Reducing Stress Through Minimalism and Decluttering

Minimalism and decluttering could be your path to salvation. In this post, let’s talk about how choosing a way through minimalism and decluttering can have a life-changing impact on you.

We can search for anything online, and order any product and there comes a need to introspect between the need and the want, which we tend to ignore and that results in empty pockets, more stuff and small storage space in a house, more belongingness than its usage.

I have read a lot about decluttering because I love to stay organised. I make sure I donate or discard things if I am buying things, not only to make space but also if I am not using something it might get used by someone.

I had my first encounter with the real DECLUTTERING process through a very famous Japanese technique KONMARI, founded by Marie Kondo, who is the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying”. It changed the way I looked at things in my house, I would question myself and my daughter – does this spark joy in our lives, will you need this after 6 months? Do you remember we had this all along? if the answer is No, then you know.

We can start decluttering from small things, like our wardrobe, our kitchen storage, our office desks or if you are determined enough then maybe the entire house.

Five benefits of Minimalism and Decluttering

1. It helps you decide between what you actually need and what you want. Begin with your wardrobe, drawers, mailbox, social media accounts, toxic people in your life and unsubscribing to negativity.
2. Minimalism and decluttering are also very internally connected as there are certain things in our house holding some negative memories, yet they are around us, which should be discarded immediately.
3. Other than negative things, we do possess a few kinds of stuff which are very old holding deep sentiments, maybe from another generation but we need to figure out how important it is to hold on rather than to let go.
4. It is said that if you have not used a certain product, cloth, electronic item or anything for six months then the probability is you will never use it again. Yes, exceptions are there as per winter and summer season essentials.
5. Decluttering helps you to spark joy in your house, in your living space and also in your relationships. Mental Space cleansing it is.

The Minimalist way

Now if you have a rough idea about what decluttering looks like, let us switch over to understanding Minimalism. You can also watch a documentary on Minimalism which is inspired by the real story of two friends Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus. They have helped over 20 million people live meaningful lives with less. For them, less is more.

It was a year back when I started decluttering things, especially clothes which were still in good condition, bed sheets, blankets, unused utensils and many other kinds of stuff. I don’t call it a donation but yes the stuff was in very much useful condition so I voluntarily went to a nearby NGO and handed three bags full of all the items. I felt lighter as if a weight from the house had been removed. My wardrobes could breathe, my bed storage was more spacious and my kitchen was more organised.

You know the best part of minimalism and decluttering is; that you make room for new things when you discard old ones, but this time only by measuring them through the need and want analysis.

I love to recycle things and have transformed my sarees into dresses and long gowns. The only thing I could not even think of decluttering was BOOKS, I have over 150 books some very very old but my books are like my biggest assets. I have never touched that area of my house and being an old-school avid reader I still am not an audio book fan but yes I have been able to successfully apply the basic rule of MINIMALISM, less is more.

There is nothing wrong with inheriting material for happiness but the problem lies with the meaning we assign to them. Everything is turning materialistic and artificial. Fewer people more stuff, more devices, more gadgets, more financial liability, and more stress.

How Decluttering and Minimalism can reduce stress:

Trust me it can, and here is how:

1. When you have fewer options, you don’t waste time on deciding what to wear, take the example of the Facebook face Mark Zuckerberg. Mostly seen in grey t-shirts, said “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community,”.
2. When you accumulate less stuff you use them rather than simply holding them up. Once you use them thoroughly you make space for new items to replace them.
3. Choosing to minimize is not restricted to materialistic things but also things which affect on a cellular level. Mentally or emotionally, which could harness our productivity.
4. When you have less burden of liabilities or freedom from debt, and toxic elements in life, you stay in peace, you focus on better things.
5. Last but not least it helps you stay in harmony with your mind and body when you have fewer things to think about.

I started with small things and I found it very useful, we have nothing to prove and nothing to explain to the world for our choices because most of the things we do in our life are to meet the societal standards to fit in. Of course, you don’t have to ditch your wardrobe for a set of grey T-shirts or live in isolation but we can adopt some practical ways to start implementing minimalism and decluttering in your life.

Have a light and clutter-free weekend 🙂

Much love and gratitude

Priyanka