Minimalism: Getting Rid Of What’s Left To Make Room In The Mind

Look around and count how many objects you see. Do you feel that there is too much accumulated? More than you really need?

Are you one of those people who have huge trunks and bags that you haven’t seen the bottom of in a while? Do you have clothes that you haven’t worn for over a year? Kitchen utensils you only used once?

We live in a world where the normal thing is to accumulate more objects than we need, be they office supplies, clothes, shoes, makeup, tools…

These belongings occupy physical space in our homes, fill closets, boxes, trunks, shoe racks… but the worst thing is that they also occupy our mental space and our time, since we have to sort them, organize them or clean them.

Well then, there is a philosophy of life that can help you see and manage this accumulation differently. It’s about minimalism.

What is minimalism?

Minimalism is a philosophy of life that proposes to reduce, as far as possible, the number of material objects we have.

The idea is to live with the minimum necessary, which for each person, with their circumstances, will be something different: having less to have more physical and mental space.

In the process of reflecting on why we store objects we don’t use, we’ll realize that there are many emotional reasons besides the typical “maybe I’ll need this someday.”

Items of clothing, gifts, letters, etc., which we are unable to get rid of because they remind us of past times in our lives, as if memories were in material objects.

Minimalism is an exercise that helps us to let go of material things, realizing that memories live in us, not in objects.

How to put minimalism into practice

The ideal is to start little by little, divide the objects by areas and assess what you really need, which objects you’re not sure you need, and which ones you can easily discard.

• In the kitchen: which kitchen utensils I haven’t used for over a year? Do I really use all the spices I have?
• In the closet: which items of clothing or shoes do not fit or have not been used for over a year?
• At the office: do I have notebooks, old diaries, notes from years and drawers full of useless things that I never open?

In addition, there are some challenges that can help us put minimalism into practice:

Project 333

Project 333 encourages us to choose 33 pieces of clothing (no need to throw away or donate the rest, just keep them) and spend a season wearing only these pieces.

That way we’ll realize that we can dress cheaply, and not only that, we’ll also realize how much time we save choosing what to wear when there’s not so much to choose from.

minimalist competition

Another challenge is to match someone who is in the same process as you to make a sort of minimalist competition.

On the first day of the month the two must dispose of one belonging; in the second, of two; on the third, of three… and so on until the 30th. Whoever is able to stand the most time wins.

Once you have your set of essentials, many of the discarded items can be given away or sold to second-hand stores.

Benefits of Minimalism

• Helps keep the house organized and clutter-free.
• We save time by not having to make big changes to the closet, cleaning out things we don’t use, etc. We’ll also be quicker when it comes to deciding what to wear.
• We learn to let go of material objects and understand that true memories live with us.
• We open up to the future by eliminating the attachment we have to the objects of the past.
• We become freer: we have fewer loads when moving or traveling, and these decisions become easier.
• We become more aware of what we consume, which saves us, both for ourselves and for the environment.
• Above all, it helps us to realize that what is really important is almost never the material.

If you’ve ever found yourself surprised by how much you accumulate, had trouble finding something, or felt like you were wasting too much time organizing or cleaning your belongings, this philosophy of life is worth a try.