How to Adopt Minimalism

Becoming a minimalist, or a person that is not living in excess and tries to live with as few items as possible at home, can be quite difficult. Most of us have become accustomed to buying frequently, and the constant purchases could only lead us to have more clutter or unnecessary items in the house. However, there are different ways or methods that we can try to start becoming a minimalist, and these methods are simple to follow as long as you have the motivation to do them. Here are the best ways that you can adopt minimalism.

Start Decluttering

In order for you to begin being a minimalist, you must first have to declutter your home so that you will have a clean slate for minimalism. Decluttering is an activity wherein you will remove unnecessary items inside your home, and these items could be appliances that no longer work or things that you haven’t used for months or years. Take away those items by placing them inside cardboard boxes and only retain the items that are still working or functioning. You have the option to sell the unwanted items inside the boxes by putting out a garage sale so that other people may find a use for those items. By selling those items, you will have the money to create a budget for your minimalist journey.

List Down Every Item You Have

essential items on a table

Now that you have gotten rid of unnecessary items, it is recommended that you list down every item you have remaining. Create a list and start inventorying your items so that you can keep track of the ones that need to be replaced. A checklist is much better to have since you can or cross out the items that need replacement, and you can also divide the checklist into different categories. The categories that you can add to the checklist could be the different rooms in the house or the different uses for the items. By dividing the items by category, you will have an easier time keeping track of them whenever you do a weekly check on your items.

Set a Limit on The Items You Own

After creating a checklist, you can then begin limiting how many items you own in the house, which is an important process to reduce unnecessary items that you buy for yourself or for the home. Most minimalists tend to limit themselves to only own 100 items, an ideal number for beginners to follow. By keeping track of your items through a checklist, it would be easier for you to actually limit the items you own since you will already count the items you have on the list. The 100 items include the necessities like bathroom or kitchen items and products and also the “wants” that can bring you happiness but don’t have any particular utility or use in the house like gaming consoles or books. 

Buying items whenever you are at the mall can be hard to prevent, but the key to living a minimalist life is to avoid malls and stores as much as possible so that you won’t have the urge to buy unnecessary items. When you go out to buy groceries and other necessities, you can just buy plenty of items and products in one go instead of constantly going out to purchase them, as this would reduce your visits to stores.

Remember the 12-Month Rule

One of the great minimalism tips that you can follow is to always remember the 12-month rule, which is a process wherein you will have to get rid of items that you haven’t used for 12 months or more. These items could be a pair of pants that no longer fits you well or some toys that you or your children don’t play with anymore for about a year. You can choose to sell these items to others through a garage sale, as they may find a use for them, or you can just donate the items to charity. Following the 12-month rule can be hard sometimes, especially if you don’t want to let go of an item that has sentimental value. However, letting go of items that you cherish is sometimes a part of minimalism, as all items that you own at home would eventually have sentimental value for you. It is essential that you learn how to not put importance on items and instead place the importance on the memories that you have with them. By giving it or selling it away, the items that you haven’t used for more than a year may finally serve their purpose for other people.

Those are some simple tips on how to be a minimalist. Following most of these tips can be hard for some, but the only way that you can change your current lifestyle is to pick some difficult choices and change your habits. By remembering and following the tips, you will eventually get used to them and finally be able to have a minimalist lifestyle.