A few months ago I decided to become a minimalist. Everything started from my desire to follow the fashion trends. One pleasant morning I got up with a keen feeling of necessity to change my style, and, accordingly, get rid of most part of my common plagued clothes…
My main efforts were sent for struggle against the countless swarm of clothes, decorated with animal prints, stripes and multiple geometrical figures of inconceivable forms and patterns. Soon after reading some of the useful notes about how your room has to look like in case you are a minimalist, so I decided to cut the amount of things in my wardrobe. Along with my old clothes many various things with some of my feelings and recollections were cut, as well. They really lost their meaning and became strange for me. I understood that they were my heaviest burden and the most difficult obstacle on my way to a new life.
I found a truly valuable book written by a young Japanese author Marie Kondo – “The life-changing magic of tidying up”. After its reading my life flowed in an extremely new direction. What is the main principle of minimalism? The answer is pretty clear: living among things bringing a real joy to its owner. Being guided by this simple idea, I started gradually getting rid of things that did not bring happiness, and…I became much happier!
A restrained harmony of my environment in the centre of which I had comfortably settled, allowed me to forget about the bustle and do my favourite activity.
If you liked the idea of the theory I am talking about, learn the following 5 principles.
Find out what your life scenario is based on
The faster you will find out the reason making you out your life in order, the better it is for you. Look around and think what you will start with. Make a list of things or habits which you would like to get rid without regret. Imagine a situation where you want to find yourself and think over what things will lay in your new life style. It will help you put priorities in a correct way and define your goals.
Don’t afraid doing everything at the same time
Act in spite of a widespread opinion that “less is more”. According to the main principles which were described by Kondo, saving of your life resources in this case will not be appropriate for your good intentions. For instance, your home cleaning will wear tire you if you will limit yourself with just a one room. Crossing the room boundary, grab everything you see and get rid of unnecessary things quickly and confidently. In such a way you will change your way of thinking and achieve mostly rapid results without delaying things for later.
While planning your cleaning, divide the process into several parts
It is believed that a sapper is mistaken once in his life. In our case the order of our acts and the room alternate will not play the main roles. For instance, those who like reading always leave their book in the most unexpected places in the house. Besides, finding a necessary book sometimes is a really difficult thing.
Kondo advices to act according to the several steps. In the beginning divide all the things for a couple of conditional groups: clothes, books, documents, personal stuff and so on.
When you gather all clothes in the certain part of your house, get rid of the clothes you don’t like any more or the clothes which do not suit you. Don’t afraid to overdo since now your wardrobe will contain only your most lovable clothes. The same thing is with your books: leave only those of them which you really want to read or have already read for many times and will want to read again, the rest of the books can be given to your friends or to the local library. I prefer the electronic books, that is why I have no troubles with their organization.
There is a time and a place for everything!
A Japanese producer Kosai Sekine even shoot a short-term film with almost the same title. And not without a reason. When you get rid of your unnecessary things, find a place for each thing from your most favourite and used. It will help use your life space in the most effective way. For instance, you don’t know where to store your magazines. Having bought one magazine near the underground, you will throw it on the table as soon as you are at home. Don’t be surprised to see a pile of similar magazines on this table in several days: they found their “home” by their own.
Know how to say “goodbye”
Finally, we came to the most exciting question which, perhaps, you have asked for several times: how to define whether you need a thing or not?
Marie Kondo answers this question with a peculiar Japanese restraint: “Tokimeki”.
The main sense is that the thing is good if it makes your heart beat quicker. Following this simple rule, find some time for “speaking” to each of things. Hold it in your hand, feel it, pay attention to your feelings. If they are pleasant and warm, don’t hurry to say “goodbye” to a thing. All in all, even if you don’t become a minimalist, take a pleasure of splendid living among the things you love!
