Get Rid Of It: Things You Really Don't Need

Becoming a minimalist means more than changing your shopping habits. This is about realigning your values and being honest with yourself about what is necessary for your happiness in life. If you can avoid putting sentimental value into "stuff," you can point that emotional energy towards yourself or other people that need love more than your belongings!

A few reasons that many keep things are because they have memories attached to them- and being separated from that belonging would cause pain. This is rooted from putting sentimental value into things. Another reason we keep things is because it might have high monetary value- maybe you paid a lot of money for it, such as jewelry or electronics. Having these expensive things might give you pride in what you own, perhaps you worked long & hard hours to be able to buy it, or earned it in some other way. But remember, you don't need material things to define your work ethic or personal value. An additional reason many refuse to let things go is because they feel it might be useful to them in the future. The item might be very useable and it'll be good to have "just in case." When in reality, that item has been sitting in your home for years, collecting dust.

To begin getting rid of things, start slow. Make your way through each room in your house and pick out things that you haven't used in months, or don't see yourself using in the near future. This can take weeks or even months! Be patient when you begin to purge your home, you won't see a miraculous difference in a single weekend. Minimalism is about letting go, and letting go takes time. Eventually (and hopefully) you'll start to notice the decluttering of your home, leaving it spacious and beautiful.

Once you've made the leap of purging your "stuff" you can focus more time and energy on activities that bring you happiness . You won't have to spend as many hours cleaning & organizing. Doing laundry will become a small task rather than a day long one. And you can use the extra money you've saved from withholding from consumerist habits to get ahead on bills, traveling, or whatever pleases your soul!

Good luck & good riddance!