2015 Becoming a Minimalist
2015 was the year of discovery for me. I graduated from my bachelor of commerce degree, found my first full-time job and is on my path to becoming a minimalist. My lifestyle drastically changed as I accomplished goals and learned about the simple living habit of minimalism.
Below are my process of becoming a minimalist:
1) Buy less- only buy item you truly love
Consumerism, an act of consuming objects that you need, want and love. In order to live a more minimal life, we have to reduce our procession, the first step is to not consume unnecessary object that will waste your time, money and space. What I did was, prior it purchasing an item, I will ask myself "Do I really love it?" " Will it benefit my life?" If the answers are YES-then I will purchase it.
2) De-clutter EVERYTHING -if you don't use it, get rid off it
Declutter, not only impact us physically but also mentally. It will slow your life down by creating unnecessary messiness, endless chores and disturbed mindset. I tend to donate items that I do not use over time since it will just create unnecessary clutter. I believe we are a generation where we are drowning in our possessions and endless material needs/wants. We acquire items on the daily basis but we do not discard items on the daily basis, which led to meaningless possessions.
From my experience, I used to have an excessive amount of books, postcards that I collected, makeup that I don't even use, clothing that I don't even wear. Last year, I decluttered them all. I donated everything to Sydney's local salvation army. The great thing about decluttering is, when you don't even record what you donated, it truly shows you how unnecessary those items were to you, and how it will find someone who really appreciated it.
3) Know the difference between needs and wants
Clear & simple: Need is something you have to have, whereas want is something you would like to have. Every morning before work I will ask myself "Do I really need to have coffee?" or "I just simply want to have it." The answers usually are just that I feel the need to have it, but it's clearly a want.
4) Occupy your daily life with things you enjoy to do, other than going to shops.
Things we do affect our lifestyles, for examples we tend to go out shopping when we do not have things to do (maybe more for girls), nowadays even online shopping. Therefore occupy our days with things that can actually improve us physically or mentally, will be more beneficial.
Myself, I developed baking as a hobby, not only to improve my cooking skills but also allowed me to share it with friends and family. I love to see the joy on my family and friends' face when they taste my cake, cookies, pie etc. I also love to read, I read any genre that attracts my attention, I believe every books, articles, poem etc. will have something for you to take from, to learn from. Go out! Go to places that will inspire you, like a nice cafe, a bookstore, an art gallery, a flea market.
5) Learn new things
Learning is not only restricted to school, college or university, it's an on-going process in life. We can learn from anyone and anything. I think being a minimalist, I'm learning more in terms of what lifestyle is best for me, what i really enjoy doing. Recently, I have started doing yoga which gives me time to think, to relax and to have an open mind to life.
6) Learn to forget and forgive
Minimalist is not limited to material possessions, but also your memories and past experiences. As time goes on, as we grow older, we will gather more and more experiences and memories. The memory and experience that we gather may have positive or negative effects on us. We will have to learn to forget the negative side of things to live a peaceful life.
Below are few quotes that inspired me:
Below are my process of becoming a minimalist:
1) Buy less- only buy item you truly love
Consumerism, an act of consuming objects that you need, want and love. In order to live a more minimal life, we have to reduce our procession, the first step is to not consume unnecessary object that will waste your time, money and space. What I did was, prior it purchasing an item, I will ask myself "Do I really love it?" " Will it benefit my life?" If the answers are YES-then I will purchase it.
2) De-clutter EVERYTHING -if you don't use it, get rid off it
Declutter, not only impact us physically but also mentally. It will slow your life down by creating unnecessary messiness, endless chores and disturbed mindset. I tend to donate items that I do not use over time since it will just create unnecessary clutter. I believe we are a generation where we are drowning in our possessions and endless material needs/wants. We acquire items on the daily basis but we do not discard items on the daily basis, which led to meaningless possessions.
From my experience, I used to have an excessive amount of books, postcards that I collected, makeup that I don't even use, clothing that I don't even wear. Last year, I decluttered them all. I donated everything to Sydney's local salvation army. The great thing about decluttering is, when you don't even record what you donated, it truly shows you how unnecessary those items were to you, and how it will find someone who really appreciated it.
3) Know the difference between needs and wants
Clear & simple: Need is something you have to have, whereas want is something you would like to have. Every morning before work I will ask myself "Do I really need to have coffee?" or "I just simply want to have it." The answers usually are just that I feel the need to have it, but it's clearly a want.
4) Occupy your daily life with things you enjoy to do, other than going to shops.
Things we do affect our lifestyles, for examples we tend to go out shopping when we do not have things to do (maybe more for girls), nowadays even online shopping. Therefore occupy our days with things that can actually improve us physically or mentally, will be more beneficial.
Myself, I developed baking as a hobby, not only to improve my cooking skills but also allowed me to share it with friends and family. I love to see the joy on my family and friends' face when they taste my cake, cookies, pie etc. I also love to read, I read any genre that attracts my attention, I believe every books, articles, poem etc. will have something for you to take from, to learn from. Go out! Go to places that will inspire you, like a nice cafe, a bookstore, an art gallery, a flea market.
5) Learn new things
Learning is not only restricted to school, college or university, it's an on-going process in life. We can learn from anyone and anything. I think being a minimalist, I'm learning more in terms of what lifestyle is best for me, what i really enjoy doing. Recently, I have started doing yoga which gives me time to think, to relax and to have an open mind to life.
6) Learn to forget and forgive
Minimalist is not limited to material possessions, but also your memories and past experiences. As time goes on, as we grow older, we will gather more and more experiences and memories. The memory and experience that we gather may have positive or negative effects on us. We will have to learn to forget the negative side of things to live a peaceful life.
Below are few quotes that inspired me:
1920. Elise Boulding. " The consumption society has made us feel that happens lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.
1990. Antonine de Saint-Exupery. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
Unknown. "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."
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