Newbie Minimalist? Read This!
Hello my minimalist friends, how are you all doing and how's the minimalist lifestyle going? Great I guess. Well, mine? It's going well as usual. I'm content with where I'm at and what I have, continuously looking for something to declutter because I'm somewhat a declutter freak.
For this week's #KISS blog, we're talking about our minimalist journey and I have chosen to answer the third question,
What are some dos and don'ts that you would give to wannabe minimalists?
I don't think there are holy grail guidelines for being a minimalist but in my own personal experience and observation, I think I have a few things I can say to wannabe minimalists.
- DO Think About Your Why
This is the very first thing a wannabe minimalist should think about. I hope you're not interested in being a minimalist just because it's trendy? You know how it is with trends, here today, gone tomorrow. So are you just going to give up on this new lifestyle when it's no longer cool to be a minimalist?
I would advise that you do some introspection to know if this is what you want to do. You have to make sure it's for the right reasons and that it matches the rest of your personality.
Starting a minimalist lifestyle means changes will occur in your life, some of them huge and overwhelming. Some of your beliefs might change and you might have new patterns in your life.
You definitely can dip your feet in the waters to test if you want to go all in, you don't have to make a final decision immediately. This brings me to my next point.
- DON'T Go In At Once
You've admired minimalists for a while now, you might personally know a few minimalists and you think their lifestyle is satisfying. You have binge-watched several youtube videos on minimalism and you think it's time to fully embody your new minimalist self.
The first thing you want to do is declutter just like the minimalist video said. You're thinking of getting rid of most things you own from the living room down to the kitchen, down to your wardrobe and even the storage. Please don't do that. You might terribly regret it.
As with everything new, you have to go slow, figure your way around it and be sure you're confident to an extent about this. I am a declutter freak as I mentioned earlier, but, I still have control and barely ever regret decluttering stuff at this point in my life.
If the first thing you do is declutter a large percentage of what you own as a newbie minimalist, I bet you, you're going to cry. You will be filled with so much regret if you do a massive first time declutter.
The best way around it is to declutter in bits and you don't have to throw away or give out stuff everything, you can keep it out of sight for a while. If you don't miss it after a while or don't have a need for it, then you can give it out.
Minimalism means owning less and not necessarily about decluttering everything you own. Whatever you have, you see the value in it and you surround yourself with only the things that are useful to you or things that make you happy.
Basically, everything around you serves a purpose and this gradually becomes your mindset. Your mind only craves for peace and fulfillment in all that you do.
Now if you have this satisfaction about life as a maximalist, bravo, you should enjoy yourself. If you crave something different, something new, then welcome to the minimalist club!
Other dos and don'ts I'll add are;
Do you. You don't have to be like another minimalist. It's your life and you have a right to be minimalist however you want. You don't have to have your house painted in only neutral colours. You love all things bright and beautiful? Go on and splash colour all over.
Don't buy any more items yet. Chill a bit and focus on sorting and decluttering each room first.
Don't procrastinate tidying up. The best way to avoid clutter is tidying immediately.
Do look for happiness within and not in material things.
Everything I said not to do, I have done at some point in my minimalist journey and it never favoured me. I hope you don't get to make these mistakes. Follow what your heart tells you instead and be content.
I'd like to invite @atyourservice, @ozohu, and @iskafan to participate in the #KISS writing prompts.
Thanks for reading!
Discord - wolfofnostreet#4939
Twitter - wolfofnostreet_
You’re even cooler now that I’ve known you’re a minimalist. I used to be a crazy hoarder back in the day, but a few years ago I started my minimalist journey. I didn’t even call it that I just wanted to do less, hold on to less and not feel incomplete without a bunch of shit around me.
When I stated it I found it it started working for my mind too, helping me filter my thoughts.
This is quite the perfect description. I loved reading this so much as it was welcoming and informative.
Thank you for inviting me to take part. ❤️🌹
Aww...I kind of had an inkling that you might be a minimalist and it's good to find out that you are.
If everyone knew why they take up certain lifestyles it beats everything else.
Anyone hopping for a minimalist lifestyle is not excluded. Because there will be point when your body will be itching to go out and spend money... Lol
And you might catch yourself buying things you don't really need just because you wanted to impress people or you felt bored with life generally.
Ikr! Sometimes you'd tell yourself you deserve it for being good. But it ends up being a regretful expense 🤦♀️
Hehehehe.... It happens to everyone including me 🤣🤣
Growing up, we had too many things in our room and palor house. I'd arrange and rearrange. I even became the item locator of the house. If they can't find anything, they'd ask me.
What was I doing then? What did I want?
Space. I just love space. Not too many, not too few...just the right amount of things around the house. I could not discard much then because that would mean quarrel but I do these days.
Thanks for the tag! Would check the prompt out.
I grew up in such an environment too. That's how I became obsessed with decluttering. I noticed I function better in spaces with any form of clutter.
Thanks, as you honour my invitation.
Hello @wolfofnostreet,
I enjoyed reading your post!
I could relate to much of what you said and realised that I figured a lot of the tips out on my own, without viewing minimalism as a trend (I'm always the last to know what's trendy though 🤣). For me, it has been more of a spiritual journey, and personal growth indeed, which has led me to where I am.
I'm happy you decided to share these points, and they are some valuable tips that are useful for wannabe's.
Thanks for inviting others too, as I see a new subscriber, that seems to be a real minimalist :)
I'm happy I invited just the right person too ☺
This is just beautiful.
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That's a lovely summary post, I especially like the why 😍
Thank you Shanibeer 🙃🙃