by Gracie D’Silva

“A minimalist intentionally focuses on what really matters. For some, this means eliminating the ‘stuff’ that doesn’t make you happy,” quoted by Caleb Backe.

Many individuals make the mistake of thinking minimalism is all about having clear outs and focusing on less. Yes, decluttering is an important part of minimalism, combined with changing your mindset and organizing your space and belongings to free up not only your space but also your time, enabling you with more freedom to do what makes you happy.

The sooner you change your perspective on your belongings and realize they are all just objects, the easier it is for you to detach yourself from these belongings and focus on your happiness and what matters to you. '40 life lessons from 40 years', the co-founder of The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn advises us to "Stop pretending everything is precious. You stop clinging to material possessions and toxic relationships".

These tips are designed to help you take the first steps when it comes to living a minimalist life and finding clarity from freeing yourself from stuff.  

Tip 1: Have a clear-out

Organizing expert and profound author, Maire Kondo believes all our items should spark joy. If it does, keep it. If it doesn't, get rid of it. When having a clear-out, it's important to handle every item. When I clear out my wardrobe, I try on every piece of clothing I own. I ask myself these questions:

1. Am I happy with how it fits?

2. Do I have other pieces that I could wear with it?

3. How many times have I worn it since I bought it?

4. Do I have something similar to this, do I need both of them?  

It brings me clarity when I am trying to find something and I know exactly where it is as I have removed all the clutter and mischievous items from my space that don’t mean anything to me.

Tip 2: Stop collecting and buying into consumerism 

Stick with what works for you, only buy what you need. For example, if you run out of a makeup product, feel free to replace it or experiment with a new brand. Don't feel pressured to follow trends or keep accumulating lots of different products, stick with the products you already have and only replace them when necessary. 

Tip 3: Digital Minimalism 

These tips are designed to decrease your screen time and the number of phone pickups from unnecessary notifications and services. 

• Delete apps you don't use often, if you delete them and realize later on you want them back, it's easy to re-download them and access your account. 

• Follow fewer people. Unfollow people on social media that make you feel worse after seeing their content than when you first picked up your phone. Instagram makes it easy to declutter your feed and keep the content you want to see; it shows which of your followers you interact with the least and the followers you don't follow back. 

• Unsubscribe from unnecessary subscriptions, do you need more than one screening account? Could you share a joint account with someone else? How often do you use this subscription, are you fully benefiting from the cost of this subscription? 

• Comb through your emails and unsubscribe from events and update subscription emails that are clogging up your inbox from seeing the emails important to you.

To summarize, these tips and following a minimalist lifestyle are a way to sound out the background noise of materialism and overconsumption and focus on what's important to you.