Minimalist Lifestyle: What To Get Rid Of?
“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.” — Edwin Way Teale.
Living a minimalist lifestyle is not as extreme as many people think. The idea that one has to throw away their shoes or their television in order to adapt to a minimalist lifestyle is a common misconception.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
A minimalist person knows what is essential to him or her and get rid of what is not. Therefore, the definition of “essential” varies among person to person.
Living with fewer possessions allows an individual to reserve their limited time and energy and focus that on what matters to them more such as family, passion, love, success, you name it.
So let’s dive in and decide for yourself whether you should keep or throw away any of these things listed below.
The I-will-need-it-someday stuff
An excuse many people use when they buy something unnecessary is that “oh maybe it’ll be useful in the future”. Sounds reasonable right?
Yet in reality, when it’s time that stuff comes in handy, most people forget where they store it or even forget that they have it. As a result, they end up buying a new one.
I’m talking about every-day items here like that extra lamp you got at Goodwill. Of course, all rules have exceptions so I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy stuff for future used anymore because there are items you must buy in advance to prepare for future emergencies.
Yet with a house filled with lots of stuff, you may even endanger yourself when let’s say a fire is coming and you can’t find your fire extinguisher anywhere. In this case, removing unnecessary stuff in your house has a bigger advantage than you would think.
Things you have many but they all serve the same function
The more stuff you have, the more space it’s occupied both physically and mentally.
Physically is when too much stuff can easily become untidy.
Mentally is when you know that you should clean and make your place look better. Yet you keep procrastinating and make yourself unhappy.
Let’s say you have a lot of coffee mugs in your house but only use a few of them from time to time, and the rest just sits there in the kitchen cabinet with dust all over it.
If you don’t use them often, you can choose to give the mugs to someone like a friend of yours, who needs a mug. Chances are you guys will both feel good.
When knowing that your stuff is going to be used by someone, you’ll feel more willing to give it away and feel less wasted about your action.
Paper documents
The fear that you throw a paper document away but turns out it is important is frightening, which explains why many people hesitate to get rid of their documents.
As a result, they keep it for years thinking they might need it someday. Yet when it’s been too long, they simply forget about it, which means that those documents aren’t as important as they thought.
One of the solutions for this is to scan the documents and then create a folder on your laptop or Google Drive so that you can find them easily later.
This way, you don’t have to store piles of paper with dust all over them in your place while still having a peace of mind about those documents.
Things you haven’t been used for a year
For example, like that box you keep, thinking you might be creative and do something with it. Yet now, a year later, you still haven’t done anything with the box and it’s still in the back of your drawer.
I would throw it away.
When you haven’t used something in a year, it means that its presence doesn’t really matter much.
So instead of having it occupied your space and making cleaning more exhausting, why not throw it away as there are more cons than pros of keeping it?
Clothes that you don’t wear often
When you get rid of the clothes you don’t wear often, you will spend less time figuring out what to wear because now your closet only consists of the essential and basic items.
If your clothes are still new or in good condition and you don’t want to donate them, you can sell it online at websites such as eBay or Poshmark.
I’m aware of some concerns people have about how expensive their clothes are and they find it hard to give them away. But why keeps them when it constantly reminds you of the mistake you bought it in the first place or how you can’t fit in it anymore.
It’s not worth it for your mental health so just let them go and you will feel better, plus you might even be surprised that you won’t feel as bad as you thought when giving them away.
Living with fewer possessions has the potential to transform your life.
And when you’re aware of the benefits you get from living a minimalist lifestyle, goods will no longer act as a heavy piece of metal weighing you down and making you obsessed with having them.
“The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.” -Elise Boulding
