Minimalist living doesn’t sound complicated, but it’s actually hard to do. Not only a home decoration trend, minimalist living is also a meaningful lifestyle chosen by many people. Let’s learn about minimalism and how to apply it to your life.
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Minimalist living doesn’t sound complicated, but it’s actually hard to do. Not only a home decoration trend, minimalist living is also a meaningful lifestyle chosen by many people.
Minimalism is no longer a strange concept to us, it is not only encapsulated in changing the layout of the house but also aiming to change all aspects of life, especially life style. According to Kyle Chayka, author of The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism, minimalism has its roots in Buddhism and the first theories about it were put forward by a British art theorist. Today, minimalism has become popular in many places and at one time became a feverish trend.
Let’s learn about minimalism and how to apply it to your life.
HOW IS A SIMPLE LIFE?
There are many definitions of minimalism, however, all of them have one thing in common: this is a meaningful philosophy of living that is aimed at simplicity and less materialism. According to Joshua Becker, author of the popular book on minimalism The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life and the blog Becoming Minimalist: “Minimalism is about emphasizing things that are not meant to be. we value the most in life by getting rid of anything that prevents us from focusing on the things that matter.”
Minimalism can be applied to all aspects of life: work, relationships… However, the focus of a minimalist lifestyle is often towards changing living space.
When you think of a minimalist home, the first image that comes to mind is white paint, plain walls with open spaces. The truth is that everyone can practice minimalism in their own way, and as author Joshua Becker said, minimalism is a lifestyle with purpose, where every single item in the house matters the most. its determination. Accordingly, the typical steps in the practice of minimalism include: “arrangement”, “arrangement” and “cutting down” – all aimed at providing a simple living space but each position in the apartment. House has its own role.
BENEFITS OF THE MINIMAL LIFE OF WOMEN
Cost savings: owning fewer things means you spend less money. There are also no additional monthly costs for the care and maintenance of the items you own. At that time, you will realize that instead of going shopping, you can use that money to travel with your family. Experiences with loved ones will be more valuable than dozens of items you buy in your leisure time.
More time: owning fewer things saves you time caring for, cleaning, and organizing them. Even the regular shopping itself takes up quite a bit of your time. Cutting back on what you don’t really need gives you more time to invest in what matters most.
Improve your health: having to spend time and money every month “taking care” of all those items can easily make you stressed. Author Becker advises: “Owning fewer things means less stress.” From there, we can improve our health.
Protect the environment: when we buy and use less, we contribute to the conservation of natural resources. Environmental issues always need attention and priority. So you can protect the environment starting with lifestyle changes.
Be more grateful: a minimalist lifestyle helps us appreciate everything around us more. This is similar to the concept of “mindfulness” where minimalism directs us to focus on the present and have careful consideration of the things we really care about.
HOW TO PRACTICE MINIMIZE LIFE
1. FOCUS ON ONE ROOM
The hardest question when starting something is always: “Where should I start?”. Advice for you: choose a room that is easiest to decorate and focus on minimizing it. You can then use that room as a reference for the next rooms in the house. Besides, you can use the Clutter Free application to assist you in minimizing your home.
2. START FROM THE MOST VISIBLE AREA
Once you’ve chosen a room to practice, you should start with the most visible areas such as bookshelves, tables and chairs or the floor area. Easily obscured areas such as closets or drawers can be accessed later as you can potentially get frustrated or overwhelmed by having it all out at once. By minimizing the visible areas first, you will see the progress of the minimalist living space and be motivated to continue.
3. KEEP ONLY WHAT REALLY NEEDED
While cleaning and redecorating the house, you should go through each item and consider carefully whether you really need this item? Is this item helping the house? Or is it just holding you back from rearranging your home?
If you’re confused about what to do with items, author Becker recommends asking a few questions:
Do you need this item?
Are you using this item?
If you don’t use this item, what would you replace it with?
Why should you have this item?
4. DECORATE WITH MEANING ITEMS
Many people tend to decorate their homes with pretty things bought from a sale on e-commerce platforms or from local grocery stores. However, once you have committed to a minimalist lifestyle, you must break that habit and replace the decorations with the most meaningful items such as family photos, heirlooms, etc. When we leave out the objects. unimportant and keeping the most valuable things, we give them space to stand out and reflect the culture of the family.
5. REGULAR CLEANING
Cleaning is also an effective method to keep your living space in a minimalist state. A messy house is an inevitable situation, so we should clean it regularly to keep everything tidy and clean. “There are areas that need seasonal care, there are areas that need weekly care, and there are also areas that need daily care,” says Becker. Therefore, maintaining the habit of cleaning is also a way to practice a minimalist lifestyle.
6. Overcoming the “Fantasy” of SHOPPING
In an age of rampant advertising and creative content, it’s hard to resist the allure of shopping. Therefore, you should cut down on the frequency of viewing ads by limiting TV viewing, blocking promotional emails, and blocking ads on social networks. Besides, you should also clearly define your style, what items you really like and which are suitable for your current lifestyle so that you can arrange a living space that makes you feel comfortable and happy. than.
7. DETERMINATE THE PURPOSE OF THE MINIMAL LIFE OF WOMEN
This is the last and most important step in these lifestyle practices. Take some time to think carefully about the purpose of this lifestyle choice, do you want to live minimalist to save money, save time or to have more living space? This is important because the ultimate goal of minimalism is to live a full, meaningful life, not simply to live with less material.
