Minimalism is a philosophy that roots out of the concept, less is more. So, choosing a minimalist lifestyle can make your life less stressed, less chaotic and less cluttered on one hand and give you more happiness, more peace, more clarity and more freedom on the other.
Now, hearing of the minimalistic lifestyle you might create the picture of a stark room with white walls without many items in it in your mind but I'm going to stop you right there.
It's a huge misconception about minimalism that it means getting rid of everything you own. Rather minimalism is more about taking conscious decisions about your belongings, activities, time and even relationships.
Minimalism is about focusing on the things you love and letting go of things you don’t. And, leading a minimalist life can provide you with more space, more time, more energy and more control in life for the things you actually care about.
Anyone growing up in a middle-class Bengali household would be able to relate to the fact that anything that enters the house doesn’t leave so fast even if that's never going to be used ever again. It would just add to the pile of unnecessary things in an already cluttered home.
This is where the minimalistic approach comes in. A major part of adopting minimalism in life is to de-clutter, not just your closet or house but also your mind. Decluttering would help you create more space for things and activities you treasure and get rid of the things that don’t spark joy in your life.
However, decluttering doesn’t mean you have to throw out all of your possessions. That is to say, if you’re passionate about painting that extravagant colour palette can stay but those pairs of pants you never wear have to go. This way you can make room for the things you actually need.
Minimalism also helps you sort through your priorities and save you unnecessary confusion. When you have a clear idea of your priorities you can easily decide on your commitments and manage your daily life smoothly. It also helps you increase focus on your priorities and clear everything else out of your brain.
Another perk of minimalism is becoming more organised in life. Having less possessions and activities makes it easier for you to organise everything according to your requirement. So, you can find them easily whenever you need them and save you the panic attack when you can’t find something in a pile of unnecessary items.
Plus, minimalism also goes easy on your pocket. When you already have a prior idea about your necessities and likings you won't spend money on unnecessary superficial items. This would save you from the habit of impulsive shopping and then regretting or guilt-tripping about those purchases.
Also following a minimalistic lifestyle makes your life less stressful. Having fewer possessions, fewer commitments and fewer things to worry about causes less stress and lets you focus better on those fewer things that are actually important.
So, if you are someone who prefers simplicity over superficiality in this time when people are more into following trends and buying more and more items to catch up with the trends you might want to consider the minimalist approach to living for a more organised, more focused and more peaceful life.