6 Ways I’ve Adopted Minimalism

By the time I found the minimalism documentary on Netflix a few years ago, my mind had already begun finding truth in the concept that less is more. I had moved house several times which required the constant boxing and unboxing of stuff. One of the moves had required me to reduce my stuff down to two palettes worth and to fit into an already full house. Logistically, having less was so much easier. I watched the documentary and felt in reaffirmed a lot of what I had already begun to learn myself. It touched on many aspects of reducing ‘stuff’ and I now had a new word for what I was moving towards: minimalism.

Since then, I find the less I have, the more purpose I have. The things I own have much more purpose because I need them more. For example, if I have a single jacket for autumn, it gets worn a lot because it’s the only one I have. If I have one nail polish, the same applies. If I have one wooden spoon in the kitchen, the same applies. It has meant an incredible lightening in my life. It’s amazing how much ‘stuff’ weighed me down. I had so many clothes. I had so much crockery. I had oodles of books and DVDs. So gradually as I got tired of it all, this is how I adopted minimalism.

Prioritise what is important

When I first started minimising my stuff, I absolutely loved books and thought I would never part with them. Minimalism isn’t about having nothing, it’s about having a purpose and love for everything that you do have. I loved my books, so I was never going to part with them. Every single one brought me joy. Over time, my priorities did change and I did downsize, but that was only after I felt that change and I was ready. So before you think, ‘oh! I couldn’t possibly part with…’ you don’t have to. I did what was right for me. I kept what was right for me. To do that, I prioritised and it really helped make my understanding of what I value in my life clear. I have now reduced my books to the most important ones I could own and there hasn’t been a moment where I’ve regretted parting with one of the books I let go.

Buy fewer clothes

For me, buying clothes happened when I was stressed, unhappy or sick or a whole range of uncomfortable emotions. Identifying that was important because I had a LOT of clothes. I remember when I was a kid, and cheap, disposable jewellery wasn’t as prolific as it is now. Jewellery boxes were small and could fit a person’s jewellery collection in them. As I got old and junk jewellery because more accessible, jewellery boxes became a bit of a joke. Do you know what it reminds me of now? Wardrobes. Our society has so much clothing in it. It is cheap, it is easily disposable and easily replaceable and I was on that train! I had a separate room for my clothes, a whole bedroom, in more than one house. Even if I wore something different every day for a year, I wouldn’t have worn the same thing twice. Once I realised I had enough clothes, I would then only buy with a sense of purpose. Clothes had to have a need that wasn’t adequately filled by something else I owned. This meant I spent more time searching for the perfect item. It also meant I bought better quality, so they could last through the more intense use. It also means I often wear a ‘uniform’ which is an outfit I rock most days, that looks good, is functional and suits the season.

Turn off phone notifications

This was a HUGE change in my life. For me, ‘stuff’ wasn’t just what I owned, it included what took up mental space as well. I turned off notifications for all but the essentials: texts, calls and important emails. Yes, it sometimes means I’m less responsive on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, but really, if something is that important, there are more efficient ways for people to communicate with me. And if someone has an issue with my lack of responsiveness on those social platforms, then it’s an indication to me that they don’t respect that mental space. Having notifications off helps to keep me away from checking social platforms, and even though I’m still suckered in a lot, I do it a lot less.

Saying ‘no, thank you’ more often

Once I began reducing what was in my life and I valued not having so much stuff, I became really aware how much stuff came into my life through other people. Would I like this hat? How about these shoes? They saw this thing and thought of me. Here’s a birthday card! So I began to gradually say no to things or to recycle things once the value of them had passed. For example, donating clothes I wouldn’t love. Recycling birthday cards. This meant that when people did give me things that had value or worth to me I became so much more grateful. I spent more time with the things I got to assess their worth. For example, a friend hand makes me cards for life events and different seasons. There’s something special about them, so I keep them. I also have kept the condolence cards from the death of my sister, because they help keep a record of things that I struggle to remember from that time. But would I like to take home someone’s copy of Karate Kid on DVD? Probably not. I don’t really have space for it.

Make do and mend

My grandfather was a cobbler so from a young age we learned about looking after shoes properly. Good shoes should be able to be used for a lifetime. Their fabrics should be long wearing. Good shoes get re-soled when they wear out. The laces are replaced when they break. In today’s society, shoes are utter crap. A pair of shoes that costs $6 wears out quickly and does nothing to support the part of the body that holds all our weight. But, sometimes, that’s all that person can afford. In this instance, I’ve found it great to thrift to find shoes that are good quality, even if they are pre-loved, and I can get further life out of them. Because I’ve reduced the amount of stuff I have, I tend to find I want to repair my things when they break because I love them and they serve a purpose in my life. Shoes are a great example of this, but I struggle often with cheaply made shoes which are costly to repair and the repairs often don’t last because of how cheap the shoes are. But, that being said, I’d much rather repair them than replace them with another set of shoes. Another pair of shoes is just even more stuff.

Throw out bathroom product samples

My bathroom cupboard would always end up cluttered with small bottles and packets testers of different beauty products that I seemed to hoard because they were free. Frankly, beauty products are expensive, so to pass over something like that seems like a waste. But I would have out of date and incredibly old samples filling up the back 2/3 of the bathroom shelf and drawers. So, if it wasn’t in immediate use or a replacement for what I was using, I threw it away (or in the case of expensive products, gave to it appreciating friends). Bathroom clutter is one of the worst things in my life and having simplified it somewhat it’s amazing how freeing it feels. Now, the only samples I use are for products I am actually interested in acquiring, such as boutique skin care or fragrances.

The impacts these things have had on my life have been great. Clearing out and selling my excess clothes was a great economic stimulus for me and I loved watching my clothes go to homes where other people would get more joy out of them than I did. I find it easier to clean my room (I’ve downsized from a house to a room), packing to go on adventures is simple. Above all of this is less of a feeling of being trapped or weighed down by a big anchor of things. I cannot describe the freedom I feel so far and I’m looking forward to continuing on the journey.