Minimalism: Tips to Start Decluttering
- Evelyn Lai
- Sep 10, 2018
- 2 min read
In today’s society there seems to be a growing amount of clutter in people’s lives. That is where minimalism comes into play. Contrary to popular belief, minimalism is not just some millennial fad. Nor is it throwing away all your belongings and only keeping the bare minimum, instead it is to declutter your space with intention. Minimalism according to Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (1), “..is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.” Minimalism at the core is to help people find passion, and to enjoy the moments that life provides them. So what are some tips on getting started with your decluttering?
Tip 1: The 90/90 Rule.
The 90/90 Rule is a easy to maneuver rule of thumb. The rule by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (2) gives a standard for declutter—that if you haven’t used an item in the past 90 days, and don’t plan on using it in the next 90 days, it would be in your best interest to leave the item behind. Of course this rule is extremely flexible in the sense that you can change to a year or a few months, but at its roots it is to set a specific rule of thumb for yourself.
Tip 2: Do you enjoy it?
Todd Glass (3) gives insight on how to know what you should and should not let go. He says that if you truly enjoy using the item, both with setup and cleanup, then by all means go ahead and keep it. However, if you know that the item causes stress and minimum enjoyment, you should trash it. As stated before, minimalism is to declutter with intention, not to just rid your space of all items that you own. You only want to get rid of those you don’t need!
Tip 3: Technology is useful!
Another useful tip by Todd Glass (3) is to store sentimental items through technology. Todd Glass greatly advocates the good of modern technology and does not discredit its positive uses. What you can do for items you have a stronger connection to is to take a picture or video and store them in a device that you own. Such devices can be phones, computer, laptops, etc. Glass stated that he looks at the items he stored away digitally more than he ever did physically due to having easier access to them.
The tips given are to help start your journey on minimalism, but it is important to note that minimalism is versatile; It is something that can be interpreted in many ways. However at the end of the day, minimalism is here to help bring out stronger passions and allow freedom from today’s busy society.
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Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
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