My easy recommendations to start decluttering:
1) Go through your socks, and get rid of any that holes in them
2) Go through your perfumes/colognes/lotions and discard any that no longer smell good to you.
3) Go through board games that you no longer play.
4) Get rid of chargers/cords that you no longer utilize their appliance/device.
- Minimalism
- Many people might think the point of minimalism is only to get rid of material possessions; however, that is a mistake.
- Minimalists don't focus on having less, less, less. Rather they focus on making room for more, more, more: more time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment, and more freedom.
- Even though everyone embraces minimalism differently, each path leads to the same place: a life with more meaning.
- Minimalism is not about deprivation; but rather, finding more value in the stuff you own.
- Decluttering is not the end result, but it is merely the first step.
- Stuff
- Go through your closet, and dump every item that you don't love. You might get to the point of owning just a few outfits that you enjoy wearing and brings you joy, than a mediocre collection of once-loved threads
- Quotes that can help with minimalism
- "Reject the basic assumption of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions."
- "The things you own end up owning you."
- It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."
- Collecting is just hoarding with a prettier name.
- Technology
- Digital clutter can be a significant problem Try to digitize your physical items whenever you can (DVDs, photos, CDs, and files of paperwork you hardly ever need).
- We can focus on what we have instead of what we don't have;
- Go without: when we go without, it forces us to question our stuff, it forces us to discover whether or not we need it, and sometimes we discover life without it is actually better than before.
- Repair it: we can attempt to repair the item (household item). This makes the most sense when applied to a car; when the brakes need to be replaced, you wouldn't buy a new car.
- Replace it: we can purchase used items, we can buy products from local businesses, and we can often downgrade and still have what's necessary.
- Finances
- "Ask yourself, am I going to get more value from the thing I'm about to purchase, or am I going to get more value from my freedom?"
- No informed person would argue that we should stop spending money or that we must stop consuming. Consumption is not the problem--consumerism is.
- Consumerisum is compulsory, insipid, impulsive, unfocused, misguided, and seductive.
- Minimalists invest in experiences over possessions. We all can spend money without acquiring new material things.
- Ex: concerts, vacations, community theater
- To avoid Sale Prices of items. There is a preference for paying Full Price because it can make you question the purchase a great deal. Question if the new possession will add real value to your life.
- Take control of your fiances:
- Write down all your expenses (mortage, car payment, rent, credit card statements, meals, gasoline, electricity, student loans, bottle water, trips to Starbucks, retirement, healthcare savings, etc). Then separate it into three catergoreis:
- Needs
- What do you really, truly need to live (i.e. food ,water, shelter)
- Wants
- Many of the things you want, can lead to happiness, but we can indulge into too many wants (i.e. designer clothes, vehicles, impulse buys). Another way to look at this category is to ask yourself, "What adds value to m life?"
- Likes
- Many of the things we sort of like suck up a ton of our income.
- Financial Freedom
- Five steps you can take today to ensure you will never again struggle with money:
- Budget: Establish a written, monthly budget
- Give every dollar a destination at the beginning of the month. By establishing these boundaries, you won't worry about what you can and can't purchase because money that wasn't assigned at the beginning of the month can't be spent mid-month.
- Teamwork: Everyone in your household, even your children must have a say in the written budget.
- Adjust: you will have some slip-ups along the way because it is part of the process. At first, you and your family should scrutinize your written budget, daily, and then eventually wekkly.
- Safety: It's best to create a Safety Net saving account $500-$1000.
- Pay Yourself (Invest) : Right now is the best time to start planning for your future.
- Debt-Free: There is no such thing as good debt; some debt is worse than others, but it is never good.
- Minimize: By clearing the clutter from our lives, you will be able to focus on eliminiating debt, changing your habits, and making better decisions with fewer resources.
- You can sell belongings in yard sales, consignment stores, flea markets, and online.
- Don't know how to start minimalizing, start here for tips and best practices TheMinimalists.com/start
- Contribute: donate your most precious asset--your time via local soup kitchens, foodbanks, homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity.
- Important Things we Put off
- Living Well, last will and testament, power of attorney, and being an organ donor.
- uslegalforms.com is a online resource that you can utilize. In addition, wikiHow.com can point you in the right direction.
- Mindfulness
- How to start meditating
- Instruction: Download free instructions from someone like Sam Harris (TheMinimalists.com/sam), or pay a few bucks for the Headspace app.
- Five minutes: start with just five minutes a day. Set an alarm on your phone to help remind you to make time for this.
- Give yourself a break
- Five Ways to Creat Solitude in Chaotic times
- Wake early
- Schedule time to read
- Go for a walk
- Exercise
- Get rid of distractions (i.e. turn off your cellphone for a while, get rid of a few clocks, check social networks only once a day).
- Diving into something new can be terrifying, or at least uncomfortable, but those feelings of discomfort are indicative of growth.
- Overcoming self-doubt: negative self-talk is demoralizing and destructive; therefore, here are some new questions to ask myself
- Did I have good intentions?
- Did I do my best to communicate the message?
- Was I as genuine as possible?
- Was I honest in the message I was communicating?
- Did I consider the other person's feelings before I spoke?
- Gift Giving
- Gift Experiences, not stuff
- concert tickets, a home-cooked meal, tickets to a play or musical, breakfast in bed, a back rub, watching a sunrise, taking a vacation together, etc
- Letting go of physical gifts
- The best way to approach the no-gift-getting concept is to be proactive: set the expectation with your friends and family that you don't need any more stuff, and if they want to give gifts, they can get you experiences that you will enjoy.
- We have been told gift-viging is on of our "love languages." But rather gift-giving is a destructive cultural imperative in our society; we have become consumers of love.
- Relationships
- Change isn't easy, but we are not afraid of change but rather, we are afraid of rejection.
- You can use minimalism as a way that involves questioning your life, not other people's lives. But rather simply looking for happiness, using minimalism as tool to search for deeper meaning.
- We often develop relationships out of convenience, without considering the traits necessary to build a successful bond with another people (i.e. unwavering support, shared trust, and loving encouragement).
- It's easy to develop a connection with a co-worker, schoolmate, or someone who's always there--even when they are not adding any real value to our lives.
- If you are unable to change the relationship, end it. It is okay to move on. You owe it to yourself to be happy in your relationships.
- Moving on is sometimes the only way to develop new, empowering relationships.
- Passion
- "Follow your passion" assumes a) you have preexisting passion; and b) if you match this passion to your job, then you'll enjoy that job.
- Most people do not have preexisting passions.
- Contribution
- It's cringeworthy whenever we see people who attempt to get without first giving, to take without contributing. Scientists have a name for this kind of organism: parasite.
- The key to giving, then, is simple: add value first without any expectation of receiving anything in return. Do this with enough frequency, and you'll get way more than you give.
- Success
- Thomas Jefferson's ten rules for a good life
- Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today.
- Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
- Never spend your money before you have it.
- Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will never be dear to you.
- Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
- Never repent of having eaten too little.
- Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
- Don't let the evils that have never happened cost you pain.
- Always take things by their smooth handle.
- When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to 100.
Books to read
- Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover provides step-by-step formula to create a detailed plan, cut up your credit cars, and face your debts head on.
- Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen explains the ties between the human brain and the human body.
- Waking UP: A Guide to Spirituality without religion by Sam Harris; he also has a blog SamHarris.org
- Seth Godin's free manifesto, "Stop Stealing Dreams," at StopStealingDreams.com
Blogs: Study Hacks
Resources
-free, attenuated version of the Myers-Biggs Type Indicator tests at TheMinimalists.com/mbti
-To learn more about Intermittent Fasting, visit Martin Berkhan's website, LeanGains.com
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