by Renzo David R. Bañaga and Edelyn T. Tan
From an art movement to a lifestyle medium, minimalism holds key outlooks that will benefit one’s impression while engaging in everyday activities.
People have numerous lifestyles they pertain to daily—doing yoga, eating vegan, sleeping early, and more. But, one thing that expresses the so-called “art of living less” is minimalism. This lifestyle is all about living with fewer burdens and the ideology of ridding lavish things and experiencing life based on natural exploits. Minimalism offers a slew of streamlined regimes that will certainly fit your favored lifestyle. Square up and sort these five minimalist hacks that will surely bring you to an organized A+ status.
Sorting Apps to Assorting Life
With technology continuing to advance rapidly, over-downloading many apps will batter your mobile devices. Sorting out your digital space can help you navigate your devices more efficiently. Clear the decks; keep the apps you often use and uninstall the ones you rarely use. This will give your mobile devices more room to work with. Even when it seems our pleasure is barely a tap of the screen away, try disconnecting for a few hours a day and spend time doing the usual activities manually. Set up a virtual hangout with your friends, brew yourself that trendy coffee recipe you found online, or start a workout routine. Life’s too short to pass the days staring at a screen. (But still, sorting your phone apps could help you also!)
Simplicity is Tranquility
They say that the body is the vessel of the soul, and it goes without saying you take extra measures in ensuring that it’s always in its best condition. You take “self-care” insatiably to experience gratification from everything you do to take care of yourself. However, once you find your actions excessive and wasteful, maybe it’s a sign to step back and strip things down. Start from cutting the junks off your diet plan, or minimizing your skincare routine to plain basics. Complexity is not the answer when we can choose to survive on the bare minimum. Competing with the over-the-top standards set by other people will only complicate your necessities for a better living.
Suppress the Shopping Craze
Whenever something in a store catches your eye, you pause for a moment and mull over the need to buy it. Sometimes you also have that urge to buy that stuff waiting in your cart and it often leads to regret after you have thought of the entire process. However, we also have that innate strength to maintain our self-control and say the words: “Dear, Self. Not today.” Buying things in moderation and shopping on a stable budget will definitely give you a positive living regime.
The Three-month Rule
We all own at least one stuff that has been gathering dust, and thinking we’ll need it in the future, or maybe it’s too fervid to let go. For the sake of a clutter-free life, adopting the “Three-month rule”, wherein you measure the need and value of the object for the next three months, will help you determine what or what not to throw away. As for objects with sentimental value, consider the option of taking pictures with it to preserve memories instead of leaving them to mess around your room. Decluttering will keep your place from being an eyesore, and affirm that it will be spacious enough to fit your ensuing purchases.
Jump Out the Bandwagon
In a society ruled by the heat of standards, we’re compelled to feel that feeling of belongingness. We try so hard to fit in that we become just another cookie cut from the same mold, wondering why we never get a sense of self-fulfillment from pleasing other people. Keeping up with the mania is not always a healthy option to establish your own identity. Learn how to control your urges, instill your morals in daily phenomena, and re-evaluate yourself and determine what you want.
It’s been said that art is an expression of the human experience. As such it can be used as a tool for self-expression, self-transformation, and self-exploration. The minimalist lifestyle is a reflection of the art expression, one can see through the mirror of vanity who they truly are. We always tend to phony up when we buy unnecessary things or we join in gatherings that we don’t really like. It’s high time to step out of other people’s shadows, pursue your own passions, and overcome the sinking feeling of self-doubt. There’s no shame in living by your own set of principles. Always look at your reflection and see the humble minimalist within you.