Minimalism….what is this? does it mean I have to get rid of everything I love? Is it just a trend?
These are questions I first asked when I heard about minimalism. But through YouTube I have been intrigued by the concept of having less. But why? What’s the point?
Let’s firstly clarify what I mean by this word minimalism…
It consists of looking at every object you own and questioning if it adds usefulness, value or happiness to your life. If so go on and keep it! But if not why hold on to it?
I have always been the sort of person who hoards. Its in my blood. My parents have a house full of THINGS. You can go into my parents attic and find my Barbie’s from 10 years ago and a full doll house that I haven’t even glanced at in years. And then there is the dreaded school books and paper I always thought I might as well keep…just in case š
But after learning about minimalism I have come to the conclusion I won’t need my 3rd year Religious studies notes anytime soon.
So is thisĀ idea a trend to provide Pinterest pins and crisp looking Instagram’s? There’s no actual answer to this but I don’t think it is a trendĀ as it actually has benefits to it, in my opinion.
Firstly by going through your things with a minimalist perspective it helps you clear out a lot of rubbish but also it helps you focus in on what really adds value to your life.
Personally I find when my physical life is less cluttered so is my mental thoughts, as I can focus on what matters and my work and living spaces are tidy, organised and spacious.
But I should make it clearĀ thatĀ you can still think minimalistically Ā and have things. As long as the things you have add value. For example if you are a lover of books you can still have all the books you love and use just don’t keep them for years and years when you’ll never read them again. Also its all about minimalizing parts of life. You may not want to minimalise your whole life but maybe start with your workspace or your wardrobe or your phone (e.g. in terms of amount of apps).
What I am doing myself:
So far I have cleared out a lot of clothes and continue to do so.
It is hard to get rid of clothesĀ because I can always think of an occasion in 3 years where I will use it.
One immediate gain from having less clothes is that laundry is a lot more easily done and I have been ableĀ to minimise the amount of furniture I need to store all my clothes.
That leads on to what I next want to say, I have moved backĀ home so have a new bedroom and have decided to have as little furniture as possible. This provides more spaceĀ and means I can haveĀ room for things that are more fun than cupboards; such as a small pool table.
I have also just cleared out in general, such as getting rid of things in boxes I have hoarded or the years and clearing out my endless bottles of lotion which I have never touched.
I plan to continue to reduce the amount of things I have but if for you getting rid or five things makes a difference, go for it.
Every little by little helps!
We can all find our balance š
Eloise x
Striving For Balance 