How come we wrote this book? We ourselves have been minimalists for ten years and can share our experiences with you. The book's strength lies in the fact that we have not only drawn on a single experience, but have also analysed the changes in lifestyles from a wide variety of starting positions. So we can also tell you that this book is just the beginning of your journey into minimalism. Minimalism is not a thing for a weekend, but it is precisely with these small "actions" that minimalism is increasingly coming into life. What was classified as "necessary" a year ago no longer necessarily has to be important. Our attitudes towards material goods changed as we became more involved with our consumption-driven habits and travelled to poorer regions of the world. What awaited us there was not necessarily misery, but rather friendly, happy people, who could show little material possessions, but had all the closer ties to family, relatives and friends. So we quickly became aware of the importance of love in our lives and for our happiness. With so many special offers, status symbols and shopping centers, it's not always easy to focus on the really important things in life. Minimalism is an effective way to clear out, sort and prioritize both internally and externally. The book and the minimalist lifestyle will help you to achieve more happiness, contentment, serenity and personal and professional success.
Minimalism is the name of the game
Before you start with your minimalistic program, you should know as much as possible about minimalism. In this chapter you will find out what exactly is meant by minimalism, why a minimalist life makes sense and what the advantages of this lifestyle are. This basic knowledge is important so that you understand exactly how decluttering and minimalist lifestyles can enrich your everyday life and happiness. Because why should you dare to tackle the mammoth task of clearing out if the benefits are not clearly understandable beforehand?
What is minimalism?
Minimalism means limiting oneself to the bare essentials. This is done consciously in order to experience more joy of life and happiness. Minimalism can be lived out in many different ways and we almost want to think that there are as many different forms of minimalism as there are minimalists. The one minimalist may focus on not letting the wardrobe overflow. Another minimalist loves the minimalist holiday feeling of camping and yet another practices an almost ascetic lifestyle. How you live out minimalism is up to you. We are sure that you will continue to evolve as a minimalist, to examine more and more aspects of your life and to learn to apply your minimalist way of thinking beyond your home environment.
All minimalists have one thing in common regardless of their individual stage of development and focus: they focus on consciously renouncing material abundance in order to create more space for a fulfilled life. It is clear to all of them that possessions do not guarantee happiness and contentment, that material goods do not build friendships and love, and that changing one's own consumerist habits (spiritual and practical) opens entirely new doors. Suddenly there is more time again for an intensive examination of oneself and one's own happiness in life. Most people feel happy after an extensive shopping tour, but this is not a lasting, real and deep happiness. Instead of shopping indiscriminately, conscious consumption and above all renunciation are lived. The decision to minimalism has nothing to do with poverty, but with attentiveness!
Necessity of minimalism
Why is it necessary to consciously limit oneself? Because it gives us back full control over our habits and thought processes. Constantly present advertising, seemingly endless unused possibilities thanks to apps and Co., one special offer after another and how do we react to it? We just walk along, we give ourselves up to the whole thing and feel quite comfortable in our consumption-controlled skin for a short time. However, it quickly becomes clear that the new Smart TV doesn't really make you happy if you sit alone in front of it evening after evening. Today's society already teaches children at a young age that one is more respected if one is equipped with the most up- to-date material goods. Only then is one properly accepted by society and part of it. How much money do you spend on your apartment every month? How many hours did you go to work for it? And how many hours were you actually at home to enjoy this beautiful apartment and the new Smart TV? Our days have every 24 hours of which we spend on average 8 at work and 8 at bed. We still have 8 more hours left, which can be quickly filled with the way to work, a little television and shopping. How many of these 24 hours do we really consciously experience, how many of our decisions do we consciously make and how consciously do we really shape our lifetime?
This is exactly where the necessity of minimalism begins: Through a minimalist lifestyle, we carefully and consciously choose what we fill our time with, what goods are allowed to play a role in our lives, and what facets of our lives are really important to us. Through minimalism we pedal ourselves free, we free ourselves not only from material goods, but also let unhealthy behaviour and ways of thinking go, perceive ourselves better and can let true feelings of happiness enter our lives.
Advantages of minimalism
The advantages of minimalism are obvious: Those who don't spend every Saturday on extensive shopping tours suddenly have time for completely different activities and also save a lot of money. Let's say you spend an hour watching TV or sitting at your smartphone (or both at the same time?) in the evening. The conscious renunciation of media and social media can also be an aspect of minimalism. As you can see, part of your minimalism could be the deliberately limited use of media. In this way, you prevent yourself from being "sprinkled" with less valuable content on TV and other media and create space for yourself to deal with things that really get you ahead and have a real benefit for you. You could use this saved time for example to read books with useful knowledge, to become creative yourself or to learn the art of meditation.
What is the advantage of merciless clearing out of one's own four walls? The old, unused coffee machine finally finds a new owner and you have less ballast. The material ballast in your home inevitably has an influence on your mental situation. The separation from unnecessary material objects helps you to let go, to separate yourself, to create space for yourself and to focus again on yourself and your happiness in life.
The advantages of minimalism are therefore clearly defined:
- You save a lot of money by more conscious consumption.
- Material goods receive an ideal value that has nothing to do with the material value itself.
- Your handling of your belongings is becoming more conscious.
- You save a lot of time by avoiding shopping tours and dealing with the latest market trends.
- You let go of superfluous material possessions and create more space for yourself.
- You have the opportunity to consciously deal with what makes you really happy.
- You will develop more conscious and mindful thought processes and patterns of behaviour and thus have more opportunities to take care of yourself, become creative and develop yourself personally.
- You learn which facets of