The Art of Minimalism: A Beginner's Guide to Simplifying Life

Here is your guide to exploring the power of a minimalist lifestyle, nurturing purpose, contentment, and mindful choices through simplifying your mental and physical spaces.

Sometimes, we feel over-stressed and depressed due to our busy schedule. We are living in a fast-moving world. So, it is quite normal to feel burdened and anxious at times. The main reason for this is the overcrowded space around us which steals our mental peace. We cannot focus properly on our work if we are surrounded by unnecessary things. The mess around us destroys our peace of mind and makes us restless.

If you want peace in life, you must learn the way of a minimalist lifestyle. A minimalist lifestyle can help to live a happy, contended, and stress-free life. It helps to focus on those things which are very important in the life. It eliminates all the unnecessary happenings around us and brings peace of mind. It teaches the art of living with minimum. The basic principle of a minimalist lifestyle is that "Quality Matters over Quantity."

 “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard

Concept of Minimalism:

If you want to make your life more manageable and contended, you need to set your priorities in life. Give importance to the most vital things that cannot be avoided. Minimalism tells us that we need to focus on those things that add value to our lives. Extra possessions are nothing but an extra burden on ourselves. We need to get rid of these extra possessions and adopt a minimalist lifestyle. The anxiety and stress that we have in our lives can be overcome by implementing minimalism and simplifying our lives. The desires of this world are never going to an end. We need to figure out the right way of living. So, make your life blissful by embracing simplicity and removing the burden of extra belongings.

 “There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” -Jackie French Koller

Simplifying Life:

A purposeful life is a simplified life. If you want to have a purposeful life, you must embrace simplicity. There is no need to clutter your lives with unnecessary things that bring nothing but extra load. The need is that we should figure out what matters the most to us. Once we set the priorities, everything else gets sorted. It frees us from all the other distractions. It gives the purpose to life.

As Hans Hofmann says:

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hofmann

How to Live a Simple Life?

Now, that you know the real meaning of a minimalist lifestyle, you must be wondering where to start. There are several directions to follow when adopting a minimalist lifestyle. You have to start from scratch. Even cleaning a single portion of your wardrobe or kitchen cabinet can be the first step towards a minimalist lifestyle. Take the first step and make your life much more contented than before.

However, there are 5 basic rules that you must follow when starting your journey towards a minimalist lifestyle. Let me explain these rules here:

1. Decluttering the spaces around us:

We talked earlier about the depression and anxiety the cluttered space around us can bring in. When we are surrounded by so many useless things, our brain stops working. Think about the stress the messy kitchen can cause. The unwashed crockery, the disordered cabinets, the overcrowded shelves, and the extra water on the floor make us feel annoyed. The anxiety a chaotic wardrobe can bring is beyond imagination. Also, the overloaded decoration pieces on the drawing room shelves can take away your focus. So, what's the point of spending so much on these useless things? Remove everything that is an extra burden to your peace of mind. Declutter all the spaces around you and make it look soothing. This might be the first step in your journey to minimalism.

2. Simplifying Possessions:

Simplifying our possessions is as important as simplifying our surroundings. Removing the extra mess in the environment isn't enough. We need to get rid of all the extra belongings that add no value to our lives. We to free ourselves from the desire for materialistic gains. It only congests our spaces and wallets. We need to be more sorted in our life decisions. Extra possessions are nothing but a burden on our minds. Mental health is as important as physical health. So, the second most important step towards a minimalist lifestyle is simplifying our possessions. It restores our mental peace.

3. A Streamlined Routine:

We bound ourselves with unnecessary commitments throughout the day. We need to set our priorities in life and remove all the extra commitments. Know the art of saying “No”. Try to live a balanced and composed life. Learn to manage between practical and personal life. Do not get overburdened in the race of this fast-moving world. If we overburden ourselves with extra work, we may feel depressed and troubled. Just focus on the activities that bring joy and peace of mind. We need to streamline our routines in such a way that restores our peace of mind. A streamlined routine is a blessing and those who want to live a peaceful life must simplify their routines. It helps to bring out the best in you.

4. Time Management:

Time management is the basic key to living a balanced and simplified life. From your morning bath to your midnight prayers, evaluate your time and set a proper schedule. Reduce unnecessary screen time, do not waste your precious time on social media platforms by scrolling here and there, and do not waste time in front of television screens and video games. Effective time management organizes your life and brings in more productivity. When you are more sorted in life, things become easy to follow.

5. Embrace Simplicity:

Learn to live in the moment. Your focus should be on quality rather than quantity. Cherish the beautiful moments in life. Do not overburden yourself with material possessions and other distractions of the world that only lead to disappointment. Simplicity brings peace to life. A minimalist lifestyle is based on simplicity. It takes away the extra troubles in life and makes your life joyous. 

Simple vs Luxury Life:

The terms “Simple Life” and “Luxury Life" may seem contrary to each other, but they are not. You can have a minimalistic luxurious lifestyle if you become a little more careful about life decisions. Do you ever realize that the wardrobe in our rooms is full of untouched clothes, but still they are piling up there? This means you just need to be more selective. It is about quality, not quantity that matters. You may own fewer things but never compromise on the quality of the items you bring. 

Books about Minimalist Lifestyle:

Let me mention some famous books that may guide you in living a minimalistic lifestyle.

·      The joy of less: A minimalist guide to declutter, organize and simplify

Author: Francine Jay, Teri Schnaubelt, et al.

·      Mindful minimalism: The What, the why and the how of decluttering and living with less

Author: A-J Paterson

·      Minimalista: Your step-by-step guide to a better home, wardrobe and life

Author: Shira Gill

·      Minimalist home: Complete guide- enjoy the benefits of minimalism

Author: Jonas Battig

·      Goodbye, things: The new Japanese minimalism

Author: Fumio Sasaki

·      Minimalism: Live a meaningful life

Author: Justin Malik, Ryan Nicodemus, et al.

Journey towards a Minimalist Lifestyle:

None of us can become a minimalist in a single day or two. You may start your journey of a minimalistic lifestyle by simplifying a single shelf of the kitchen or a portion of your wardrobe. You just need to take the first step and the rest is history. Take some time out and think about the peace a minimalist lifestyle can bring in. Minimalism is a journey of making one’s life enjoyable and happy by freeing oneself from the burden of a stressed life. So, take the first step now and make your life a blessed one.