Going minimalist means paring down your belongings to only the essential. Most people who have switched to this lifestyle believe that life can be lived fuller and richer sans the unnecessary possessions.
Some people still have the wrong idea about minimalism – empty cupboards, boring, barren walls, and sleeping on floors. When actually, minimalism is narrowing down to your most important pursuits in life and removing everything that distracts you from it.
To find out if switching to a minimalist lifestyle is for you, Joshua Becker, a leading minimalist proponent, recommends you ask yourself these 10 questions:
1. Are you frugal?
Minimalism provides you the opportunity to make the most of your money. Buying less things gives you the opportunity to make higher quality choices that will last you longer.
2. Are you trying to get out of debt?
Debt can hold us by the neck and cause a lot of chronic stress. Slowly ease your way out by buying less things, making the most out of your hard-earned coin, and eventually becoming debt-free.
3. Do you enjoy financially supporting other causes?
The minimalist life grants you opportunity to not just save money for the sake of keeping it, but to further the causes that you believe in – missions, wildlife conservation, sustainable fashion, etc. Once you become content with your possessions and freed from the competition of “Who Owns More,” you won’t feel the need to hoard money and there is more joy in giving it away to support those who need it.
4. Would you like more time in your day?
Our possessions drain time – whether organizing, cleaning, repairing, maintaining, shopping, or removing – stuff demand a huge chunk of our time. Owning fewer things simply means less time spent on them and more time to focus on what is truly essential in your life.
5. Do you spend too much time cleaning?
If you love clean and tidy rooms but not very fond of cleaning, then the minimalist life might be your best option. The easiest way to trim down cleaning time is to simply own less things to clean.
6. Is there too much stress in your life?
Too much physical clutter can also bring in unnecessary stress in our lives. Switching to the minimalist lifestyle removes that clutter and limit the distractions it causes. An open, spacious home might just be what you need to wind down, relax, and destress.
7. Are you not afraid of change?
Switching to a minimalist lifestyle is counter-cultural and will force changes in the way you spend energy, time, and money.
8. Are you environmentally conscious?
If you’ve been wanting to be kinder to the environment, minimalism also does that for you. The minimalist lifestyle requires less resources on the front end for production and reducing waste on the back end.
9. Are there things you value more than material possessions?
Minimalism advocates focusing on what you truly value and removing anything that distracts you from it. We become more centered on our deepest heart desires rather than what’s on the sale rack on H&M.
10. Is your life too valuable to live like everyone else?
What makes you you – your heart, soul, and passions – are the elements that make you unique and valuable. Don’t settle for temporary possessions that every other neighbor can acquire. Your life is far too important… and short. Fulfill your important roles in life – mother, sister, aunt, daughter, businesswoman – to the best you can without participating in the hyper-consumerism culture that consumes the world.
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