18 September 2009

Top 5 Benefits of Being a Minimalist

A very cool post from the very cool Everyday Minimalist blog, 16 September 2009 - so well written and insightful, am posting in full:

'1. Less stress gets you what you want

You have less to deal with when you start applying minimalism to all aspects of your life.

Living a simpler, less complicated life takes some work in the beginning, but the rewards are great.

If you keep saying yes to everything, you will never enjoy or get anything finished.

Once you start cutting back on your commitments and your stuff, there is less to do, less to buy, less to take care of and what you do end up with, is exactly what you want.

2. Less of an impact on the environment

Buying less helps reduce the amount of items that are being overproduced for the environment. If we stopped purchasing new items every year that we don’t really want or need, the demand is less, and factories will produce less. In fact, they may produce just what we need, no more and no less.

Before you purchase new items, minimalism encourages you to re-purpose and re-use what you already own.

Cutting down on new purchases by learning how to cross-examine yourself for whether or not you need the items is a useful skill to have.

3. Less money is spent so you can save

Buying less, means spending less.

And if you spend less, you can save more for your future and financial well-being.

If you also purchase quality items, you will cherish and enjoy them longer, plus you won’t have to buy as many replacements in the future.

And don’t we love that?!

4. Less cleaning to do

The more you own, the more it owns you.

You have to take care of the things. Maintain them. Polish them. Upgrade them. Add more to the collection. Yell at people who go near your figurines.

It gets exhausting, devoting so much time to loving things.

The less stuff you have, the less you have to clean and the less you have to maintain.

And you can devote your appreciation and love to the few things you own, that you truly cherish and value.

5. Less time wasted

You will be picking, choosing and prioritizing what is really important to you to get done, rather than trying to do everything all at once, and feeling unfulfilled.

Everyone needs a little down time, sometimes. And if you’re constantly putting your resources towards things that don’t hold any meaning for you, you will be stuck dealing with time wasters that don’t benefit you whatsoever.

Clutter for example, is just a form of visual distraction and the more we have in a home, the more our brain has to process.

Having a minimalist life and home also lets you find your things quicker.

Instead of hunting for that rogue working blue pen, you have them all in one area, ready to be used.

Or how about having all your keys and items ready at the door before you leave in the morning?

That also cuts down on having to scream in frustration at 7.59 a.m., while frantically searching through your pockets, cursing the amount of stuff you own and have to check before you find your keys.'

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