Baby Steps Towards Minimalism | By- 'The Exhoarder'

Baby Steps Towards Minimalism | By- 'The Exhoarder'

Baby steps towards minimalism

'MINIMALISM' IS NOT JUST A WAY OF LIFE, IT IS A WAY TO LIVE A MEANINGFUL LIFE.

- The Exhoarder

Dear Mr/Ms. Reader, 
If you are familiar with the concept of minimalism or if you are hearing the term minimalism for the first time, you have come to the right place to learn what minimalism is and 'How to become a minimalist?', by taking simple baby steps in your everyday life and making conscious decisions.

As the quote suggests, minimalism is not the only way to live and enjoy life. I believe there are other ways too. I have personally felt that minimalism is the way to go. It makes more sense to me to minimize and live a downsized life.

You see, it takes time to be good at something. Minimalism takes time too. A lot of time.

You might have come across numerous articles about the 'DO IT' part & the 'HOW TO' part of decluttering. Allow me to share some of my methods of decluttering.

Here's your motivation before you could start baby step number one.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

 - Joseph P. Kennedy 

Baby Steps Towards Minimalism

1. REALIZE

Trust me. If you don't realize that you are hoarding stuff up, you may never be able to minimize. If you consciously don't stop buying things that you don't need, you will never be able to declutter.

 First, you gotta admit that there is a problem and tell yourself that 'I DON'T NEED THIS STUFF'. Second, stop cheating yourself saying 'JUST THIS TIME'. 

You gotta realize and have that "wow" moment.

2. ACCOUNTABILITY & PURCHASING DECISIONS

Let me be frank with you. This one seems to be really simple and easy. It is not. 

Every time you go shopping to a mall or a supermarket, there are more than 100 brands trying to sell you 1000 "latest" things when your budget is not more than Rs.1000 for your essentials.

Here you are in a dilemma, asking yourself - 'Should I buy those nice looking sneakers?' or ‘Should I buy this trendy dress’ which would be costing more than Rs.5000.

This is where a friend or your family member that you have gone shopping with, comes into the picture. Accountability is Everything .

You got to be accountable to somebody. Either a supportive friend or a supportive family member (Dad, Mom, brother, sister etc). You gotta tell them that you are trying to make some changes in your life and need their support.

The next time you go shopping with any of them, they will remind you of what you are trying to accomplish.

Make it a habit, and after 2-3 months, you will be good to go alone and shop. Start being accountable to yourself only when you are confident that you can DIY (Do it yourself). 

3. DON'T SUCCUMB TO PEER PRESSURE 

Your friends and family will have the "LATEST AND THE GREATEST" and that doesn't mean that you have to own it too. We live in a consumer culture. My friend, the next time you make a purchase, please think once if you are REALLY going to use it. 

Don't just buy it because your friend asked you to. Some people buy stuff  just because there's a sale going on or a friend suggested since it looks good on them. NO.

Try not to do that next time if you are trying to downsize the number of things you own. REMEMBER, every sale is not for you!! You don't have to own everything that your colleagues or friends own.

Do not create your identity around material things. Find something that you love, create values for yourself and build your identity around them. Work on these things now and you will thank yourself later.

4. ESSENTIALS & NON ESSENTIALS

Make a list of all the essential items. You gotta make one, even if you are too lazy to do it. Remember, it is for your betterment. 

Essential items are those items that you can't live without and this means all your basic needs that you use in your everyday life. It could be anything . Put those things down in your essential item’s list and the rest goes into your non-essential item’s list.

Once you know all your essentials and the non-essentials, you have to figure out what you are going to do with all the EXCESS.

Then decide on what you would want to give away once you start the sorting process ‘cause sorting comes next.

5. SORTING

Sorting is the most fun process of all. This is the first step towards letting go of the excess stuff in your life that has CONSUMED YOU ALL YOUR LIFE. You will start reaping the benefits of minimalism from this step onward.

Do check out my “Benefits of minimalism” article.

This is not the only method to declutter, as you will find hundreds of resources on different methods to declutter.

You can check out Marie Kondo’s popular KonMari method , ‘The Minimalist’s’ popular "30 day minimalism game" video and to all the ladies who are keen on decluttering, you can check out Project 333 by Courtney Carver.

I have linked all their resources on their respective methods. You just have to click on it and you’ll be good to go. Thank me later.

Well, you can call it TheExhoarder’s method. Kidding. You can do it however you want. The final result should be that, you must own 50% less of what you owned previously by the end of the process.

The main goal is to “declutter for better” and not to follow a certain method since we all live in different countries, have different cultures and I can go on and on about all our differences. Just follow what suits you best.

For example:

• If you own 5 pairs of shoes. Give 2 away. (You choose which one)

• If you own 15 pairs of trousers, jeans, shorts etc. Give 8 away. (You choose which one)

• If you own 4 wallets. Give 3 away. (You choose which one)

• If you own 5 coffee mugs. Give 4 away. Use just one, Okay!

• If you own 2 phones give one away. (If you are not a businessman)

• Ladies, you gotta give some of your MAKEUP away too. MAKEUP your mind. (I will not get into the details. You get to decide that.)

So, these were some of the examples, and I don’t know what you own. You get to decide what to keep and what to give away. Remember, 50%. Okay. If 50% is a lot for you. You can START with 30% too, providing you will hit 50% by the end of 3 months.

GIVING IS HAPPINESS. HAPPINESS IS GIVING. GIVE JOYFULLY. 

-The Exhoarder 

6. NO PURCHASE MONTH 

YES. You read it right. Once you have let go of all your stuff by either donating it or selling it, you will actually feel some kind of weight taken off of your shoulders. Mentally you will feel lighter. Trust me. It does.

If you are a person who constantly moves from place to place, switching jobs, you will thank yourself for saving all the stress, time, money & energy that goes into packing and moving all your stuff.

Soon after you’ve decluttred, you will have to go into “NO PURCHASE MONTH”. This is because, it won’t be of any use if you go on a shopping spree again immediately after getting rid of all the excess. Remember, accountability plays an important role here too. Just buy your daily essentials. Nothing more & nothing Less. Uhm! Probably, less of everything.

Let me know if you have started decluttering already and if you haven’t you can follow these baby steps. Letting go of stuff feels good. Start letting go.

"Change the way you look at things and the things you look at CHANGE. "

                                            

                                                                                - Wayne W. Dyer

I hope I have added some value to your life. If I did, share this with as many people as possible. Follow me on Instagram by clicking here. Subscribe to my mailing list if you like my content.

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Until next time,

Alan Rohan Raikes - The Exhoarder.

"DECLUTTER FOR BETTER" & "BECOME AN EXHOARDER"

For suggestions and queries you can always reach out to me on alanrohan.raikes@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2019  The Exhoarder.