How Minimalism Can Improve Your Life & Home
Every year my lifestyle, thinking, wardrobe, and interior become more minimalistic. This year I began to approach this more consciously. In this blog post, I will share with you the advantages of living a minimalistic lifestyle.
Until the age of 17, I lived in an ordinary apartment, with a big closet full of things, 70% of which I did not wear. Then I moved to study in Copenhagen and I started to renting and change different apartments. These constant relocations helped me to get rid of unnecessary things and understand the advantages of a more minimal lifestyle. I also started to get inspired by Scandinavian interiors and it became an integral part of my life and a stream of inspiration.
I think it's worth mentioning that the philosophy of minimalism is a tool. And this tool everyone has the right to apply his lifestyle differently. That is why minimalism is different for everyone, I have a blog post explaining different types of minimalism.
That means, that when you start to learn more about minimalism - that doesn't mean that you should throw away all your things, leave white bare walls and live without furniture. No. But the ideas of minimalism can help anyone to look at some of our life aspects from a different angle.
Here are the top 10 benefits of minimalism, which may inspire you to live a conscious and minimal life.
01
MORE TIME
You need to earn money to buy things, then spend time choosing them, then choose the best option, then the best store, then you spend time waiting for the package, then all the things will require space and care. If one day you will realize that you don't need them - you will have to spend time selling or throwing them away. All this seems like little things, but in fact, it still takes a lot of time in our lives, which can be spent on self-development or rest, or something useful.
02
MORE MONEY
Everything is simple here. The less we buy - the more money we have. The more we buy - the less money we have. The philosophy of minimalism helps us to be more conscious about buying new things.
Here are a few rules of minimalism that can help you save money:
Don't buy things on sale
Don't buy bad-quality things
Ask yourself how often you will use the new purchase
Asking yourself if there is a better use for this money
If the purchase is not urgent - wait a couple of weeks or a months
03
MORE "LIGHTNESS"
Things are our cargo. I felt this especially strongly during relocations - when instead of enjoying a new place, I spent money and time on transporting and selling things. It is also strongly felt in the interiors: the more things at home you have - the more cluttered and heavier the space looks, and the fewer things - the lighter and brighter.
04
MORE FREEDOM
The fewer things we have, the easier it is for us to change our location. If we have only 2 suitcases of things, we, at any moment, can take them and go to any city or country in the world. Possession of a large number of things, including furniture - holds us back both mentally and physically.
05
MORE CONCENTRATION
This is primarily about visual noise. I don't like it in the interiors and that's why I love neutral tones at my home, which help to get rid of unnecessary colors and visual clutter. Things draw our attention to themselves. Because of this, we lose sight of what is important to us. Clean, uncluttered space motivates us to work. Minimalism concerns not only the interior but also other aspects of life, such as digital minimalism, the rejection of social media, or certain gadgets - which increases the concentration on the important things.
06
MORE QUALITY
The less money we spend on bad-quality things that will last us months, the more money we can save for high-quality things that will last for several years. I, for example, used to have cheap headphones for 5 euros and ended up buying them every month because they always get broken. I bought one for 100 euro and have been using them for several years now.
07
LESS TIME CLEANING
The fewer things and furniture we have in our home - the less dust accumulates and the less time we spend on cleaning. Minimalism also helps us to sort things and offers a variety of storage systems to help keep the home clean every day. I love home organization tips and really enjoy sharing my tips with you on my website blog and YouTube channel.
08
LESS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
The more things we buy = the more things are produced = the more natural resources are used. If we consume fewer things, we will cause less harm to the environment. Very often people who are interested in minimalism are also interested in zero waste because these topics are so connected. If we buy more eco-friendly things or do not buy anything that we don't need at all - the less impact we have on the environment.
09
LESS COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS
Often we look at beautiful pictures, and photos on social media and buy something because of the advertising, without asking ourselves the question - do we really need and want these things?
10
LESS STRESS
Often, shopping brings a feeling of dissatisfaction. We buy something, and in the end, it turns out that we overpay, we realize that we didn’t need it, threw money away, and the product simply doesn't meet up our expectations or brought very short-term joy. In the beginning, it may seem to us that having bought this - we will become happier. But we will not, and to stop this circle - we need to be more conscious about what we buy.
I would like to recommend the book Less is More by Joshua Becker. If you have never delved into this topic, the book will be a great first introduction to the ideas and values of the philosophy of minimalism.
Are here are some more book recommendations about minimalism:
These were just some of the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle. I am far from 100% minimalist, but every year I become more conscious about shopping, wardrobe, and arranging the space around me.
Follow me on Instagram @arina.voy
See you next time,
Arina
