I started practicing minimalism when I initially sought out on my journey to build a more intentional, purposeful, meaningful life. It was originally my solution to survive on half my former income. I thought: if I need less stuff, that's less stuff to spend money on, right? Once I got started, I realized how much more there is to it than that! Practicing minimalism isn't just having less stuff. It brings so much consciousness into your life and a lot more freedom!
I started by getting rid of things that no longer served me in the lifestyle I was trying to manifest. Essentially, my intention was to have more time and space. I used the Marie Kondo method to help me decide what to keep and what I should let go. As I paired down, I started to realize what things really make a difference in my day in terms of utility and sparking joy, vs. what items were really just in the way. I made a rule: Everything has to pull double duty and be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing in my home. As things started to find a home out of sight or in the donation pile, I could feel how much more relaxing it was to come home to a tidy space.
The more things I got off of surfaces, the faster it was to clean. Fewer things on surfaces, meant not having to lift up a thousand tchotchkes dust under or to have to wipe down. Having less furniture, meant less maneuvering around corners with vacuums, brooms and mops to clean my floors. I was freeing up more time to spend on more fun activities instead of household chores! I always wanted to be somebody who effortlessly kept a clean house, and having less clutter certainly helped me do that.
Practicing minimalism made me a much more conscious buyer also. Since everything does have to pull double duty, I spent more time reading reviews and searching for just the right thing before making a purchase. No impulse buys. In my case, there was no room left for any extras in my storage, and since I really didn't want anything on my newly found surfaces, it became very easy for me to say no to things I didn't really need. Instead of spending money and time on stuff, I started to spend money and time on experiences and making memories instead. It totally changed my perspective on how I wanted to spend my income.
I also realized that minimalism and low waste kind of go hand in hand. As I became a more conscious buyer because of being spatially and financially restricted, I became more conscious of useless packaging and just being wasteful in general. I started to wonder why we need separate cleaners for the kitchen and bathroom. Why isn't one all purpose cleaner good enough. Why do we need dish soap and hand soap? Soap is soap, right? So at the same time that I was saving space, time, and money, I was also starting to go greener just by consuming less and sticking to the multitasking rule I set for things in my space.
I would hardly consider myself a perfect minimalist. It is a work in progress. I think of it the same way that I think of yoga. It's called a practice because it's something you have to continually work at and ultimately never perfect, you're just practicing. Every time I am able to let go of one more thing that doesn't serve me, I get one step closer to having more of the life of my dreams!
Much Light & Love,
Gawa