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.

As much as I felt attached to my things, when faced with the prospect of a move to a new country, it just seemed so silly to put those things into storage or ship them across the world, so I always just gave everything away.

Even when I felt a pang letting a cherished item go, I always realized, once the item was gone, that actually I felt much more free without it.

However, 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.

Minimalist Living: The Art Of Being Minimalist

When I discovered Leo Babauta's ebook, 'The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life' 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.

'Have less stuff, you need less house.' Leo Babauta

Generally our biggest expenses in life are 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.

'Never buy a McMansion or a Hummer.' Everett Bogue

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 about minimalism with excitement we spent a solid 5 days clearing out our apartment.

We gave away, gave away and gave away some more. And then we still had too much stuff.

But the clarity that I have already gained is absolutely priceless. We are going to continue to clear out on a regular basis. Books that I've read, clothes that haven't been worn for months, CD's that I've been carrying around for years, it's time for someone else to appreciate them.

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,and sorting through stuff! We've cut it down to just the things that are in regular use.

We have a two bedroom apartment and it is so spacious and clear and I just LOVE IT!

There are those who take minimalism to the next level and own no more than can be fit into a single backpack. I can see this happening at certain times in my life perhaps, but of course this is not always practical either. It doesn't have to be either extreme minimalism or nothing, we can all minimalize in a way that adds value to us individually and within our unique circumstances.

This is not a lifestyle that calls to everyone, yet we can ALL minimize in so many areas of our lives and by doing so create more space, space to breathe, space for our creativity to flow, space for the things that really matter.

Take action today, whether you just minimalize your email inbox, create some space around you, and see how much better you feel!

A Minimalist Lifestyle has NOTHING to do with poverty

'Don't buy it unless you need it and only if you have the money.' Leo Babauta

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 financially stable, as you no longer need to have the drain on your financial, physical and spiritual resources that a cluttered life and endless consumerism places on you.

Minimalist Lifestyle - Read the Ebooks and be Inspired to Declutter your life!

I highly, HIGHLY recommend you read the books about a minimalist lifestyle below, written by inspirational people who decided to make a change to their lives for the better.

 
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