You may have previously known about the minimalist lifestyle. If you haven’t, check out this article or this one. Got the idea? Okay, let’s move on.
So, after you know about this alternative lifestyle that seems to be the ultimate solution to today’s world of advertisements bombardier and high spending lifestyle, minimalism may still need more reasons to convince you to adopt the lifestyle. Well, here we go.
1. Saves time
How much time do you think Steve Jobs spends trying to figure out what to wear? No time, perhaps, remembering his famous black turtleneck and jeans. He saves his time and energy to do more important things: Apple. When you develop a minimalistic lifestyle, you can pick out whatever is in your closet and they would go well with one another. The basics, be it in design or colour, are always complementary to one another. Also, the less products you have, the less time you need to take care of them. You don’t have to clean a dozen flower vases, because you only have maybe one or three. You can clean the floor in one sweep without having to lift furniture up because you have less furniture covering the floor.
2. More income, less expense
One of the initial steps towards minimalism is decluttering. As you reorganise your space, you will also discover things that are still fit for use. They say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Sell those items and generate some profit from them. Yes, perhaps you feel like the resell price isn’t worth your buying price. But think of it like this: the value you get for keeping it versus the value you get letting go of it.
When you are cluttered with a lot of things, you will feel guilty for using only one or two of your favorites, because it feels like you’re wasting your money. You refuse to face the fact that you have spent your money for things you don’t actually need and thus forget that you even had them. Those unused stuff are going to clutter your mind, demanding to be used. But when everything’s visible, you will use them as necessary and nothing gets left behind.
Say, you have tons of skincare products still in their boxes, piling up as you are always tempted to buy new ones. In order to maintain their durability, you store them in the fridge, taking up the storage. Thus, you feel like having a bigger fridge just so you can store your food. Bigger fridge means more electricity. Before you realise it, the products will have expired before you have the time to use them. So, in terms of (economic) value, which option do you think is best? Because when you keep something, you don’t just wait to use it, you also have to give more energy for maintenance.
3. Improve focus and productivity
Less clutter will give you a clearer view of your priorities and goals. You no longer have to think about when to use that watercolor paint that had been sitting on your counter for the past year. If you eliminate the time and energy to think about making use of all the stuff you own, you will automatically redirect your thoughts on other things: your health, where to take you kids next weekend, your work.
You will also spend less energy in making decisions. Previously, you will have to decide whether to bring a jacket in case the weather gets cold and which color of shirt, hat and necklace will suit your jacket. But as you get down on the basic items (and colours) you need, you would probably have to think only about the weather, because all items just go together.
4. Mindful lifestyle
As you get clearer goals and priorities, you will become more mindful about your lifestyle, especially in terms of spending money, time and energy. Owning less items will make you more mindful about their functions and essentiality that you will appreciate what you already have. Thus, you will feel less in need of adding more and more items to your possession. You will compare the value beyond imagery and economics, but you will also include other intangible values such as time, energy and happiness.
5. Greater sense of self and improved relationship
Again, when your view is clear, so does your view of yourself. Instead of focusing on your possessions (and possessing more to cope with the lack of mindfulness) and their worth, you will focus on yourself, your existence, your worth, your purpose. As you get to know yourself better, you will have less self doubt and thus, you can direct your energy towards others. You will automatically improve your relationships for you are content with yourself and have more energy to care about others.