Lifestyle changes are one of the most difficult changes to affect in your life. Humans are creature of habits. We embrace consistency and stability. Take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one that is afraid of change. You never know, sometimes all you might need is a small push in the right direction to ignite a change in your life. Take for instance, you’ve just moved into a house for rent in puchong. You can use this as a stepping stone to get rid of things that you don’t need.
While some find it easy to make a radical change and charge into minimalism fast and easy, and yet you might also fall off the bandwagon as quickly. Others might step in and out of it according to their whims and fancies. However, a good idea to make some lifestyle changes is to do it in slow, sustainable shifts. Take your time to seek, experiment and fine what lifestyle suits you.
If you are a beginner, or already on your journey to simplify your life, here are some easy and tiny steps that you can take to embrace a minimalistic mentality.
1. Make a list
First things first. Write down all the reasons that you want to lead a life of simplicity. This helps you get yourself into the proper mindset that is needed for you to start making the changes you want to make in your life. The right mindset puts you in the perfect perspective to get to where you want to go – in this case, the simple life.
Take a few minutes out of your day and let your thoughts flow out. Do you feel overwhelmed with your life? Are you sick of debt collectors? Are you too stressed out to fall asleep at night? Find out the whys before you start thinking about the hows. All your whys can be just the leverage you need to get you started on your journey towards a simpler life.
2. Discard the duplicates
We often fall into the thinking that if owning something is nice, owning more will be even better. It’s true, we all own duplicates. Maybe you have two sets of measuring cups, or multiple copies of the same book. Here’s what you can do. Make a walkthrough of your home with a box and fill it with any duplicates that you may find. Once you’re done, label the box and keep it out of sight. If you find that you don’t go back to the box for something you need, or if you don’t remember what was in the box after 30 days, donate it.
However, make sure that you’re not getting rid of essential items though. Minimalism does not mean that you have to get rid of every duplicate item that you own. For example, a white shirt is an essential that you should have more that one of. You don’t have to apply minimalism to everything. Rather, take charge of your life with just a sliver of help from a minimalist life philosophy, but don’t let it render you completely helpless in a bad situation – getting rid of that extra white shirt may put you in a pinch when you spill something on the only white shirt that you are left with owning.
3. Gazette a clutter-free zone
Find a large enough area around your house that you can declare as a clutter-free zone. It doesn’t have to be a big area, it could be as small an area as your kitchen table, your coffee table, a nightstand or even a work desk.
The key is to start small and use this clutter-free zone as a catalyst to inspire you to journey much further into a life with less. Meanwhile, it can also serve as a test of sorts to see if a clutter-free lifestyle suits you. If you enjoy the clean and clear environment the lack of clutter brings you, start expanding the zone bit by bit each day. Your clutter-free kitchen table will soon expand to become a clutter-free room, and your clutter free room will turn into the clutter free home that you’ve always dreamed of having. This will help you in achieving a simpler, stress- and clutter-free life.
4. Travel lightly
Travel packing is a good way to start embracing some minimalism. As we’ve been saying throughout
this guide: start with little steps. Think about it. Nothing puts a damper on that euphoric pre-vacation rush like the stress of lugging around a, or worse, the words “your bag is overweight”. So, use this excuse heavy suitcase as a sort of reverse psychology method to push you into adopting a more minimalist mentality.
The next time you are going to take a trip, try out some of these tips. For instance, pack for half the time you are travelling. If you are going on a trip for 4 days, pack for 2. We always take more than we need anyways. Then, see the freedom you feel when you end up carrying less baggage. Not just physically, but emotionally too. This just might ignite in you a love for minimalism and living simply.
5. Dress with less
Your closet is also another great place to start your journey of simple living. What’s amazing about it is that you will be starting in something that is a huge part of your daily life. Your clothes aren’t just material things, they’re such a big part of your life, because you live your life in them.
Think about the fact that your closet resembles your mentality. If you have a closet crammed full of clothes that you no longer wear, or items with price tags still on them that have never seen the light of day, this might resemble the state of mind you are currently in. Consider doing a purge of your closet to start your journey of embracing the less is more mentality. You don’t have to throw all of them away, which is quite wasteful. Instead, donate your unused and unworn clothing to charities. That way, not only will you be doing good for yourself, you will be doing some good for others too.