Becoming A Minimalist: 5 Lessons I Learned

I’ve always seen myself as a person who valued what little he had in life, at least that’s how I tried to be. But my closet full of clothes and the sheer volume of books that kept piling up on my shelves and other pieces of furniture that invaded the house suggested otherwise. I had too many things that I used for decoration, but were actually designed for a different purpose. So I decided to give becoming a minimalist a chance and get rid of everything I didn’t need. This process has taught me five wonderful lessons that have completely changed my life.

1. Becoming a Minimalist: Now I’m Really Using What I Have

One of the first lessons I learned in my attempt to become a minimalist was that more things doesn’t necessarily mean more options. In reality, it took me a long time to realize that, even with all those clothes I had in my closet, I always ended up wearing the same thing. Some were pieces I only wore on a special occasion, some were too new to wear every day. They ended up in the back of the closet.

Books you never intend to read, things that just take up space. After you get rid of everything you no longer need, your life will go through a 180 degree change.

So what I did was ‘clean up’. I got rid of everything I didn’t use and also  started wearing only things that I really liked: I stopped fantasizing about what it would be like to wear something for the first time and started to really wear things for the first time. I even discovered clothes I didn’t know I had and loved them. How could I ever have put them in a secondary place?

2. I think twice before buying something

Without a doubt, that first step was essential to learning the next lesson. When I became aware of the clothes I had, as well as what I didn’t have, I no longer felt the need to buy the clothes I wanted.

The same thing happened with things, books, and other basic items. I know  the purpose of advertising is to sell and make us think we need something we don’t really need. A new computer, a new kind of chocolate, the best insoles for your shoes… In short, too many elements that will ultimately not be used.

3. Fewer things, less time

The best thing about becoming a minimalist is that our cleaning activities become significantly less. Personally, I spent an incredible amount of time cleaning the bathroom because, thanks to the dirty clothes, hair and body products, magazines, oversized pile of towels… it was a complete mess. I don’t even know what to say about my room, full of books I would never read. I ended up spending more time moving things from one place to another than actually cleaning.

And now that I only have what I need, things that I’m actually going to use, I can make better use of my time, and that’s something we should always be grateful for. Time is very valuable and the less we spend on unnecessary actions, the better. So, having less stuff allows me to clean and organize much faster.

4. I started to focus on the present

One of the penultimate lessons I learned was that  all this disorder around me was very much related to my past and to my present. There were certain things I didn’t want to get rid of because they reminded me of a special moment or because they were presents. But I wouldn’t use them because I didn’t like them or because they were broken and unused.

Other items, as I described at the beginning, piled up because of my fear that I might need them in the future. To the point that I became aware that if I wanted something, I could buy it, without holding on to it until then. For, perhaps, it could be that the opportunity would never arise and that my action would have been completely meaningless.

So I started to focus more on the present, appreciating what I had, throwing away things I didn’t need, freeing myself from the ‘what if…’, and the ‘but it reminds me of…’. It was over with collecting things for a future justification.

5. I am not my stuff

This is one of the last lessons I learned and one that was really very helpful to me. We often think we  are what we have,  perhaps because we value it ourselves. But in the end, it’s all just stuff, so I asked myself this question: What would happen if my car went up in flames, for example? I’d feel bad, sure, but it can be replaced.

I remember a news item about a town in Alicante a few months ago that talked about how a man died trying to prevent a massive flood from dragging his car. The consequence? The best man drowned. Is it really worth giving up our lives for something material?

Becoming a minimalist has opened my eyes to new possibilities. The lessons I learned have taught me that I can love what I have and give it value without being a slave to it or defining my life by it. For material things do not bring happiness, but this does not mean that I should not appreciate any of these things. So how much money have I wasted on those things that really have little value? How many new things have entered my life because I didn’t have room for them?

Images Courtesy of Her Tea Leaves