Becoming a Minimalist: 7 Simple Ways Decluttering Will Change Your Life

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When you look around your home, you probably don’t realize how many things you have. Did you know that the average American household owns 300,000 items? That’s insane!

It’s mainly due to the consumer culture and keeping up with the Joneses. However, thanks to decluttering gurus like Marie Kondo and lifestyles like minimalism, many people enjoy the benefits of decluttering their homes. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the clutter in your home, you should consider living a more simple life. Keep reading to discover how decluttering has changed my life and how it can change yours too.

What is Minimalism? 

There’s much confusion about what exactly minimalism is. Practicing minimalism should create less stress, anxiety, and concern over finances in your life. In short, adopting the lifestyle of minimalism is about living with less. 

It also changes your perspective to focus more on experiences while appreciating what you have. Minimalism is designed to detach us from our possessions and encourage us to concentrate more energy on our relationships, health, and goals. 

Minimalism has many nuances, and some people are skeptical of the lifestyle, but overall it should cause us to pause before making more mindless purchases.

7 Simple Ways Decluttering Has Changed My Life 

Living with less seems like a hurdle at first. It requires a complete shift of thinking and could take some time to master. But the benefits outweigh the sacrifices! 

I recently began decluttering our house using Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method. It requires me to go through our belongings by category to determine which items still bring me joy and which ones do not. 

This minimalist mindset has encouraged me to part with many items that I no longer need but to do so with an appreciation for their purpose. 

The process of decluttering has changed my life for the better in the following ways.

1. Less Anxiety

When you see a pile of unsorted mail or clean laundry unfolded for days, it’s enough to create a sense of tension and urgency. Psychology backs this up! Seeing clutter overloads our brains and develops feelings of anxiousness.

We donated clothes that we no longer wanted to fix, which freed up drawer space, so it’s easy to fold and put away laundry. We also sorted through mail to decide what to file and what to shred.

Minimalism is about living with less. Taking these steps has reduced my anxiety and given me greater peace of mind.

2. New Perspective

Something happens once you’ve decided to take the plunge and develop a minimalistic lifestyle. You begin to change your perspective on things and life in general. What matters will become apparent to you. You might even second-guess yourself when considering purchasing an item. 

If you’ve whittled down your commitments, you might pursue them more diligently and thoroughly than before. This new perspective certainly resonated with me after decluttering. With less on my mind, I could ponder things other than my growing to-do list

3. Confidence

So often buy things to help us form an identity that keeps up with the Joneses. But, when we let go of those things, we discover that we can still be ourselves! We don’t need possessions to define who we are.

Decluttering has cleared my mind and released any feelings of needing belongings to define me. It has made me confident in who I am as a person rather than in my car, house, or other belongings. My mind is open to focusing on what is truly important in life.

4. Freedom

Many people buy things to impress others – to gain friendships or that new promotion at work. But, after a while, it becomes exhausting.

Pursuing financial independence and early retirement (FIRE) certainly gets questioned by our friends and family. However, becoming a minimalist frees you from the apprehension of impressing other people. It takes the pressure off! 

Just like with our reasoning for implementing this financial lifestyle, you need to understand the why behind what you’re doing with decluttering. 

You’re also free from worrying about your items. The concern that you’re not making enough money to buy everything you want disappears because those items no longer provide the value you seek.

5. More Harmonious Relationships

When our houses are in disarray due to clutter or disorganization, our relationships suffer. We start blaming or becoming passive-aggressive about the mess. Often, spouses or partners might buy things without speaking to their significant other, which leads to arguing and fighting. 

Minimalism paves the way for healthier relationships! Decluttering has decreased the amount of time we need to clean, and minimalism has lessened the number of items we purchase. Therefore, reducing the fights or disagreements about our messy house or searching for misplaced items. 

6. Extra Time

Fewer possessions mean more time for the things you love, like traveling or putting more energy into a hobby. Giving attention to your family and health is likely to take priority. 

If you’ve overcommitted yourself to people, you’ll also find that simplifying your schedule of commitments will open up your time for this.

We benefit from decluttering and minimalism for all of these reasons. It helps us choose how we want to spend our time.

7. More Savings

Debt is a common problem for many Americans for medical expenses, student loans, and credit card debt. The average American owes about $38,000 in debt.

Using a minimalistic approach to my lifestyle has allowed me to apply the same methods to my finances. Tidying up our finances has forced me to go through our budget with a fine-tooth comb and eliminate unnecessary expenses.

Eliminating your need to continuously make purchases frees up your income and the scare of having debt over your head. You can now save for retirement, vacations, college, or charities.

How Can Minimalism Work for Me

The great thing about minimalism is that it doesn’t take a lot of effort! The key is remembering that you need to live on less.

Here are some first steps to take toward minimalism.

1. Personalize Your Rules

Minimalism looks different for everyone. The single guy’s minimalist lifestyle will differ significantly from the family with six children. 

Sit down and list how many items you want to keep. It would help to consider how much you want to downsize your home. Having a vision for your minimalism keeps it realistic. 

2. Start Decluttering!

Make a list of all the places in your home that you want to declutter. Start by throwing out broken things, no matter how much value they have to you. You can also donate items that you no longer use regularly. 

The central idea of minimalism is freeing up space to reduce the feeling of anxiety. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t use it or haven’t used it in six months, throw it out or donate it. 

3. Organize

Organization can come quickly to some people, and others struggle with it. However, decluttering and organization are essential to maximize space and save time.

The best way to organize is by separating your items into categories. This way, you know where everything is, and you can find it easily.

4. Commit to Buying Less

Now that you’ve decluttered and organized your home, it’s time to keep it that way and fully embrace minimalism! Decide to stick to the rules you wrote down before decluttering and stick to them as best you can. It won’t be perfect at first, but with practice and dedication, you’ll reap the benefits minimalism offers. 

Minimalism: Less Is More

Decluttering removes the unnecessary tangible items from your life and the stress, anxiety, and fear associated with clutter. The benefits of minimalism are significant, even if it takes a bit extra work to change your mindset and actions in the beginning. I haven’t been disappointed, and neither will you!

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This article originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks and was syndicated by Our Woven Journey.

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