Minimalism | Decluttering | motivation | saving money | clarity and calmness | peace| stress free living | good habits | clean home| visual appeal| simplify your life| freedom| freedom from stuff| unstuffing
THE MINIMALIST HOME, BY JOSHUA BECKER
I started my Decluttering and Minimalism Journey 4 years ago. It so happened one day, while browsing the net, I came across the term Minimalism. As I scrolled through the net, becomingminimalist by Joshua Becker set me on my path to Minimalism. I have never looked back. Minimalism has changed the way I live and my perspective towards my life, time, resources and possessions.
I have been recently reading The Minimalist Home, a new addition to his many books on Decluttering and Minimalism. It gives very effective and easy tips to follow for anyone who is interested in Decluttering and wants to become a Minimalist.
Here, I have compiled a few excerpts from the book that I found fascinating and I have tried to apply to my approach on Minimalism. Over the years I have understood that Minimalism is a life long journey and not a race.
” My definition of Minimalism is intentional promotion of things we most value and the removal of anything that destracts us from them”
Removing extra clothes, appliances,utensils, shoes, paper clutter,doing less laundry, spending minimal amount of time on housework has given me more time with my family to focus on what makes me happy and fulfilled.
“You might get 85 years on this planet. Don’t spend 65 on lifestyle you cannot afford”
This makes you question the importance of spending money on things you don’t even care about.
He talks about the futility of the amount of clutter collected over the years in your home.
He suggests a simple tip to Declutter rooms in your home. According to Joshua Becker, go through one room at a time. Ask yourself Do we need this item? Does it help the room accomplish its purpose of providing service, beauty or meaning .
According to him, organizing is not the solution. In fact we waste so much time organizing and reorganizing things without any changes in our life. He says “Never organize that you can Discard” Makes sense as reducing and deowning stuff will make us spend more time on things that matter. Remove those items that don’t have a specific place or home.
Another issue is, we keep things thinking we might need or use them in the future. Think carefully about this as they take up a lot of our space and time in their upkeep.
Another interesting concept he mentions is The Dedriot Effect.
According to The Dedriot Effect, if we make a purchase, it leads to a cascading effect and we tend to add more items. For example, if we buy a couch, we want new decor, new carpets, new tables, new curtains and the list goes on and on.
“Ask yourself what is important and than have the courage to build your home and life around it”
Stop thinking what people will say, how your parents and family will react to your lifestyle. Our problem is we give too much importance to other people and their opinions. Remember, it’s your life so have the courage to make the necessary changes to the way you want to live.
Our lives should be about what is important to us, our home should be for people we care about, to do things that are most important to us.
“Think less about who you were and focus on who you are becoming “
Joshua Becker suggests, you might feel guilty on money spent on things and therefore do not want to get rid of them. He says to just let it go,it’s done. It should be more about what you will not bring into your home.
He says, ask yourself, will you buy it again?are you using it? If the answer is no, get rid of it and move on with your life.
A book worth reading, it will help you question every item in your home. Easy tips to follow and a detailed room by room easy Decluttering method will make it easy to question the utility and worth of your possessions.
Most of us get confused and stuck with the very thought of going through our entire house with a Decluttering aim. This book will make the process simple and stress free.