I Tried the Minimalist Lifestyle for 30 Days
It truly changed my life.
I’m a hoarder. Oh wait, I was a hoarder. My coping mechanism for the most part of my life has simply been to add things to my cart and proceed to checkout. Anytime, I’m low, upset, or even in a slightly bad mood, shopping lifts my spirits up.
So when I decided to clean my closets at the end of 2020, I was surprised to find things that I didn’t even remember getting. It was terrifying. Not only to clean my closet but to look at all that money that I’d wasted on shoes and clothes that I’d obviously not worn in the last 1 year! That was it, the last nail in the coffin. I had to bid adieu to the whole swiping spree.
I spoke to my best friend, complaining how I had no space to accommodate all of my stuff, after having ample amount of closet space. And he simply said, “Maybe you don’t need to own all this stuff?”
That simple statement made me question all my items.
And that’s it. A minimalist was born.
The realization dawned upon me pretty quickly, because the gazillion clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, etc did not bring me any joy. In fact, if anything they were distracting me from all the happiness I had in my life. They were meaningless and purposeless purchases that were made in the spur of the moment, and did not serve any purpose in my life.
This journey towards this simple lifestyle has been far more life-changing and life-giving than I expected. The possessions in our lives define who we are on a far deeper level than we realize. And as a result, the process of removing them teaches us valuable truths about ourselves and the lives we live.
“The process of living seems to consist in coming to realize truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes.” — C.S. Lewis
I started by adopting the 30-day minimalism challenge.
So here’s how the 30-day minimalism challenge works: on day 1 of the challenge you pick one item to declutter by donating it, recycling it, or throwing it away — (whatever makes the most sense for the item you picked) — and on day 2 you declutter 2 items, and on day 3, three items, and so on up until day 30 where you’ll declutter 30 items!
Now, doing this can be a little overwhelming. Because you may think, how do I give away 25 or 30 items, in one day, but trust me, the process becomes easier as you embark on the journey. It’s a liberating feeling, to know that you’re not defined by the things you own. In fact, they no longer own you.
Alternatively, you could also consider trying the Marie Kondo method.
The KonMari Method™ encourages tidying by category — not by location — beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.
By the end of 30 days, I had two empty shelves in my closet and significant space in my shoe closet. It was simple. If I hadn’t used the item in the last 1.5 years, it had to go.
While I achieved my goal of having more space in my closet, there are certain other things too that I learned in the process. Minimalism truly comes with its own perks.
It has practical benefits.
Minimalism has crazy practical benefits. It costs less. It requires less time and energy to maintain. It brings freedom, rest, peace, and calm into a hectic world. Above all, the desire to own less is more valuable than actually owning less.
In a world, where everyone and everything is moving towards consumerism, the desire to only own things that bring you joy is invaluable.
“Who is the wealthiest man? The one who is happy with his portion.” — Pirkei Avot
You discover more about yourself.
The whole idea of minimalism is to strip away that which is unnecessary. Focusing on learning more about yourself becomes more interesting. Without the clutter of a job you dislike, excess possessions, and non-meaningful activities to get in the way, you can discover thoughts, feelings, skills, and talents you didn’t realize you had. You develop a sense of purpose and meaning to life in a much more authentic fashion.
It’s great for the environment.
When you consume less, you impact the environment less.
Everything that goes in the trash impacts the environment. Luxury cars tend to be less efficient and produce more exhaust per mile. This is more important than ever when we examine the impact of human life on the planet.
You don’t just restrict it to things.
As I started practicing minimalism and intentional living every day, it wasn’t just limited to the things in my life.
Eliminating the unnecessary creates more space for the things that matter. You’ll have more time and space for relationships and activities you enjoy. Having more meaning in life, satisfying meaning.
It makes cleaning easy.
The need to clean and tidy up your space starts diminishing since you no longer own more than you need. You can tidy up your space quickly and that truly has to be the biggest benefit in the entire process. Just hanging up clothes, wiping surfaces, and throwing away rubbish (plus the odd deeper clean) will be enough to keep everything in order.
It makes you more productive.
I liked my desk to be really fancy with truckloads of stuff. I needed a pen stand, hand cream, my iPad, and several other things on it at all times. While I would keep it tidy, everything on it would distract me from my work every once in a while.
Now all I have on my desk is my laptop, my phone, my notebook, and a bottle of water. Eliminating all the distractions has helped me increase my productivity and become a less anxious person. I also disable all social media/unnecessary applications on my phone during my working hours, to increase my focus.
It brings about inner peace.
I debated whether to include this point. I thought what if people tell me that you’re really new to the game to know about inner peace. But should I exclude it only because I’m new and not talk about how I feel at peace and my stress and anxiety levels are at an all-time low?
It is easy to trash the first pile of things, or the second or even the third. But when you’re on your fourth, you start contemplating. There is soul searching. The journey to minimalism starts through your heart and soul.
I started asking myself, Why did I buy all these clothes? Why do I still scroll through the ads on social media even though I own so much already? Why am I still envious of someone else’s stuff? These are hard questions to ask with no easy answers. But, I’d like to believe that just asking these questions takes a lot of courage and truly gets you thinking in a different direction.
While my journey to minimalism may have begun as an excuse to organize and declutter my closet, I truly believe that the rewards haven’t been limited to just that. I’ve learned to live with less and look forward to sticking to it through the year and reaping more of these benefits. It definitely makes for a more meaningful lifestyle and a very content heart.
Will you consider adopting it too?
