Minimalism in current social life simply means owning fewer possessions. The concept is now more widely connected to sustainable living as it helps people reduce potential wastes and free themselves from the burden of cleaning up the house. We will no longer be frustrated about tons of clothes in the closet, numerous make-up products laying in a mess on the dressing table, or countless plastic packing bags. Here, I would like to recommend 5 tips of becoming a minimalist.
(Credited to Greystar)
Learn to ask the reason and necessity. Whenever you decide to purchase a dress, a sofa, a new basket, or something else you find useful or interesting, remember to ask yourself why you truly want to buy this good. It is really necessary? You may experience the following scene: you buy an extremely gorgeous prom dress with paying an incredibly high price, but you may not wear it the second time and you start thinking how to sell the dress at a fair price after a few years even a few months as it occupies too much room in your closet. The prom dress can be anything you find charming at first but useless later in your real life. Asking yourself the reason and the necessity of purchasing this product is always the first step of stopping useless or unnecessary things from piling up at your house.
(Credited to Lazy Loft-Froy)
Organized the possessions to discard duplicates. A few days ago, I found that I had three exactly similar dresses. Two of them I'd never worn before. My closet was always in a mess, which was the key reason why I repeatedly purchased the same dresses. I could never remind myself that I already had one as I did not recognize there was one, at the bottom of the closet. Another object I could never remind myself that I already had one when I was purchasing a new one was bandages. I now have 6 boxes of bandages in my drawer as I always think that I've used up them all. Organizing your possessions with clear labels is always the most effective way to discard duplicates. Whenever you find a need to buy something, just go check the storage according to the labels (yes, like the grocery store). You will have a clearer sense of whether you truly need a new one.
(Credited to Huffpost)
Simplify your diet. This approach is not guiding you to become a vegan or vegetarian. It asks you to reduce the amount of food you prepare or order for yourself every day. Most people are used to preparing an extra portion of meal every day in case they may need some extra energy, but it proves that they typically will not consume all of food. The extra food need to be dumped out or eaten the next day. The first way is a waste and the second one is unhealthy. We need food and we clearly know how much we need every day as we've been living on our own for years. Cutting down the useless food consumption is a key approach to become a minimalist.
Minimalism is definitely a new stream when people are pursuing sustainable living. It does not fit everyone's life expectations, but sometimes it would be great to give a try to relieve yourself from the burden of tons of possessions in this frustrating world.
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