Many different changes are continually taking place in nature every single day. Here at Biomedicanna, we believe that people are only a part of this unique system, so we must respect all the natural processes around us and change our lives accordingly, with the goal of not to interfere but to adapt. As we are stepping into spring, we dedicated an entire month of March to highlight the importance of preserving the most precious things and dropping off unnecessary and excess practices. Today we will share our insights on making specific changes both at home and in your lifestyle and focusing only on those things that are really worth it.
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We consider spring a perfect time for changes – as nature is waking up, we also have to wake up after three long months of winter laziness. However, this does not mean a simple getting out of bed in the morning; emotionally, waking up means making necessary and healthy changes. Some of the things that require the most changing and renewing are our homes after the winter, yet we are certainly not talking about layers upon layers of dust or those nasty cobwebs hanging in the corner. There are vast amounts of unnecessary things in our homes that used to cost us a lot of money and now are just hindering our lives. After all, it is very challenging to say goodbye to them, donate them, sell them, or generally get rid of them.
Nevertheless, these positive changes are necessary, and it is better to make them sooner than later as minimal life is much healthier. Minimalism is a lifestyle that frees us from clothes, appliances or goods which make us feel depressed and emotionally drained rather than joyful. Although minimalism has become more and more popular lately, a much more critical philosophy lies behind this trend – how can giving up things help us feel the fullness of life?
Minimalism – Passion, Mission, or else?
For quite a long time, Minimalism was known as an art, music and architecture style that opposed abstract expressionism and promoted objective, logical, and schematic solutions. Clean lines, geometrical shapes and repeating patterns all moved the focus from work itself to the environment in which it gets positioned, played, or demonstrated. Soon enough minimalism was thought about as modernism as the majority of minimalistic art creations were made out of such materials as concrete, glass, metal, etc. Minimalistic movement gradually grew into the worldwide notion that less is more and throughout the years it, of course, crushed all of the borders and dominated more areas than just visual and performing arts.
Fashion was one of the first areas to which the minimalistic virus spread. Designers soon started to position fabrics and forms over the functionality (these scales later shifted significantly) and create clothing using only monochromatic tones: black, white, grey. Massive social and political changes accompanied the fashion industry’s shift from an overload of accessories to simplifying everything that gets on the runway or in high-street shops. While we are not going to focus on different perceptions of minimalism in fashion, we definitely must highlight its influence on widely acceptable social practices. With growing consumerism and massive amounts of trash and non-recyclable materials accumulating each day, minimalism has also become a way of life destined to have as little belongings as possible and discover many more noble things.
Minimalism – Emotional Attachments and Decluttering
Minimalism from one perspective may seem like complete nonsense, yet from the other, it is a way to help the planet while at the same time helping ourselves. Being generally described as a way to find freedom, the minimalistic approach suggests people live with as little belongings as possible because it allows them to live in a more spacious environment directly and figuratively. Minimalists refuse to own any excess stuff and choose to invest in themselves and their families, friends by creating precious memories rather than holding onto meaningless possessions.
Nevertheless, this lifestyle does not mean disowning everything or being altruistic – minimalists advocate for a simple but not dull environment. You can still have some necessary belongings, yet you should be willing to get rid of things you have not been using for more extended periods. As nowadays we can rent almost anything for as long as we need, the whole idea of owning those things and paying full prices is just silly.
Many people, not only minimalists, know that personal possessions often cost us tremendous headaches and other problems. Our belongings trap us in a vicious circle of indecision, and the more we own, the more helpless we are. The truth is that unnecessary things clutter both our living space and mind, making us worry and overthink as we cannot think straight about organizing them in real life and our minds. Things around us distract us from everyday tasks and, of course, from quality self-care, making us more prone to depression and other mental illnesses.
Getting rid of everything we have to carry on our shoulders will increase our happiness and free our time, but this process is complicated even for professional psychologists. We are struggling to say goodbye to our belongings as we have individual relationships with them. We emotionally attach to things that we link with emotions and experiences when we should either carry those emotions in our hearts and thoughts or get rid of them at all. It takes a lot of time and courage to cut the chains connecting us to our possessions, but in a longer perspective, it is worth it.
Minimalism – a Mental Shield from Acquiring Too Much
Minimalism is both a way of thinking and a way of like, because in both cases, we detach ourselves from the unnecessary and leave only those who are worth it and enrich our lives. Yet, we would not have so many things if we did not acquire them in one way or another. Many people still think it is appropriate to bring bulky household items or useless souvenirs as gifts – such pieces will only accumulate dust and use space, but their value is little to none. It is quite hard to say goodbye to gifts from our family members, friends or colleagues as we mentally link such items with the love we get and fear to lose these connections while getting rid of things we neither use nor need. In such situations, we must live as an example as we start gifting others our attention, positive emotions and experiences rather than useless stuff.
Next, we can buy such unnecessary items ourselves. While we are digging the hole and cluttering our lives, it is much easier to come out of the mentioned situation when compared with getting rid of gifted items. We tend to buy things impulsively without thinking about whether we need them or not. After such shopping sprees, we quickly start to regret purchasing something, yet we stall from returning or regifting items as we link them with our labour efforts to earn money in the first place. Secondly, we start to think we may need such things in the future, so it is better to be safe than sorry and have them despite not knowing exactly when we will use them if we are going to use them.
Minimalism is an approach condemning consumerism, which is fed to humanity every day through different channels. Various marketing strategies get into our heads and make us think we need each and everything we see in stores or online. However, there are several ways to shield ourselves from acquiring too much stuff, which would eventually complicate our lives. Firstly, we have to shop responsibly and quit making impulsive decisions. Therefore, you should think before buying any more expensive item at least for a week before making a purchase; a week is usually enough to rethink our priorities and make some changes to our shopping lists. If you still feel a great desire and need for a specific product after a week, you should make a purchase, yet if you do not have those feelings, you should leave the item sitting on a shelf in a shop. Secondly, have a monthly or weekly budget and do not dare to go over it! As we shop to mask our emotions, we should wait until we have our emotions and feelings under control to avoid impulsive shopping and unnecessary belongings in our home.
Minimalism – a Way to Say Goodbye and Improve
Not acquiring useless things or trying to do so is one thing and getting rid of them is another. Minimalism, however, takes care of both and highlights the importance of saying goodbye to things you will not need from now on to the future in a very focused and respectful way. You may have seen some videos where influencers share their experiences after rummaging through their belongings and choosing what to keep, sell or donate, and get rid of completely. Even if it may sound like a minimalistic approach, we still are left with plenty of stuff that will not bring any value. It is encouraging to donate particular possessions before paving a way to a landfill for them. It allows us to live more sustainably and eco-friendly; selling things before getting rid of them helps owners gather funds to invest in experiences and emotions worth more than silverware or clothing.
The minimalistic approach to getting rid of new things is to own as less as possible but still meet your needs. One of the best ways to limit yourself to a certain number of belongings is to gather them all into one place as if you were packing and moving out, and throughout a week, only take what you need leaving unnecessary items in a pile. After a week or one and a half, take all that you have not used and get rid of them – sell, donate, or generally get rid of it if their condition does not allow them to be used for one or another. You will be surprised by how little items you are regularly using versus how many just take up space without doing anything useful. Remember, you should not limit yourself to a hundred or fifty belongings just because professional minimalists do so – start by making small steps to achieve significant results both emotionally and physically.
Minimalistic approach frees us from unnecessary items which haunt us every day – be brave to say goodbye to them once and for all. Carefully plan and rethink your priorities to live more happily and healthier. Mental freedom is just as important as decluttering your physical environment, yet the first is sometimes harder to achieve. We encourage you to try our products to relax and help yourself develop better and more valuable solutions for your outer comfort and inner peace.