So after making videos about minimalism for
a year now. I realised some of you guys who
watch my videos are still new to minimalism
or want to start a minimalist life. And I've
received questions from you guys asking "how
can I start to live as a minimalist" or "what
are some of the advice I'll give to a minimalist
beginner”. So today's video will be all
about that, and I hope this can help you get
started.
So let us start with the first.
Minimalism always emphasises on the importance
of intentionality. And there's nothing as
intentional as knowing the purpose behind
your decision. Your decision to start a minimalist
lifestyle.
The purpose of starting minimalism could be
to save more money instead of spending it
on redundant wants.
Or to having lesser things to stress about
and dedicate more time on things you value.
Or maybe, you want to minimise your distractions
in order to achieve extreme productivity.
So what's the reason why you want to have
less and what are the "things" that you want
to have more?
Knowing why you want to become a minimalist
is a good way for you to start minimalism.
In fact, it's the best way for us to do anything.
It's the purpose behind the action that is
pushing us forward, even when the thing seems
tough or when we are running out of motivation.
It allows us to identify ways to use minimalism
as a tool, instead of following it as a trend.
After knowing the why, naturally, the how-to
will come next.
Most of the time, how we are exposed to minimalism
is through word of mouth, from the internet
or maybe this is the first time you heard
about it.
How minimalism works can vary from people
to people because we are all different but
yet we can always find ways to make it suit
our lifestyle.
By going in-depth with minimalism, that allows
us to know how it works and how we can execute
it based on our occupation and lifestyle.
Also, getting inspired is another way to push
ourselves forward
If you don't have anyone in your life that
can inspire you to live a minimalist life,
there are a lot of people on the internet.
There are tons of awesome minimalists out
there that can inspire you.
On a serious note, I'll leave those minimalists
who inspired me throughout my minimalism journey
down at the description below. Other than
videos on youtube, there are books, blogs
and podcasts that can inspire us. So choose
the medium that can suit you well.
There are guidelines like the wait-for-it
rule: if the item costs more than $30 wait
for 30 hours before we make the decision purchase
so that we can curb our impulsive buy.
I've made a few videos on those guidelines,
you can check it out after this.
Some might call them rules while others might
think there's no rule for minimalism. And
I agree with that because there's no fixed
way on how we can live a minimalist lifestyle,
this is not fight-club.
I see them as training wheels to teach us
how to ride the minimalist bicycle when we
are still new to it. It helps us to find balance
and keep us on track.
Minimalism isn't all about decluttering. But
it's an essential step for us to take when
we are starting minimalism because most of
our homes are cluttered with tons and tons
of things. So the first step of keeping what
we own intentional is by removing items that
serve no value to us.
Also, remember to take your time to think
if they should be removed from your life.
You wouldn't want to declutter things that
you will regret. We can try out different
challenges that can make the decluttering
process enjoyable. There's the minimalism
game. Remove one item on the first day, two
on the second, and three on the third. All
the way to day thirty and by then you'd have
removed 465 items. That's a good way for us
to build the momentum of decluttering.
Or we can take it slow by removing one item
for 100 days.
Try it out and see what fits you.
It's essential for us to know how we are going
to treat the things we have decluttered. Most
of the time, they are things that can still
bring value to others.
I have these 5 steps I'll follow whenever
I declutter my stuff.
First, try to sell them, you might be able
to get some cash back even when you're removing
stuff. So it's a win-win situation.
Give or donate it to others if they can receive
benefits.
Upcycle if the material is still usable. Recycle
if it's not. Trash it if it can't be recycled.
These few steps require some time to research,
especially the donation organisation or what
can be recycled.
Meanwhile, you can sort out those decluttered
items into boxes segregated based on how you
are going to treat them. One point to take
note here is not to look back at those boxes
once you've decluttered it, in order to prevent
it from coming back into our lives again.
There's no specific amount of items you can
own to classify yourself as a minimalist.
That being said, there's no need for us to
rush to get there, and in fact, there's no
destination, to begin with.
We all have different ways to declutter our
stuff. If you can't do the extreme and let
go half of your possessions. It's always fine
to take our minimalism journey slow. Start
with the easy things.
You can always find faulty and damaged items,
just in case items and also duplicates.
There's no need for you to go straight into
sentimental items that have tons and tons
of meaning behind it. So pull yourself back
and take it slow.
You might want to start with the room you
use the most because that's where you can
see the impact and benefits of decluttering.
If you are living with non-minimalists, I
know the process can be challenging but what
you need to know is to start with yourself
first. What you do might lead them by example
and maybe inspire them to become a minimalist
as well. If not, try to be understanding,
we can always agree to disagree and coexist
under the same roof.
Temptation can bring us back to square one
if we are not careful with it. It will put
our decluttering effort into waste if we still
decided to bring in more unnecessary things
back into our lives. We have to identify what's
our trigger. What makes us want to buy more?
If using Instagram makes you want to buy more,
maybe go for a 30-day social media detox.
If looking at sales and promotion makes you
want to go for a random shopping spree, limit
yourself from buying anything for a week or
a month, except for daily essentials.
For me, I still feel tempted by the things
I see, my temptation is always triggered by
the videos I've watched on youtube, whether
it is fashion, desk setup, camera gears. Whenever
I realise the trigger, I'll try my best to
remove them.
If you can identify the triggers, avoid the
triggers.
Most of us are fortunate to have more than
enough. We have sufficient things that can
keep us alive and maintain our standard of
living.
Being grateful for what we already have, allows
us to fight the temptation of wanting the
fanciest, the latest just to be better than
the Joneses. We also will realise that we
don't have to own something just because it's
new.
Having limitations and challenges are a good
way to guide us towards an intentional life.
But if those limitations and challenges seem
to affect your happiness, we might want to
take a step back and not rush things out.
Take the time to figure out how minimalism
can fit into your life instead of changing
your whole life just to fit into this label
minimalist.
Sometimes I'll receive a question asking me
if they should remove their collection or
the equipment for their hobby, or the tools
they use to make a living.
And my honest answer is I don't have the right
to help you to answer that, no one does except
for yourself. You have to judge it on your
own. Does this particular collection or equipment
bring you value? If no, there it goes. If
yes, keep it by all means.
I think a lot of people have the misconception
that minimalism is about self-deprivation
or removing everything you own.
I mean, I don't blame them because we absorb
what we see on the internet. But what's crucial
here is to build a minimalist lifestyle for
ourselves not for the people on the internet.
Like the guidelines, the tips I've mentioned
are just training wheels that get us started.
The fact that minimalism can mean differently
from one person to another makes it impossible
for us to have a standardised way of living
a minimalist life.
So once you have the momentum and understand
how minimalism can bring value to your life,
feel free to pluck out those training wheels
and create your own way to live a minimalist
and meaningful life.
So these are the tips I'll give to someone
who just started minimalism. But after working
on this video, I realised that these tips
are still helpful for those who started minimalism
for quite awhile. It can act as a recap or
a reminder and act as a guide for those who
are still new to minimalism. Regardless, I
hope this can make you understand more about
minimalism and get you started. If you are
interested in learning more, you can check
out my channel. That's where I post not just
minimalism but also self-development content
over there.
I don't know when is the next time my videos
can reach you, and if you are interested in
my future content, you can always subscribe
to this channel.
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I truly appreciate that. Like always, I'm
extremely grateful for you to watch all the
way to the end. Thanks for watching this and
I'll see you guys again next week.
