches you to be more
mindful of a purchase and analyze its importance before spending your
hard-earned cash.
When decluttering my clothes, I came across several
items that still had the labels attached. I found it really difficult to part
with these, as it felt so wasteful given that I had never worn them. This was a
great lesson in ensuring that from now on I will only buy items I am sure I
will definitely wear.
2. Money saved from unnecessary and frivolous
purchases
Restricting purchases to only necessary items has the
added benefit of saving cash. My biggest overspend in the past has been on
clothes.
Since I have significantly reduced my clothes
shopping, I have saved a considerable amount of money. This money has helped to
fund my true passion of travel and exploring the world.
3. Time saved by being able to find things more easily
Reducing your possessions allows you to find items
more quickly, saving precious time.
No longer will you have to hunt through a stash of
necklaces but easily choose one from the small collection you have retained. No
fishing around among a mountain of handbags or rooting through hanger after
hanger of clothes. The choice is quicker and easier.
4. Space saved from owning less
The fewer possessions you own, the less storage space
you need.
Since doing some serious decluttering, I now need half
the space I previously did. I am currently looking to move to a smaller
apartment, as I now have far too much room for one person and could happily
live somewhere much smaller.
5. Happier outlook
Surrounding yourself with items you love and displaying
only the items most valuable to you will make you feel happier. You won’t have
to search through lots of items that you don’t like. Favorite items won’t get
lost at the back of the cupboard or the bottom of the drawer.
Gone are the days of saving your favorite things for a
special occasion. Every day is a special occasion now that I am only using the
things I love and my life is happier as a result.
6. Quicker and easier to clean and tidy
The fewer possessions you have, the neater your house
will be and the easier it will be to keep clean.
Marie Kondo, the decluttering expert, advocates the
philosophy that each possession has a place and you should know exactly where
to find everything. This is only possible if you reduce the amount of your
material items. Now my living space is cleaner and tidier, my mind is less
cluttered.
7. More freedom
As you begin to detach from material possessions and
place more importance on experiences rather than things, you will sense a
feeling of lightness and freedom, which can become addictive.
I love this new sense of freedom I feel from no longer
being surrounded by piles of unnecessary items I never use and being less
attached to possessions. This allows me to focus instead on people and
experiences.
Now it’s your turn. Choose one category to start with
and focus on the seven steps. See how it makes you feel. Try to dispose of
unwanted possessions responsibly.
Source : tinybuddha.com