5 Simple Ways to Become a Minimalist TODAY

I remember as a kid watching The World’s Strongest Man competitions on ABC Sports and ESPN. There was an event where one of the contestants would pull a standing still car maybe 100 feet or so. The gargantuan individuals would lumber every ounce of effort to get the car moving. Once they got the car moving, pulling it across the distance became a much more manageable task. At least as manageable as pulling a car can be.

The key to their success was getting the car moving. Such is the case with much that we do in life. Working out. Saving Money. Learning a language. Most things we attempt at life are much easier once we get that proverbial rock to start rolling down that hill. Becoming a minimalist is the same.

I started to become a minimalist for financial reasons. I hated wasting money on stuff that just sat there or was used/worn infrequently. I hated having stuff to move every time I moved during college. Life just seemed easier for those I knew that had less stuff.

Becoming a minimalist was tough to do. It can be convenient to have a net for fly fishing when you want to go fly fishing. But realistically, I never went fly fishing.

Through many readings and copied examples, I was able to pack my life into just a few bags of necessity. As I settle down in a lifestyle again, I know the amount of possessions I have will grow but not substantially. I will maintain the lifestyle and culture of a minimalist through simple practices I hope to share with you here.

I know it can be tough to make drastic changes in life. So, in the following, I provide 5 Simple Ways to Become a Minimalist Today:

1. Write a List. I feel like I could start all my lists with this. It just always fits. Write down a list of the necessities in one part of your house, room, car, etc. For example, your desk. If you must have a note pad handy at all times, then that goes on the list. Do you have to havea calculator when there is one on your computer? Probably not, so you don’t put it on the list. And so forth.
2. Pull Everything Out of Your Section. So whatever section you decided to write your list on (room, desk, car, etc.), physically take everything from that section and put it in a pile away from your section.
3. Place Necessities Back in Your Section. Reference your list to see what from your pile is now allowed back in your section. Don’t change your list now that you want more stuff to pull from the pile. Go with your initial thoughts and reactions and be disciplined with yourself. It will be another action to be proud of.
4. Now Remove One More Thing. For some reason, we as humans have this desire to keep more than we need. And despite writing that list in step 1, you, and usually I, still have one more thing we can remove from our newly minimalised section. So, be strong and take one more thing and put it in the pile outside of your section.
5. Get Rid of It. Do not keep what you put into your non-necessity pile. Donate it. Recycle it. Sell it. Toss it. Your choice, but these extra’s are no longer a part of your life. You need to get rid of them today. Not tomorrow. NOW. The sooner you do so, the odds are greater you won’t keep anything that shouldn’t be kept.

Was that too hard? Okay, maybe it was difficult. I know how it can be. But we all keep stuff we don’t and will never need. The fight against the temptation to keep these things can be broken through repetitive actions that you are now highly skilled to perform. Now that you have got that heavy car moving, keep going til you cross that finish line of a complete minimalist lifestyle.

Article Update: 5 MORE Simple Ways to Become a Minimalist TODAY

***Don’t forget to stop by my Minimalist site…… The Minimalist Path ***

Have a great minimalist day…..

Dave
LifeExcursion