I love to consume information! That is my favorite way to spend my free time!

And I specially love to browse various social media to connect with and learn from other minimalists. While binge reading blogs and devouring other content out there, I made a mistake of actually reading comments. It seems that there is a growing trend of competing who is the biggest minimalist out there and who is doing it better.

First of all: Fuck you!

Minimalism is a tool, not the end game. It is not its own purpose.
Let me explain better. Minimalism is a tool we use to better our life by shifting the focus from our excess to what is truly important to us. And we all do it differently. Because, if we focus on how much or little we own, we are still focusing on stuff. And that is massively off the mark.

For me, stuff was the last to go. I decluttered my life, relationships, schedule, mind and emotions before I dove into my closet to throw most of it out. I spent more than a year on, what The Minimalists call, the “why to”.
To get to know their theories better, visit their super informative website: www.theminimalists.com

“How to” is the easy part, really working on “why to” is hard and essential.

After I settled why I want to simplify my life and what my end game is, I knew just what I want to accomplish with minimalism and how I can use it to improve my life.

By using the theory that most important and difficult tasks should be done first, I set off to declutter my life first. I got rid of all the draining and unnecessary tasks, goals, relationships, apps and distractions. That freed up my time (and a lot of it) to focus on tasks and relationships that matter, goals that benefit me in the long run (like developing healthy habits) and most importantly; I had free time to declutter my mind and emotions.

It proved to be easier than I expected! Without time consuming and stressful lifestyle I could see and think more clearly. Without toxic and draining relationships I had more energy to free up my mental space. I got rid of negative and draining beliefs and affirmations, constricting fixed mindset, self-bullying, obsessions, fixations and all sorts of mental junk. Luckily for me, I embarked on mental decluttering tasks just when my phone broke down. I didn't replace it for 3 months, which provided me with some much needed peace and quiet.

After all of this, for the first time in my life, I had a clear direction in life. For the first time ever I was happy with my life, I had a purpose and I knew just how I wanted my life to be. I finally had a strong sense of self!
The more I learned, the more my confidence and my calm grew and I was able to do more and be more.
Then, I got the Marie Kondo’s famous book about tidying up and started tackling my possessions. I got rid of most of my stuff with ease, it was fun! And to be honest, getting rid of stuff was just a “paint job“ to a major overhaul. I knew just how I wanted my space to look like, and I never regretted a thing!

Tell me, if you would to start decluttering right now, what would you be doing first? Would you start with stuff, mind, life or maybe someplace else, like diet?

Leave me a comment, you know how much I appreciate a good discussion!