Decluttering is having a moment these days. Organizing guru Marie Kondo has her own show on Netflix, people everywhere are going through their things and asking, 鈥淒oes this bring me joy?鈥� and many are even exploring the minimalist lifestyle.
Wondering what the all the fuss is about? Let鈥檚 talk about some of the benefits of going minimalist (or just getting rid of some clutter, even if you don鈥檛 want to get rid of everything).
What does it mean to 鈥榞o minimalist鈥�?
Whatever you want it to mean, really; there鈥檚 no official designation or anything. Many people think it鈥檚 living with as few possessions as possible, but it鈥檚 all relative鈥攕omeone with a full house could feel like a minimalist after simply reducing their clutter, while another person might cringe at the thought of even one extra item on their nightstand.
Here鈥檚 a good way to think about it: Living as a minimalist is about focusing mainly on what you need, limiting those extra, but unnecessary, things that can clog life up. Minimalists focus on experiences rather than things, on quality rather than quantity, on removing excess from their lives in order to create a more meaningful existence.
According to Joshua Becker of the Becoming Minimalist blog, 鈥淒ecluttering focuses on removing surface-level possessions. Minimalism helps us discover how little we actually need.鈥�
And there are benefits to this approach that go way beyond just having a clean house, too. Here are five from No Sidebar, which created an online course aimed at helping people 鈥渄esign a simple life.鈥�
A clearer mind.
When you have a ton of stuff, it can tax you mentally鈥攅ven if you don鈥檛 realize it. From not being able to find items when you want them to just feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing, having fewer things also can mean having less weighing on your mind.More freedom.
Think of all the possessions you own, and the work you had to do to get them鈥攍iterally, the job you go to every day to buy all of those things. Are those things worth it? What if you didn鈥檛 have to worry about earning the money to buy that stuff? How would your life change? Maybe you could switch to a job that you love, instead of the one that pays the most. Or take more time off. Or travel more. That鈥檚 the freedom minimalists pursue.Extra money.
When you don鈥檛 buy a bunch of unnecessary things, you don鈥檛 spend as much money鈥攁nd that means you鈥檒l have more at the ready when something truly important comes along.Greater self-confidence.
Yes, really. Living with less, not worrying about having that luxury car or an expensive watch, has an unexpected benefit, wrote No Sidebar鈥檚 Allison Fallon: 鈥淵ou start to feel good about yourself, not because of what you own, but just because of who you are.鈥�Better relationships, too.
This is another thing you might not expect. But think about the old phrase 鈥渒eeping up with the Joneses.鈥� That really means 鈥渃ompeting with the Joneses,鈥� doesn鈥檛 it? What else would you call constantly trying to acquire things that are as nice (or nicer) than those of your friends and neighbors? When you stop doing this, you can start building better connections with people鈥攔eal connections.
Minimalism isn鈥檛 for everybody, but everybody can benefit from taking even a couple of steps in that direction. Fewer things, more meaning. What鈥檚 not to like about that?
Reposted with permission from the original author, Safeco Insurance.