Over the past eight months or so, I have been working to make my life less cluttered. I've gone through my possessions continuously, evaluating everything from 'do I need it' to 'does it fit me and my personal style and how i want to live my life'. And as I've gone on, there's been a lot of support - but also a lot of why.
The most common question I've gotten has been about throwing or giving things away. 'You spent so much money on these clothes/items, how can you give them away?' or 'What if you want it later, what if you change your mind?' People tend to be concerned mostly with the monetary aspect of me minimizing my existing life and then tend to move on to believing I'm focusing too much on discarding things and it's clouding my judgement.
My first response is always that minimalism is not about having the least amount of stuff possible. It's not about pushing myself to live on just the basics. It's about surrounding myself with only the things that bring joy into my life. A lot of people have talked about this concept but I first heard it from the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Essentially every article of clothing (barring the necessities) should spark joy when you hold it. The long term effect of this tends to be that it's easier to pick out clothes in the morning and my style is also much more stable. However, I still find the closet the easiest place to go to begin to minimize but the hardest place to refill when I don't have enough clothes.
When it comes to the sentimental aspect of things or the worry of needing it again I usually am able to answer that fairly simply. If it's been in the back of a drawer for over a year, it's probably time for it to either be let go or to be moved into a scrapbook or a place for sentimental items. Some people will say if you haven't looked for it and used it, throw it away--the memory will still be there. I personally enjoy keeping some sentimental items and condensing them into a scrapbook so they're easily accessible and not cluttering up space.
And then there's the final why. Why would I go to all this effort and work to throw away or give away items that cost me money and are proof of the experiences I've had? The answer is fairly simple: living in a decluttered space is calming. Knowing every item and thing I own helps me focus on life outside of my space. I know exactly what to reach for in the morning from clothes to skincare to makeup to school supplies. Undertaking minimalism not only helped me calm down but also helped me learn more about myself (my style and my values) and gave me a greater appreciation for the things I do choose to own.
