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Unexpected Benefits Of Minimalism
A couple of years ago, we became accidental minimalists as we downsized drastically to move into our self converted camper-van full time. But when I come to think about it, we both had minimalism principles years before that, when we packed our absolute necessities and moved to Ireland, me from Paris with a backpack and my guitare and Joaquin from Mexico with a bunch of t-shirts and no coat (climate reality checks were had on both ends).
I think that a lot of people might live with these ideas in mind, that you don't need an extended wardrobe, a bunch of IT gadgets, dozens of books and CDs to be fulfilled. For me, the less I came to owning, the more alive and free I started to feel.
There are so many ways to be minimal, and it doesn't mean to me that you have to live with a certain number of clothes or belongings in general, it just means that we can detach ourselves from the material to focus on other, more important things.
Minimalism is the idea that you can do more when owning less. You can detach yourself from the material to focus your mind and heart on the experiences, the adventures, the discoveries and relationships. You free some space in your life for more experiences, you free some money for more adventures, you relieve your mind for more discoveries. The benefits of becoming a minimalist to me are endless, and I wanted to share a few with you.
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE BENEFITS IN LEADING A MINIMALISTIC LIFESTYLE.
1# AN ORGANIZED PLACE
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It seems pretty simple, when you own less things, you have less things to organise and clean. Meaning that your room or house can easily stay fresh and clean. On a plus note, you always know where your things are.
#2 MAKES YOU APPRECIATE THINGS BETTER
Owning less usually means that you truly love every item you own, meaning that you will take extra good care of them. When getting to minimalism, I went through all of my things, and notices that There was a bunch of jewelry I never wore. All of my necklaces and bracelets where entangled and I never really took the time to organize them, so I never actually wore them.After going through them and placing most of them in the donation pile I actually found two that I use to love and wear all the time. I now keep them neatly in a box and wear them all the time.
Having less makes you care more for what you have.
#3 SAVING MONEY
The less things you buy, the more money you save. Now of course, buying less usually goes hand in with buying better quality to avoid having to replace it too often. So you will save money on all the little things you don't actually need to buy, and will make better investments for the things you use everyday.
#4 LESS STRESS
Owning less goes hand in hand to me with having less stress and anxiety. Especially if you, like me, have a hard time with decisions.
If you take clothes for exemple, how many times have you stood in front of a closet full of clothes thinking you have nothing to wear ? The truth is, having too much clouds your mind and makes it harder for your to chose. It also means there are a lot of items in there that you don't love, don't fit great or don't suit you, adding to the stress of feeling like nothing goes.
Owning less means having to worry about less, and feeling sure that everything you have is loved and belongs with you.
#5 IT'S MUCH BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
For so long we needed to maintain our consumerism society for our countries to thrive. Today, it's what is killing our planet. The junk that has accumulated over decades of shopping for cheap and fast option that were out of style, broken or obsolete a few months after purchase is staggering. And so is the toll it has taken on our environment.
Owning less means being part of the change that our planet needs, choosing long lasting options and simply less.
6# INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
The less visual distractions you have around you, the easier you will focus. It's that easy ! When you have a cluttered desk, a messy room, a jumbled desk top, you lose time, you don't think as clearly, you miss things, you get overwhelmed. By keeping your belongings to a minimum, you alleviate that problem straight away.
7# QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
The less visual distractions you have around you, the easier you will focus. It's that easy ! When you have a cluttered desk, a messy room, a jumbled desk top, you lose time, you don't think as clearly, you miss things, you get overwhelmed. By keeping your belongings to a minimum, you alleviate that problem straight away.
8# MORE TIME
A decluttered house for me is also more time to do other things than organize, clean and maintain. When you own less things, it simply takes less time to take care of them, and a lot more to draw and paint, danse, meet friends, sit in silence or read a good book.
9# STOP COMPARING
Our consumerism society has decided that social value would be prized through our belongings and our professional achievements. But who decides what successful means ? What if we reinvented what success is, and based it on personal achievements, personal growth, discoveries, adventures, things we've learned and shared with others ?
There is no need to compare yourself to what other's have, or are building, let's start living our own life, free of judgement, according to what makes your heart swell and your mind race. No two lives are different and they aren't meant to be lived the same way !
10# LIVE OUT OF INTENTION
The moment you stop doing like everyone else is and start tuning in to what you truly need and want, is the moment you start living with intention. You start to drive your ship where suits you and decide what is worth your time and what isn't. Minimalism can bring you a lot of piece of mind and space to figure out where you want to go, and how you wish to do so.
11# LEARN TO SAY NO
I don't know about you, but I've been raised to finish my plate, say Hello Miss and follow general guidelines. Saying no came much later, when I figured out that the way the areas of my life where I placed the most importance were much different than the ones most people did. I learned to affirm myself in my believes and desires and stand my ground. And that is one hell of an important thing to learn !
12# LIVE IN A SMALLER PLACE
This is not a given for everyone, but the moment I downsized is the moment I saw myself living in much smaller places than I used to. The less you own the less you need space to house your belongings, and maybe the closer you can live from work, or the fun city center, or the more you'll save and will be able to go on adventures.. Less is more right ?
There are few things in life as powerful as standing your ground on supporting something you believe in. Matching your everyday life with your true beliefs is like aligning ourself in the direction you think is best, pursuing your desires and following your heart.
It is empowering, unifying and unbelievably beautiful.
I hope these goals can bring you the little nudge you were looking for, or the support deserve in going forward with this lifestyle.
We are all in this together ! xx
I'M LOUISE
Thanks for giving this a read ! I'm a writer, photographer & self proclaimed environmental warrior, excited to share solutions, ideas and recipes to bring sustainability into our lives.
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