What Is A Minimalist Lifestyle?

Architect and writer John Pawson says  minimalism is not just an architectural style, but a way of life. This is exactly how some people have come to understand minimalism. In this way, they have created a platform to educate others about the minimalist way of life.

The platform we’re talking about is called  The Minimalists , and this is where people try to make sense of life. How? Well, for example, they come up with alternatives to our material desires, which are generated by advertising.

What is the minimalist way of life?

According to the minimalists, today we live in an overly stimulating world. In addition, many of these incentives come from advertising that wants us to buy more and more things. This means that they make us think we need things to feel good about ourselves.

According to the minimalist way of life  , we gain weight with every new purchase. That is, our emotional plane becomes overloaded and we begin to lose our freedom as human beings.

That’s why the inventors of the minimalist way of life, Ryan Nicodemus and Fields Millburn, define this way of life as  the means that serves as a catalyst to get rid of excess. 

Why should we do this? We need to do this so that we can focus on what really matters, and the paths that truly lead to happiness, freedom, and contentment.

If you are interested in the minimalist lifestyle, there are a number of characteristics that define it. They are based on a single idea: remove materialistic and artificial desires,  put them in the background in your life and focus on yourself.

Remove unnecessary things

Minimalists say that we should get rid of everything in our lives that is not completely necessary. If you collect useless clutter and memories, you can throw away everything you don’t need. Empty the space so that you can fill it with things that will improve your quality of life.

Traditional wisdom reminds us that attachment to material things makes us slaves. When we collect things, we waste our time cleaning and tidying up these items.

That’s so much wasted time that we could have spent doing useful things. That’s why minimalists are happy with empty drawers and cabinets. They get rid of things when they no longer need them.

Stop getting attached to objects

Sometimes we get too attached to objects. This is one of the reasons why it is so hard for us to throw things away. It is true that our objects contain many memories.

But minimalism is not afraid to remind us that our memories are really in our minds and in those of the people they share with, and not in material things.

Minimalists agree that  we should see ourselves in the future,  not the past. That is why we should not attach ourselves to our things, but to people, starting with ourselves.

Order and simplicity at home

These people also emphasize  the importance of having a tidy and neat home, where simplicity is the dominant theme. Everything we have should have a specific use and a specific place to keep it. If you keep an item in the same place, you can easily find it again, because you always know where it will be.

Control your urge to buy

Another aspect of minimalism is controlling how and what we buy. We have to be careful with our purchases because  sometimes we buy useless things.

Minimalists also think that  for everything we buy, we have to get rid of something else. If something you once bought is no longer useful to you, you can sell it or donate it. Don’t let it collect dust in your house.

Digitization

Another idea that minimalists adopt is digitization. They are proponents of using technology to create photo albums, invoices, letters and tickets, among other things. For example, we can scan a photo and save it to our computer, and then throw away the material object.

Other minimalist options

There are other options that minimalists like to recommend. As you can see, they all have the same idea for simplifying life and letting go of material possessions.

• Simplify technology. By that we mean that you don’t need a mobile phone, MP3, laptop and also a desktop computer. Try to combine as much as possible in one device.
• Pay attention to the amount of information you include. Because we are exposed to many stimuli during the day, it is easy to lose sight of what really matters. Instead of informing ourselves about everything that is going on in the world, we lose ourselves in our consumerism.
• Be selective with appointments. Don’t waste your time on dates and meetings that won’t do anything for you. We need to use our time well, and be more productive. In order to do that, sometimes we really have to  say no .

• Collect experiences instead of items. This is another important goal of this minimalist way of life.
• Check your mind and focus on what really matters. Minimalists emphasize this. Do this, and find an emotional balance.

This is the minimalist way of life. Learn to live in the present, focusing on the future. Enjoy the small experiences and collect only the most necessary belongings. Are you interested in this?