Minimalism is a way of life - not a project

When I started on my minimalist journey, I entered it like I do with any project:  having a start and end date in mind. Very little did I knew, there was a start date... but the end date would never  ever be what I thought it would be.  Not even close.  There actually might not even be an end date.

Minimalism is not a project. It's a way of life.

Remember this:

1) You change continuously
2) Your environment changes continuously
3) You grow older/wiser
4) Your needs change

For that reason, there never will be an end to your cleaning/giving/selling/decluttering... as long as you wish to be a minimalist.

What you need/love/use today is not what you will need/love/use tomorrow or 5 years down the line...
And that is part of the process... the lifelong process.

When you decided to declutter, you probably realise that most of the stuff you initially gave/sold was OLDER stuff.  These had been with you for a while but you never got rid of them, instead you store them because you had room: physically I mean.  But then it started bothering you... you did not have room mentally for all that "crap" and you needed to get rid of it.  As you move along in the process, it's more recent stuff that is looked at...  stuff that is not store in the addict, garage or basement.  Stuff that is part of your "daily" life, stuff that crosses your vision regularly but that you no longer really see...  you start looking at everything in your home with  different eye. A more critical one. You start asking yourself whether or not you really do need/love/use all of it!

Once you've been in that place (unclutter, free, empty), you no longer want to keep stuff that you no longer need/love/use because it doesn't feel good! And once you've develop that critical eye, it never goes away. This is why minimalism is a lifestyle not a "project". When you enter this project, it changes your life.

One sentence that I find really inspiring is from one of my favorite singers, Sheryl Crow, in "Soak up the sun".  It goes like that: "...  not having what you want, but wanting what you've got..."

It resume very well the essence of minimalism. And I listened to that song many times and never really "heard" that sentence until minimalism became part of me.  This is why I say it might change you - changes the way you see things, changes the way you hear things, changes the way you do things and the way you think.

Let me know about how you are doing with minimalism.
How is you "project" going?  As it become part of you yet?  As it become your lifestyle?

love&peace,
nath
xox
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