What is minimalism? There's not much to it. Basically it means getting rid of things you don't need and keeping the things you do need. Minimalism has seem become somewhat of a trend these days and it shouldn't be because it is way more than that, it's a way of life.
I first realized I needed to take the minimalist approach to life when I looked around and saw how many things I don't need or use anymore. I had clothing which I haven't worn in two years and magazines that I had kept dating back to 2006, basically I had a lot of junk that was wasting space. I also had a tendency to buy things that I thought I needed only to have them sit in my room for months. I came to the conclusion that If I bought only things I needed and not wanted I could save space and money, this was difficult but needed to be done.
Here's how to adopt the minimalism lifestyle:
Buy what you need
When looking at items such as clothing think to yourself "Will I regret not buying this or Will I forget I have this in a years time?" If you can make that decision then you are headed in the right direction. One thing that has certainly helped me when shopping is keeping a list of what to buy, you don't need to keep a pad with you - most smartphones have this feature readily available and you get apps to help out. You can spoil yourself every once in a while and buy something you really like but may not necessarily need - that's okay but don't make it a habit.
Throw out or donate your old things
DO NOT go and throw away all your personal belongings and memories in an attempt to be a minimalist - Keep those and cherish them. I'm talking about ornaments, old clothing that no longer fits you or those old CDs that you haven't listened to since high school. Burn those CDs to Mp3s and keep your favorite clothing that you wear most often because we all know that you can't wear shirt you own. You can donate or sell those items because as they say: "One mans trash is another man's treasure". Someone will need what you don't.
Get rid of friends you don't need
This may sound harsh but it's not. You will always have a handful of good friends and two handfuls of fake friends who you don't really need in your life. Why waste time on the fake ones when you can be having better times with the real ones? Quality over quantity. The truth is that friends always come and go, that's just how life is but you can keep your good ones by making them a priority. By trying to please everyone you will just be spreading yourself too thin.
Pay off your accounts.
In my opinion this is what holds us back the most because we worry about paying off our debt. This gives you less money to save, spend on things you need and also creates negative stress. I encourage you to pay off those clothing and home home accounts, you will not need them if you are trying to become a minimalist. Keeping these accounts will only make you fall back into old habits.
You don't necessarily have to close these accounts because there may come a time when you desperately need to purchase something and you have no funds, let's hope you don't get to that with your new minimalist lifestyle.
Clean Up your computer
We spend most of our lives on our computers and end up keeping everything we like. Since storage is so cheap these days that's fine but why keep a movie or TV show you will most likely not watch again? You will most likely find that less than half of your data you will never need or use again. Go through your movies, TV shows and music then delete what you haven't used in the last year since you have probably forgotten about it up until now. We can stream movies, TV and music for Free these days so there's really no need to keep stuff in-case you might use it again. Deleting these things will also help speed up your computer a little bit, score.
These are just a few things you can do to adapt a minimalist Lifestyle, I followed these steps and they have certainly helped me. It may be difficult at first but it will be worth it. Since becoming more minimal I have become happier in life and less dependent on material things. The important thing to remember is to take your time and enjoy the journey.
Minimalism: It's a Lifestyle, not a Trend
