Living Clutter Free

Minimalism is a word nowadays that gets thrown out a lot. For it be books, magazines, literature, or TedTalks or even movie documentaries --they are out there.

But what is it to truly live and apply minimalism to your life?

To me, my journey into this lifestyle did not happen over night. My best friend, Nat, suggested a book named The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up, and consequently, my wife gave this to me as a gift. To put things in perspective, my best friend lives 2000 miles away from me, currently practicing medicine in Manila, Philippines--meanwhile, I'm over here. But, I guess our wavelengths are always in sync.

To dabble in this trendy topic of minimalism, just to let everyone know--it's not new to me. I grew up in a city where things were scarce. I have experienced the 3rd world way of living, and people do not like wasting things. Fast forward to my life now, I have seen the difference of trying to hoard everything in arm's length to keep for yourself, even if you don't need it. "Just-buy-it-coz-its-on-sale" type of mentality is a black hole into a life where your 2-car garage will turn into your storage unit, for the stuff you don't even know you had, forgot that you bought, and basically paid for storage for something you didn't get your money's worth by not using it at all. What a waste, isn't it? 

Clutter happens when life happens. We accumulate stuff, no doubt. Stuff will be here for the rest of your life and after yours, that's just life. It's the stuff that we can't figure out whether we need it or not, is this whole process I've began to learn in my 30s. It's the process of being minimal. Do I really need THIS? Would it bring me joy? Does it add spark to my life, will it add value to my life? There are going to be a variety of instances that you will be overwhelmed with choices, and you have to dial it down to these questions, when in doubt. Life in this day and age is not clutter-proof. Life in the modern age is purposely set-up for confusion so you tend to just BUY more, try to OWN more than what you need. It is your job to train yourself how to live a much more simpler life, to be able to value the things that you have.

You will be surprised how well your life will fall into place once you apply this minimalist type of life. Every person and family is different, and minimalism is a concept that you want to apply what you feel is appropriate for your own life. I can not tell you what to get rid of, or what not to buy--I don't know if that sparks joy for you, the whole process is evidently effective if you let yourself be tactile and open to the experience. 

Life is so much more than just stuff.