All you need to know as a Beginner Minimalist!
By: Kalpani Ranasinghe
Tags: Minimalism, Beginners Guide, Minimalist, Simplicity

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough” — Charles Dudley Warner

Most of us know we own too much stuff. We all are tired of cleaning, managing, and organizing things. And now we are working from home, it bothers us even more. Most of our rooms are messy or we have to tidy up every single day. The evidence of clutter is all around us.

In America,

Adults throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing every year, and 20–21% of working Americans say they aren’t saving any money for retirement. Many of the ones who are saving put away no more than 10% of their income, also The average American household has 300,000 items

These stats are also quite frankly applicable to any country, despite any differences in numbers.

Do you want to get rid of the messiness and want to add some freedom to your life? Then this might be your chance to get to know about the benefits of minimalist living. Recently I found some interesting articles on minimalism and wanted to share some tips that will guide you to minimalism.

So, I’ll go one by one,

First Make a list of all the reasons that make you want to live more simply. Are you mad that you never get any time with your family or friends?, Stressed out? Or maybe Feel Angry when you see your cluttered room or table? Put it on that paper. Your reasons will help you remember what really matters. Then you’ll want to decide how you’re going to sort your items. For that, you can take some empty boxes and name them as Keep, Sell, Donate, Recycle, Trash. After that, you can separate your items into these boxes or categories. You can always add new categories but always keep it simple. Then start decluttering one room at a time. First, get rid of anything broken and duplicates. Then eliminate unworn clothes and other accessories as donations or trash. I’m a big fan of shopping and I know, it is true for most of us. But there are three main things that you need to keep in mind when you are shopping if you want to become a minimalist. 1) “One in, One Out” — This is a great rule for clothing but can work well for other items as well. What it truly says is When you get something new, something old has to go. 2)“Shop Quality, Not Quantity” — Try to always buy quality goods and you will need fewer of them. This is also applicable for anything like clothes, furniture, kitchen items, etc. 3) Write down your purchases — It may seem irrelevant, but this small measure of accountability can prevent lots of unnecessary spending. You’ll think twice before buying anything after this. Next, we can go to the kitchen. Food plays a huge role in managing your overall health. So always try to buy healthier foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, etc., and using those you can try to simplify meal plans. And yes, also you need to throw away outdated food and donate excess or unwanted food that is still fresh. These will help you to declutter your kitchen and help you to keep your things organized. Coming back to your room, you can digitize your movies, music, and photos, then you can get rid of the unwanted-old CDs, DVDs, and albums that take up space as well. If your bookshelves are overflowing, you can keep only the books you love and donate the others. Alternatively, use the library more often. But with the current situation, we cannot so try to use a kindle or listen to audiobooks. Not only our rooms but even the folders inside our computers are also messy, isn’t it?.. On the weekend you can sit down with your cup of coffee or tea, and try to organize that. And this will help you to work with a free mindset. Then as a habit, you can go through your home every few months and clear out excess items.

All of these tips will help you to save money, which is the prime financial benefit of minimalism among other numerous mental and physical benefits. Then you can easily invest your money in something worth more. And most importantly you have fewer possessions to worry about.

So I would like to conclude by saying that each unnecessary thing you add to your life is a burden and consequently a burden to the planet. Hence, build up your mind to collect moments, not things.

Thank you