To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness
Bertrand Russell
Minimalism essentially means wanting less ‘stuff’. Clearly this fits well with those seeking financial independence. When you discover such a productive and worthwhile way of using your money, you no longer want to splurge on unnecessary things.
We really identify with The Minimalists’ definition of minimalism. They essentially explain that minimalism can mean different things to different people depending on your priorities. Being a minimalist is more about intent than any particular number of items owned for example. The intent to reduce your consumption and free your mind from the stress of ‘stuff’ can have a huge impact on your day to day happiness.
Owning stuff comes with responsibility. Each item requires maintenance, upkeep and/or storage. This process saps your energy – financially and mentally.
Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like
Will Rogers
The main process involved in minimising your lifestyle is decluttering. But this can have both physical and mental consequences. Let’s break it down further.
Physical decluttering
This can be a difficult process. We are both prone to thinking ‘but I might use that one day’ despite not having used an item for years! We have recently got better at this but find it particularly difficult with clothes and books.
Each item should be considered on its own merit – do you actually need/use/want it? Are there any alternative items you could use for the same purpose?
A good way of physically decluttering is digitisation. There are many things you can digitise:
- CDs – rip songs and store digitally
- DVDs – many can be watched online
- Paperwork – scan and bin/shred
- Photographs – high resolution scanning services if no digital version already
- Books – buy ebooks rather than books.
Digitisation can even work for bigger physical items. For example items with sentimental value. You often don’t even use these items but can’t face to get rid of them because of the memories they bring back. Why not take photographs so you can access these memories whenever you want, but put the item to a better home?
But this approach isn’t for everyone/every item.
Miss Way finds it hard to envisage digitising some items from her childhood. Special ‘things’ that are part of her own personal history. She likes the idea of looking back at these items in 20 years’ time and reminiscing.
Some family heirlooms and physical photographs are particularly difficult in this regard. Some of you may be happy digitising and others you may want to keep. Provided you have thought about it and made an informed decision, that’s a valid approach! As with any ‘movement’, minimalism can sometimes become tribal with people suggesting you are wasteful because you aren’t quite as minimalist as they are. Try to ignore those people! If you find genuine value in an item, keep it.
Mental decluttering
Try to automate processes – create a routine. This removes the planning/thinking time which can often be the biggest hurdle to starting something. We all have examples of this. Starting is the hardest part.
We like to use lists to aid mental decluttering. If you have numerous tasks swimming around in your head and have to remember what needs doing this can be exhausting. Simply writing these down on a ‘to do’ list can allow you to move on. Each item should be prioritised – is there a particular time it needs doing by?
This allows you to check the list at regular intervals and prioritise things depending on timing and your desire to carry out each task.
Minimalism seems to be at the forefront of today’s society, without people necessarily realising it. Whether it be dry January, the latest trendy diet or simply giving things up for lent. This probably stems from the fact we are living in an era of excess. For the vast majority of human history, we have been a species living with scarcity of resources and always desired more. But now that everything we need is so easy to access, people seem to be realising that it isn’t a good thing to ALWAYS have enough. Some of our greatest achievements are born out of scarcity and desire.
Our version of Minimalism
So what does minimalism mean to us? Fundamentally, minimalism is about optimal usage of the things you need and removing the rest. Because we all have different priorities, the interpretation of what we ‘need’ will be different for everyone.
Over the last year or so we have been gradually minimising and optimising several aspects of our lives. This fits with our longer term goals of travel/living abroad but also has significant mental health benefits in the present. Living in a cluttered home is mentally draining and can quietly sap a lot of your energy. This can be a very subconscious process and is hard to keep track of.
We have gradually been renovating each room of our house and de-cluttering as we go. We have managed to vastly reduce our belongings but still have a long way to go!
Clothing is a particular area we can improve – we both have far too many clothes! Not only is this physical clutter, it also drags you down mentally. Think about it – every day you have so many options to choose from before you even get dressed. Think about the extreme example of Steve Jobs. He famously wore the same clothes every day to avoid decision fatigue! While we won’t be doing anything that extreme, we very much appreciate the intention!
What to do with the items you part with?
Once you have decided you no longer need an item, how do you decide what to do with it? This can be a hurdle in itself and the indecision has often led to us delaying getting rid of ‘stuff’.
For us, the ideal situation is to sell an item. This is not purely for the financial gain. If somebody is willing to pay for an item, it is clear that they desire it and it is unlikely to sit un-used at their home instead. This is the ideal situation and fits with our ‘minimum waste’ outlook. Not only do we get rid of an un-used item, but we stop someone else buying a brand new item and using the associated resources.
Options for selling we have used include – eBay, Amazon marketplace, Facebook selling groups.
Secondly, we would look to offer the item to friends and family. This option has similar benefits to selling but without the obvious financial gain! However, sometimes helping out someone you know can beat any small fee. Friends or family will usually only take an item off your hands if they have a genuine use for it.
Next up is charity shops. This can be top of the list for many people, but as explained above we look at the process slightly differently. In our view, items donated to charity shops can often end up sitting on a shelf gathering dust – either in the shop or at somebody’s house. For low value items in particular, it can often cost the charity more to advertise and sell your item than they would generate from it.
Now we move onto the less than ideal options. If nobody else has a use for your items, sometimes getting rid can be inevitable. If there is any way to do so, we always look to recycle rather than bin something. There are many facilities in the UK to recycle all sorts of items. Your local council tip can be a valuable resource in this scenario. We have taken many old electronic and other household items to ours. As well as this, there are often recycling schemes for particular items so check out what’s available in your local area.
- Sell it
- Offer it to friends/family
- Charity shop
- Recycling
- Throw it away
What experiences have you had with minimalism? Are there any particular items you aren’t willing to get rid of? Let us know in the comments!