How minimalism is changing my life since last 6 months?

How minimalism is changing my life from the last 6 months?

by Parag Phadnis - July 2019

I got to know about minimalism through photography, I never thought of it as a lifestyle. I discovered that I like clicking images with negative space and very few of my friends and college mates liked that! One day my professor appreciated me for those photographs and then I never looked back.

My long life affair started with minimalism, I started to dig the internet to know about this word, Yes! it was just a word for me back then which
I heard from my professor.

Thanks to google, it has been helping me with all my projects and assignments from childhood! But this time it showed me something I never searched for, it was a Minimalist lifestyle. There I saw a TEDx talk by The Minimalists and it grabbed my attention. But I just liked the video and forgot about it for almost a year yet it stuck with me somewhere in my head, I watched that video again and watched the Documentary too... I was fascinated by these two guys, they are living differently and trying to bring a positive change to this planet. I knew that I have to make my life something like this but I was not sure about actually adopting it within myself, I loved everything I owned - from clothes to cameras!

Then started the process of syncing in with Minimalism, my prime focus was to get rid of extra stuff in my drawers and cupboards. I even got scolded for throwing off some of my childhood toys and games. Like everyone else, I started slow and also started organizing the stuff I was left with, trust me it was too much!

But still, I was happy that I started to declutter, but another problem was that I had to explain to my family why am I throwing my old stuff out, it was hard but I managed to introduce my mother to Minimalism and its benefits of it. It took more than 3 weeks and hours of conversations!

Slowly we started to remove more and more useless things lying in our closets and attics. The strategy was to know when things were used for the last time and will be used in the future, if not it's okay to let go. Many of the things we had were not bringing any emotion to our life, they were just there. It's a huge change for me as an Indian because we are always accumulating stuff we might need someday sometime, just in case! My family has still not accepted minimalism fully, they've different opinions about it but that didn't stop me... I took it up as an opportunity to stay focused on myself first and show them the results I got from getting into this incredible lifestyle.  I realized that we were already using things until they are no longer usable but we do not let go of the old things, which made our home look like a storage unit!

Unlike many of you, I was forced to go shopping for clothes, but first I donated my old clothes to less privileged people and it really felt good. I came back buying one t-shirt, a pair of jeans and nothing more. Until now I was already learning and thinking about Minimalism every day and I started to recognize
benefits of it in my life.

Decluttering helped me live a simpler life, I could instantly focus more on myself rather than worrying about keeping things organized.

The next thing that caught my attention was people living in tiny houses, I was shocked to see those houses and that life, I was learning about smart architecture and interior ideas but I got more attracted to the simple life they were living.

Many people have started to live incredibly in these little houses,
it's a huge topic in itself.

The thing is, we've so many distractions around us, we find it difficult to make time for our family and friends, play with pets, cook, or just look at the sky, We must enjoy the simple things in life... Do you remember the last time you looked at
the moon or the sun?

Try making your life simple and minimal. It may seem like you don't have enough but the reality is you will choose to limit yourself with less for good.

Less is more; more will become a mess eventually!

I'm very sure that one day I'll succeed and people will understand the reason behind my lifestyle. Minimalism gives me more time for me, now I know what I want and get rid of excess possessions! It gave me the joy of donating! It taught me the art of reusing!

We love our 'things' or do we just like to own more? Think.

What I learned from minimalism?

To be Happy with Fewer things

Reusing/Recycling things

Spending Less on possessions

Love for Nature

Less Stress

Clutter-Free Room

More time for myself

...

Thank you for reading!

Get Connected :
Behance | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Buy Prints