Minimalism has taken many forms through the years.
What was first used as an insult toward artists with little detail in their artwork is now celebrated by people who have emptied their lives of excess clutter.
However, this doesn’t mean that minimalists live in white boxes devoid of all comfort. Being a minimalist simply means decluttering your life.
I was pretty close to the definition of a hoarder.
My apartment was full of, plain and simple, stuff.
I had two huge closets full of clothes. I haven’t fit into half of them since ninth grade.
If you looked in the other closets, you’d see it took me a very long time and a ton of energy to get those doors to close.
It’s tough to understand why someone would want to keep all this stuff.
When I asked myself why I had so many things I no longer need a few weeks ago, I realized that no matter what I came up with, there was no good answer.
So I made the decision to purge my apartment.
I donated clothes and furniture and passed some items to friends.
I also ended up throwing out a lot that couldn’t be donated.
My apartment looked completely different afterwards. Besides the obvious benefit of being much easier to clean, I have noticed so many other benefits to going minimalist.
Firstly I have more freedom.
Not only is there a sense of personal freedom, but there is also some financial freedom that comes with this lifestyle.
It’s less tempting to make purchases when you fear the idea of cluttering your home again.
Another huge benefit is the stress relief that comes from walking in to such a clutter free home.
Newsweek reports the average American spends roughly twelve full days a year looking for items that they own but cannot find. Fewer items owned means fewer items you can end up losing.
However, the point of minimalism isn’t to throw everything out.
The point is to keep only the necessities.
By cutting out much of the clutter in our lives, we can be happier and enjoy a much less complicated living situation.
Some may decide to follow a plan when starting their minimalist journey.
Project 333 is one such plan to help you on your journey towards becoming a minimalist.
The idea of this project is to cut your entire wardrobe down to just 33 items. For three months you can only wear those 33 items.
People decide to become minimalists for a variety a reasons, such as better health, personal freedom and better interpersonal awareness to name a few.
Since minimalizing my apartment, I feel relieved. I don’t have to worry about opening my closet doors, and I don’t have to spend an entire weekend cleaning my apartment.
I’ve ended up saving myself a ridiculous amout of time and greatly reducing my stress.
Minimalizing has improved my way of living tenfold.
It truly is the best way to live.
kkmeier@umail.iu.edu
