1. Discard the preconception that you can’t discard your things
We only think we’re unable to part with our possessions. But we’re all able to part with our things; we just need to become aware of the reasons why we’ve been unable to do this so far.
You’re certainly not to blame. You’re simply inexperienced – that’s all there is to it. It wasn’t a personality change I went through; I simply learned the techniques and developed a habit of getting rid of excess.
2. When you discard something, you gain more than you lose
There are more things to gain from eliminating excess than you might imagine: time, space, freedom, and energy, for example.
3. Ask yourself why you can’t part with your things
4. Discard something right now
We think we can’t become a minimalist until our lives have settled down. But it’s actually the other way around; we won’t be able to settle down until we’re living a minimalist life.
5. Get rid of it if you haven’t used it in a year
I’ve stepped it up even further if I haven’t used it all one season and I kind of have an inkling that realistically – I KNOW I won’t wear / use it – we part ways.
6. Differentiate between things you want and things you need
7. Organising is not minimizing
Instead of relying on organisation techniques, you should first focus on decreasing the number of things you have to put away. Once you do that, your space will naturally become less cluttered; the cycle will be broken
8. Leave your “unused” space empty
Not all empty spaces have to be filled – SIMPLE!
9. Let go of the idea of “someday”
10. Say goodbye to who you used to be
When discarding anything, it’s important to consider whether it is something that you need right now. In the same way that trying to prepare for someday in the future is futile, so is clinging to what used to be in the past.
Holding on to things from the past is the same as clinging to an image of yourself in the past. If you’re the least bit interested in changing anything about yourself, I suggest you be brave and start letting things go. Leave only the items that you need moving forward from this very moment.
