Enjoy less stress, more freedom, less cost, be happier and more productive
By: Terry Andrew Dunn
Tags: Minimalism, Minimalist, Freedom, Happiness, Minimal Living

Can minimalism really give you all this?

Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash

Yes, it absolutely can, and a lot more besides.

We live in a material world, as Madonna sang in one of her hit songs. Everybody buys and hoards so much stuff. Well, almost everybody. There are a few people that practice minimalism. They are spreading the word.

What happened when I was forced into minimalism?

When I separated from my wife, I moved out of the family home and into a small apartment. There was just no way it could accommodate all of my stuff. I had to perform radical surgery on my belongings.

So I hired a skip and got to work. One pile for sentimental items. One for things I used regularly and one for either selling or throwing away. The smallest piles were sentimental and selling items; I’m not a sentimental kind of person and I didn’t really own much of real value either.

By far and away the biggest pile was for throwing away, including around 90% of my wardrobe. Clothes I’d not worn in years, and never likely to wear again for all sorts of reasons. Masses of books, papers, and documents. Plus an assorted collection of paraphernalia from the past.

This is why I needed the skip. Throwing most of it away was cathartic; like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. And the skip was completely full by the time I had finished. When I moved into my new apartment, it didn’t take long and involved a van-full of stuff. I felt so light.

What did I learn from slimming down my life?

In three years, I needed perhaps one or two items I threw away, that’s all. Rather than needing lots of the stuff I got rid of, I could have released more. There are still non-sentimental items that I haven’t used. I realised I can live with a lot less than I thought I could.

My removal costs were low. The cost of storing my stuff is much lower. I am using all of my clothes, whereas before items would get buried, never see the light of day and I would forget I even owned them. We all have just a few clothes we always wear. The rest hardly ever come out.

It doesn’t just apply to clothes. My work desk is clutter-free. I am more productive. There is nothing to distract me. I find everything I want easily. My camping gear all resurfaced and I’ve since been on some great camping breaks. So life has become more of an adventure.

My financial records, bills, and documents are now slimline and easy to find. I keep only what’s needed. The rest is binned. There is less stress. This is now true for everything I own. I feel a sense of freedom and happiness.

What happens when you choose to be minimal?

In the YouTube channel, ‘theunlazyway’, the host ran an experiment in minimalism. He boxed up all of his stuff, categorising them, and only took items out when he needed them. Over a 6 month period, he got rid of 800 items. That’s close to how much I got rid of too.

After slimming right down, he moved to the Netherlands. I can imagine how much easier it was to do with less cost, less time, and less stress. Moving house is reputed to be one of the most stressful things you can do. My father has moved house and countries several times in the last 5 years.

I asked him how he was able to move so many times. He told me the secret was to ‘travel light’. Own only as much as you need. Get rid of the rest. Reflecting on my move I knew he was right. Moving into my apartment was the easiest move I’d ever made, by any comparison.

Give it a try; you will be surprised.