Minimalist Living: How It Can Benefit Your Life Significantly

The environment around you has a direct correlation to the way your mind functions.

Accumulating a bunch of stuff in your home becomes overwhelming when “cleaning” is organizing one stack of clutter next to another stack of clutter.

According to Christopher Murray, “Minimalism is all about living with less. This includes less financial burdens such as debt and unnecessary expenses. … For many minimalists, the philosophy is about getting rid of excess stuff and living life based on experiences rather than worldly possessions.”

I grew up being a hoarder who needed material items to make me happy. The more video games, clothes, and fancy technology I had, the better I felt about myself. This toxic “collector” behavior carried into college and ended recently.

If you can feel yourself running into issues with the stuff you have, then maybe it’s a sign you need to try the minimalist lifestyle.

Evaluate The Possessions in Your Home

Look around your bedroom, office, closet, and your garage — everything in your home.

Does everything that you own actually serve a purpose? All twenty-five pairs of shoes, do you wear all of them? Is it worth holding onto your old notebooks from 6th grade?

These are some of the questions I had to ask myself when my family talked about moving to Hawaii. I plan to get my own place in Chicago to pursue work I love and enjoy city life. I need to clean my room of all the purposeless possessions I own.

Moving out forces one to eliminate unnecessary stuff, sell the valuables, and change spending habits. Clearing space will give you a clearer mind.

How to Sell Things You Don’t Need

Facebook Marketplace

has been my goldmine for getting rid of things I don’t need. It takes one minute to snap a photo, put a price, and fill out a description. Within a week, I typically get responses for my items.

For contactless delivery, place your item outside your front door and tell your buyer to leave money under the mat or to Venmo you. It’s convenient, quick, and easy money.

I would advise anyone trying to get rid of things to start with Facebook and then discover other platforms like OfferUp, LetGo, and more.

Garage Sale

Having garage sales will force you to take more of a loss on the items you’re trying to get rid of. This is because people will low-ball you, and after all, your goal is to get some money for your stuff.

All it takes is a couple of tables, a little organization, and you’re good to go. When I’ve conducted garage sales in the past, I was too stiff on my pricing and missed some potential sales on clothes or shoes I hadn’t worn in years.

Please don’t make the same mistake I did. If someone’s interested in something you’re trying to sell, let them win the bargain and consider accepting your loss. The goal is to live more minimalistic, after all. Don’t lose sight.

Donate it to GoodWill

Goodwill is an incredible place to dump your used items! It’s quick and efficient. You just put everything you would like to donate in bags and drop them off.

At the end of your dropoff, they’ll give you a receipt you can apply to your tax returns and get a small tax deduction.

Impulse Purchases Cause Clutter

Most of us are or have been at a point in our lives where we were impulsive spenders. With the simplicity of Amazon’s two-day shipping, things have become too easy not to spend money.

Spending to Feel Better about Yourself

One girl on my army deployment purchased thousands of dollars worth of clothes when we were in the middle east, and I thought this was crazy. She wouldn’t see these items for the next six or seven months, but it made her happy. I was taken back by her spending habit and promised myself I wouldn’t spend money cause.

Before buying new clothes, a hot tech item, or anything that easily grabs your attention, decide whether or not you see long-term potential with it. Discipline is hard to come by when you have extra money on deck.

Your Money Can Go Towards Other Things

The money you don’t spend on impulse purchases can go straight into savings or investments — two accounts that are excellent for your finances.

Your net worth will continue to grow as long as you’re able to avoid accumulating a mountain of clutter you’re trying to sell later.

It must start by knowing Time = Life. Spending your life on impulse will lead to a broke life, just like impulse buying leads to an empty wallet!

— Archibald Marwizi

Owning Fewer Things Frees The Mind

After cleansing your environment of all the things you don’t need, you’ll have more money in your pocket and fewer distractions that don’t serve a purpose.

Guilty Ownership

Owning a lot of stuff guilts the mind into thinking that you need to make use of it. Materialism forces you into thinking that everything serves a purpose when, in reality, not everything does.

The Sense of Freedom

Imagine walking into an environment similar to the image at the beginning of this article. It’s simple, peaceful, and free.

The fewer things you own, the less you have to worry about, the less maintenance you need, and the less guilt you have to live with for still holding onto it.

A minimalistic environment gives you the mental capacity to be more mindful about yourself, your goals, your dreams — literally anything that doesn’t have to do with your possessions.

Final Thought

Minimalism is a new wave of thinking that relieves stress and fatigue.

If you feel overwhelmed by the piles of stuff and having too many options, then the minimalistic approach can be good for you.

Evaluate the things you own and determine whether they serve a purpose or not.

Sell the things you don’t need online or at a garage sale. Please don’t get too greedy with pricing; otherwise, you could miss a sale and be stuck with it.

Avoid making impulse purchases. Otherwise, you’ll accumulate unnecessary clutter and go broke from bad spending habits.

A clear mind is a reflection of the environment surrounding it.

Minimize your environment.

Maximize your mindfulness.

That’s what minimalism is all about.