Do you know the feeling that everyday life is sometimes crushing you?
The laundry piled up, the sink does not look any better.
In addition, we would have to do the filing again, which we have neglected in recent months.
There are still 100 unread emails waiting for us, not to mention all the What’s App news and the Facebook notifications.
But we just do not have the time, because we are so busy with other things.
Things that we don’t even like to do.
Today, I would like to present 15 advantages of minimalism that increase your subjective well-being significantly.
First of all, I briefly want to state that minimalism is not just about cleaning out your apartment or wardrobe.
It’s about life in general.
Maybe we realize that we have to part with friends because they just do us no good.
It may also be that we separate ourselves from our job because this does not fulfill us and we can not realize.
You find yourself
Over time, it adjusts itself a change of perspective automatically, that implies that you no longer look at others.
You don’t care about what they possess or what you absolutely need to have in order to “keep up”.
With the minimalist lifestyle, you start to focus on yourself more.
You gradually find out what is good for you and your body and what ultimately makes you happy.
This will make you more relaxed with time.
You listen more carefully to your inner voice and learn to find yourself.
This can also mean that you will switch your job because you realize that it doesn’t fulfill you anymore.
I never listened to my inner voice before beginning a minimalist life.
Also, I did not pay attention to how I feel when I consume something.
From time to time I had a guilty conscience when I bought something, but that was deliberately ignored.
No longer do I measure my success or my life in comparison with others.
I became happy with myself and my life as I live it.
Up until this point, however, it was a long way.
Fewer fears
Anyone who has already gone through the process of minimizing or is currently going through it may not agree with me here.
Even for me, it was at the beginning of the mucking so that I was confronted with various fears.
The fear that you may need it a little later, but then you will not have it anymore, which is also known as loss aversion.
The fear that friends and family would not understand me and maybe turn away from me.
Or perhaps the fear of not being part of society anymore, because you consume less or consume more consciously.
But you will find that these fears and these feelings will disappear relatively quickly!
This is just part of the process.
If you go through this during the process of mucking out, then I can advise you to deal with these emotions and thoughts constructively.
This will allow you to complete things and find out what is good for you and what is important to you.
Less stress
Having less to worry about means less stress.
There is no more chaos and therefore you do not have to organize so much anymore.
The time pressure also decreases, because you have more time as you have to worry about less “things”.
You will notice quickly that you are not trying to reconcile everything any longer.
There are even ways to consciously reduce your stress level by switching your environment.
As the study of Ewert and Chang indicates, visiting natural environment lowers our stress level significantly.
More time
Since you have less to take care of, you also have more time.
You will need less time to clean or keep order and have more time for things that you actually like.
Maybe you have a hobby that makes you feel good? Now you have the time to pursue it.
Especially women know the phenomenon standing in front of the wardrobe, having no clue what to wear.
By reducing your closet, perhaps even wearing a capsule wardrobe, you will not be confronted with this issue right in the morning.
You only have favorite pieces in which you feel comfortable.
Therefore, you have more time in the morning and do not feel stressed when you are just getting ready to work.
Less space
Over time, many things accumulate in our home.
We think that we may need new furniture and storage space.
Somehow, the space in our apartment or in our house is no longer enough for all our possessions.
This makes us think we have to move into a larger apartment or to buy additional storage space.
By mucking out and reducing all that junk, you’ll realize that you do not need a bigger apartment at all.
Rather, you will think about moving to a smaller flat.
When I changed my lifestyle, I owned two wardrobes.
It was not until 2012 that I “had to” add the second cupboard because my clothes did not fit into one anymore.
Today I am annoyed about the purchase of the second wardrobe.
If I had already started to stamp out, then I could have saved this money in the first place!
Save money
After mucking out, the next question arises: where to go with all the stuff?
At that time I sold very expensive branded goods as well as furniture. Everything else was given away.
The sale gives you money that you can spend on what you love.
Or maybe for a long-held wish or to pay off your debts.
You will buy less.
You’re wondering whether you really need and use this something that you may have just seen in the storefront.
By consuming more consciously, you spend less money.
As I mentioned above, it is also conceivable that after mucking you realize that you can move to a smaller apartment.
You need less space now.
In most cases, smaller apartments are also cheaper.
And again you have saved money.
More order
Chaos arises when things are in places they do not belong to.
Now that you have mended and cleaned up, it does not even make it to chaos anymore.
Every item in your home now has a permanent place.
This means you have to organize less.
Where there is no chaos, one finds his belongings faster.
Since every item has a place in your home, you do not have to spend hours looking for it.
Of course, it should be noted here that you have to return the items to their original place after using them over and over again.
Less household work
Since you have fewer things standing around in your apartment, the housework is of course also done faster.
You do not have to clear this and that piece of furniture aside to quickly suck dust.
Also, you do not have to clear any decoration frills from the dresser to dust it. Your cleaning time is reduced and it is easier to keep order.
Moving and traveling will be easier
Removals are easier or a move to a smaller, cheaper apartment is possible.
You no longer have to pack hundreds of moving boxes and you’ll need fewer or smaller transporters.
The move is done faster and you will be thanked for helping everyone already in advance.
Traveling is easier and cheaper as you pack less.
When I planned my trip to Thailand, for instance, I never thought that I would travel with so little luggage and then not even use everything.
I could have safely packed even less.
New esteem for possessions
You get a new appreciation for the things you own.
I have often read the opinion that one should not build a bond with his belongings.
But I wonder how that should be possible.
Of course, I still have favorites among my favorite clothes.
By valuing your possessions, you are better off taking care of them.
You start fixing things and not just throw them away.
You become more creative
Creativity is what you make of it!
You learn to do more things yourself.
Indeed, you become concerned with how you can fix something (such as sewing) so as not to become part of the throwaway society.
This comes from the change in consciousness that minimalism brings with it.
You also worry about how you can misuse something, for example when you do not own a certain item, but just need something like that.
A great example of that is cooking.
In fact, I do not have all the spices in this world at home.
If I miss something for cooking a dish, then I start experimenting.
Behold, it works without the ‘proper’ spices and tastes just as well.
More flexibility and freedom
By having less, you are more flexible.
You may have a job change in front of you and you have to move for it. Since you own less, it is easier and faster to accept this job and start the journey to a new city.
With freedom, I mean to do what makes you happy. Be it traveling or a hobby, you name it.
Your possessions no longer own you!
Gratitude
I have already mentioned earlier that you are bringing a new appreciation to your possessions.
Now that you own less and you focus on the essentials, you will be grateful for the smallest detail.
You learn to be thankful for what you have.
You realize how much work and time are behind these things.
As this report shows nicely, there are numerous more advantages that come about as a result of gratitude.
Live more sustainable
You buy less and more consciously.
As a result, you also throw away less.
Also, learning to repair things instead of replacing them with new ones (where possible) helps our environment.
Here I find the initiative of the Swedish government great, which says that there should be tax breaks for repairs.
This is an attempt to provide people with an incentive to repair items instead of throwing them away.
You may also be thinking about fashion and other consumer items and buying second hand instead of new.
By being aware of what is good for you, you start to think about sustainability.
No longer do you buy your clothes from a company known for its sweatshops in Bangladesh or any other country.
Conscious consumption also means that you are generally concerned about our environment and how you want to leave this world to future generations.
I did not care where I like to buy my clothes and how the food I eat was made.
That has changed.
If I buy clothes, then second hand or sustainably produced (in regard to production conditions and used raw materials).
In addition, I have created on my balcony a small garden in which I grow as much as possible (i.e. tomatoes, strawberries, herbs).
Healthier living
Less stress is good for your health.
You move more because there is so much to see and do for you.
Why did you go to the fast-food chain of your trust so many times, even though you felt bad afterward and swore you would never eat there again?
This is of none interest for you anymore because your focus is on a healthier diet.
Through your newly gained creativity, you cook with ingredients that you have selected yourself and that can do without unpronounceable additives.
Closing Thought: Benefits of Minimalism
As you can see by the help of this list, there are countless examples for the Benefits of Minimalism
Certainly, there are more advantages that are perceived obviously but unconsciously.
What additional benefits do you recognize using this lifestyle method? Do you see any disadvantages?
Let me know in the comments below!
Anyhow, thanks for reading folks.
Cheers,
Janik
