As we move closer to our early retirement, we have slowly developed a feeling of less is more in life. By retiring early, we are accepting that we will naturally have less income, but we will have more time to experience things. By downsizing our house, we need to have less possessions, but will have more space to enjoy life. As the children have grown up, we have subconsciously moved to a much more minimal existence, but this has definitely accelerated as we approach our early retirement date.
So how did we set about minimising our lives? It wasn’t easy, or quick, but we have drawn together some ideas along the way that helped us and will hopefully help you in your journey to a clutter free life.
Being able to part with things is a skill that can then be developed into a habit. It does not come natural to get rid of things in our lives, we like possessions and it can be a painful emotion to let them go. But the ability to minimise is a skill and like any skill when we practice it, gets easier to do.
Discarding things not only takes skill, but also will. You have to have a reason to want to de-clutter your life. You need to develop the motivation to want to do it. What is your motivation? Our motivation is to live a simpler life through less possessions leaving us space for more experiences free from the clutter and distraction.
When we discard we gain more than we lose. Of course we lose a possession, but as a direct consequence of that loss we may gain time, or space, or freedom or the energy to use all of these additional benefits. In essence, when we minimise our lives it gives us the space to make clearer decisions about how we want to lead our lives.
If in doubt, there is absolutely no compulsion or pressure to discard. Do not feel forced to remove something from your life if you have any lingering doubts over its value in your life. Simply move onto something else and then revisit that item at a later date. Minimising should not be a stressful experience. The Minimalisists have a wonderful 90-90 rule, which states that if you are unsure about an object that you have not used for 90 days, put it aside for another 90 days and then revisit the decision to discard or not. A great example of this would be seasonal clothing. It would be silly to discard all of your summer clothes just because it is winter, as in another 90 days, those items will be of use again.
Discarding does requires effort- both emotional and physical. When you start a programme of decluttering, be rested and emotionally ready for the effort that it will entail. It may be a hard physical job to get rid of the items, but it also will be emotionally hard to have to make repeated decisions to let go.
Discard something now- at some point you need to start…what better time than now? Action always trumps strategy.
Make it easy- start with clearing your junk/clutter to build the minimalist habit for more challenging decisions later down the line.
Get rid of multiples of anything. For example, look in your kitchen cupboards and assess how many pans do you really need- it maybe 3 but probably not 7. Likewise, how many chopping boards do you really need? Suddenly the decision making process is a bit easier. For consumable items one extra of anything is fine- but no more extras are required beyond that. Exactly how many packs of toilet roll do you need in the house?
Dust is a brilliant sign to discard an item. Get rid of things you have not used in a year. If you are fearful that you may need something in the future, reassure yourself that you can always buy or rent such what-if items.
You should only keep things in your life that genuinely bring you joy…not things that are kept for the benefit or approval of others. Do you genuinely want that huge TV or do you feel that others may judge you for not having a TV? If it is there for the appeal of others, get rid off it.
Differentiate between wants and needs. We often get sucked into wanting a large number of things, but how many things do we actually need to live a happy and purposeful life? Remember that there is a whole industry out there working on highly sophisticated ways to make us simply want more things via social media, product placement, advertising campaigns and influencing.
Photos- this is a big call and we are personally not sure about this aspect of minimalism. To truly minimise, surely we should look to store all our photos in digital format? However, printed photos for us are so important in our lives and bring us such joy that we have made the decision not to discard them. Minimalism is a purely personal thing- there are no right and wrong answers to any decision.
Organising and moving things is not minimising. Be warned, organising our clutter into tidier piles, or finding better storage solutions for our things does not actually remove the clutter from our lives, it just makes us feel better because we have been busy.
Don’t cling to the past…possessions are just physical things- nothing more. They are physical manifestations of something that we already have inside us that we cannot discard- our memories. By minimising, we are providing mental space within our lives to keep looking to the future.
Discard immediately the things that you have forgotten about- it is a very simple sign that they no longer bring you joy or play an active part in your life.
Don’t try to be creative- be ruthless. Decluttering time is no time to come up with new or creative ideas for how to recycle an unused object into something more useful.
Feel joy when you discard- emotionally connect with the process and develop a gratitude for what that object has brought to your life. By passing the object on, you are sharing that gratitude with others.
Sell things, recycle, give away…it is not always about throwing things away. Just as the object has brought you joy, it can also bring joy to others.
Don’t worry about the original cost- but think about the current value of any given object (both financial and emotional value). One of the most important things you have to do is to admit your purchasing mistakes from the past and move on.
See a shop as a personal warehouse- if you need something- go to the warehouse and buy it. Rent what can be rented. There is no need to have something with you all the time if you know you can simply pick it up from the warehouse or rent it at any time.
Discard anything if you are not passionate about it- ask yourself the question- why is it so great? If you cannot decide- discard.
If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no.
If you lost it, would you replace it?
Don’t worry about discarding gifts that you have received in the past, or the fear that you may offend someone if you discard their gift to you. Can you really recall all the gifts that you have given to people in your lifetime?
Go public- when you decide to start your decluttering process tell as many people as you dare to ensure that you build a high level of accountability. The more people that you tell, the more likely that you will stick to your task.
One in one out. Buying something new? Throw something else out. It’s simple maths.
Think about buying things as a renting and then recycling process. Viewing our possessions as temporary really helps in building a minimalist mindset.
Fewer things does not mean less satisfaction in your life. It actually makes more space for deep satisfaction in your life.
Find the uniform that you love. We all have items of clothing that we love to wear. Why don’t we simplify the decision making process and fill our wardrobes with the only the things that we love to wear and get rid of the clothes that we rarely wear?
Minimalism is not a competition or a race. Make it work for you. Minimalism is a purely personal process- there are no right and wrong answers to any decision.
We really hope that you found some of these ideas and insights of use when thinking about your own minimalism project. All we can say is that these ideas really worked for us. The best advice we can give is just give it a go. Look around you right now and find one thing that no longer brings you happiness, and let it go. Then do it again...and again, all the time remembering:
Having less does not make you a lesser person.
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