Transitioning To A Minimalist. How Great It Feels and Why Everyone Should

Do you ever think, wow ‘I have a lot of sh*t‘? Are things just accumulating in your wardrobe, kitchen, garage, spare room? Well there is a pretty straight forward solution for you, minimalism. Read on for how I have been transitioning to a minimalist. How great it feels and why everyone should become a minimalist (or as close as you can). 

I’ve always considered myself to be a minimalist, but I still knew on the grand scheme of things I wasn’t one. Thinking over the years how I haven’t wanted to buy or receive much as I don’t want to think about it. Like where am I going to store this, will this work with everything else I’ve got, do I even like this (after a couple of months).  This was all resolved of what I thought it was when earlier this year I watched the documentary The Minimalists.

Long of it short, it talks about not buying into the consumerism world. Where we buy things we don’t need and don’t even really want. We buy it for the rush and satisfaction it brings at that certain point in time but quickly fades. Leaving us with a crave to get another fix to have that feeling again. Instead we must find joy and happiness in what we already have.

A friend, after watching the doco said, ‘why do we need six tea towels?’ as if one or two wouldn’t suffice. And it’s completely true. But instead we come up with reasons or excuses like what if I can’t find one and one is dirty. Something simple as that and we start accumulating items.

This is my place and apart of me being a (transitioning) minimalist is for three main reasons. 1) Not wanting to spend (waste) the money, 2) I don’t want to clutter my place up and 3) I love to travel so I like to rent my place out. For 3) I would not want to be moving heaps of things for people to come and stay. So it makes it quick to just clean it up without having to put things away.

I use the word that I am a minimalist but as noted a transitioning one. For now I find it fitting because a lot of other people have way more than what I do. That being said obviously I have a lot more than others too. But what I am trying to achieve is a higher appreciation for what I’ve got.

Think about it like this.. If you had 386 items of clothing, do you think you appreciate all 386 items? Of course not. You would think I have nothing to wear, I want to buy more clothes, I hate wearing the same things. Now what if you only had 40 items of clothing. You may still think the same things, but you will certainly have a higher appreciation for those 40 items you have in your wardrobe.

The best benefit I have found is, liberation. I feel like less weight is around when moving towards minimalism. Looking at a smaller wardrobe makes me feel good. I don’t have to pick between heaps of outfits, but only a small number. When I started to through clothes away (95% to charity, 5% bin) I felt good about myself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard at first.

Over the years and doing spring cleans I would only throw a couple of items of clothing away! It was too hard. I would pick up so many items and think I’m sure I’ll wear that again, I love this top etc so I wouldn’t throw out much. But after thinking about it more logically than emotionally, that’s when it all tied in. I started small at first but now I’ve cut down my wardrobe by 50% since the beginning of the year.

Once you start to use the logic of what you really don’t want to wear or it’s not the end of the world if you chuck it out, you’re on the right path. Because it gets easier from here. You’ll find once start to throw those out you will have no problem getting rid of more. Try it! One or two of your items that you do love but really don’t need, use or love that much anymore – throw.

You start to see your home becomes tidier just because you have less. From this you will spend less. The mentality will kick over into your everyday life. Not buying the seventh tea towel, or another few dresses because they are on sale. As you will then know, the feeling of that impulse consumerism happiness will disappear shortly after. Plus if you buy three dresses, throw out one, two or three dresses!

I will make sure to do another post down the track of how many items of clothing I have and how I am feeling. But make it a note to yourself, if you want to start feeling better, try this! Because happiness doesn’t come from materialistic things, but from within us. And we all know you can’t buy happiness, so throw it out and don’t spend!

For more on self love making sure you read As Justin Bieber Said – You Should Go and Love Yourself.