Minimalist Lifestyle: Minimalist Living for Ultimate Freedom!

I have always been drawn to a minimalist lifestyle. I just didn't always know it.

The times I felt the most free in my life, the most happy, are the times when I have got rid of all my stuff, and jumped on a plane with nothing to my name except my suitcase. I've done this a few times in my life and always enjoyed it hugely.

Unfortunately, no sooner had I arrived in the new country, then I would quickly get a job, get an apartment and start to accumulate all over again.

Minimalist Lifestyle: Who Owns Who?

Very soon I would start to feel as if my possessions owned me rather than me owning them, and often it would take an impending move to a new country to allow me to once again get rid of all my things, and feel that freedom again.

When my husband Jaye and I moved to Dubai in 2008, we very quickly amassed an apartment that we packed to the brim with furniture, clothing and other possessions, and two expensive cars.

Though we KNEW how much we had enjoyed our arrival in Dubai owning (once again), nothing but what we had in our suitcases, the moment we actually settled here, we began to feel very insecure without as many things as our friends had. So we quickly acquired them.

It wasn't long before we felt stifled by our stuff. There was too much clutter. We didn't have enough space. We considered moving to a bigger apartment so that we could more easily store all our things. But some instinct resisted. We just knew that if we moved to a bigger place, all we would do is amass more stuff and the situation would remain the same.

Though we have both always been people who easily get rid of things that we don't need, we were still stuck in the belief pattern that told us that we DID need a lot more than we actually needed.

We had toyed with the idea of selling our cars for months, but we always chickened out. We thought, oh but they are such lovely cars, and well....we DO drive them after all. And perhaps they ARE assets in the end, we will be able to sell them once they're fully paid off....etc, etc.

Minimalist Living: The Art Of Being Minimalist

When I discovered Everett Bogue and his ebook 'The Art of Being Minimalist' (Click here to view more details), and Leo Babauta's ebook, 'The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life' (Click here to view more details) I was so excited. It was just the push I needed to really let go. Permission to let go right NOW.

Minimalist Living: You Can Do It Right Now!

You don't have to leave the country to do it. You can do it right now.

Everett Bogue talks about our biggest expenses in life: paying for storage and cars. Storage is the money we pay for houses and garages and big apartments which are essentially just storage units for our things.

Minimalist Lifestyle: Let The Shops Pay The Storage

Why do we need to store things in our homes 'just in case'? If we ever DID need the thing, we are free to go to the nearest shop and buy it. In the meantime, why not let the shop pay for the storage?

Why do we need to store all these extras, extra plates, extra sheets, extra towels, extra everything. Why do we have to have spares? If it wears out, all we have to do is go down to the mall and get a replacement, and in the meanwhile let someone else pay for storage.

Minimalist Lifestyle: We don't Need To Take Something Home In Order To Appreciate Its Beauty

Whenever we see something beautiful, a beautiful vase, a beautiful rug, a beautiful table, we tend to feel a desperate desire to take it home with us. It is as if we feel that we can't enjoy something or appreciate it unless we own it.

No sooner is the object at home then we frequently realize that it doesn't fulfill the need we thought it was going to fulfill. So we need the next beautiful object.

This is a choice. We can just as easily choose to appreciate all the beauty around us, while leaving it exactly where it is.

We can appreciate a beautiful forest without feeling like we need to chop down the trees and put them in our back yard.

Minimalist Lifestyle: The Big Clear Out!

After reading these ebooks out loud to Jaye and both becoming very excited to cast off the shackles of consumerism, we spent a solid 5 days clearing out our apartment.

We gave away, gave away and gave away some more. And honestly we still have too much stuff. But the clarity that I have already gained is absolutely priceless. We are going to continue to clear out. Books that I've read, CD's that I've been carrying around for years, it's time for someone else to appreciate them.

Our apartment suddenly feels MORE THAN big enough for us. The necessity of moving to a bigger apartment has abruptly disappeared. I can focus so much better without all this clutter around me. No longer are there drawers and cupboards full of stuff. No longer are weekends spent organizing, cleaning and sorting through stuff!

Our cars are for sale, and I can't wait to be free of car payments, car insurances and all the other time and money wasters associated with having cars. Dubai is not too pedestrian or cyclist friendly, but there is a metro rail here and buses, and I can use my bicycle to go to the shops nearby or the gym.

I believe this is only the beginning. I believe you'll be hearing a lot more from me on the subject of minimalism and I can feel this is going to be one of my big passions in life. It is certainly going to become a theme for this website.

I plan to soon own no more than can fit into a backpack. That to me signals true freedom.

A Minimalist Lifestyle has NOTHING to do with poverty.

Minimalist living is simply about ceasing to identify with objects. It is about ceasing to define yourself by what you own.

In fact, it is about the opposite of poverty, it is about becoming wealthier than you ever dreamed possible, as you no longer need to have the drain on your financial, physical and spiritual resources that a cluttered life places on you.

Minimalist Lifestyle - Read the Ebooks and Be Awesomely Inspired!

I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you read the books about a minimalist lifestyle posted in the right hand column of this page, written by inspirational people who are living their dreams, free to live and work anywhere in the world, unfettered by limitations and experiencing ultimate freedom.