Oftentimes, what holds our minds back from thinking rationally is all the clutter we keep in our homes. This may sound silly to you, but if you think about it, it’s not so far fetched. A busy home makes for a busy mind. This is because even though you’re not consciously aware of the clutter, even the slightest bit of junk lying around can make your
subconscious mind think too much. For example, have you ever had a
super busy day, and you didn’t get done all that you wanted to get done?
Finally, you sit down to relax and see the table beside your couch
cluttered with magazines, cords, books, clothes, or little trinkets just lying there. Then you sigh and think, I was meaning to deal with that.
You quickly let go of the thought because you are so tired from your day but now it’s on your mind taking up subconscious space. Now, you
totally forget the next day, and as you are eating dinner with your family, you see in the kitchen closet a bunch of trinkets lying around creating another mess to worry about. Then you think, ‘oh I will just close the closet door,’ but when you open that closet again, you are
reminded once again of your cluttered space and mind by the incessant mess you can’t seem to get a handle on.
The truth of the matter is, is that over time people accumulate more than they need and stuff they are never going to use again. So, why do
they keep it? They keep things because they are either too lazy to deal with it, don’t have enough time, or have this false belief that one day
they will use it and that day never comes. Do something right now. Close your eyes and picture all of the places in your home that are cluttered.
This could be behind the couch, underneath your bed, the tops of your closet, in your bathroom shelves, junk drawers in the kitchen, kids rooms, etc… Now think of it as completely gone. How do you feel with the clutter there as opposed to it gone? I bet you feel a whole lot better. The clutter of your home and living with less is possible, it frees up space in your home, in your life, and in your mind. This clean
uncluttered lifestyle is called minimalism.
Minimalism is about living with only the necessities. Some people when they hear the word minimalism, they think they have to rid their lives of all they have accumulated and gained to live with very little.
This is not true. Everyone knows what is the most important things in their lives, and so it is up to them to deal with and get rid of the
unnecessary things. For example, when we look at one room at a time, we can start to see which is important and needed, and which is not. So, for the kitchen, most people may have seven bowls, seven plates, seven cups, ten knives, forks, spoons, and a truckload of plastics and trinkets
they don’t need. If you have a family of four, you should only need four of everything, plus one or two extras. When it comes to plastics, sort out which have lids and which don’t, the unnecessary plastic containers are just taking up space that could be used for other things, so recycle those.
Once we go through each of our rooms in our homes, and rid ourselves of the extra baggage that we have carried around, we can finally start to say that we are living the minimalist lifestyle.
The Benefits of Minimalism
Did you know that clutter can greatly affect your mental health?
Could this be the reason for your constant overthinking? For argument’s sake, let’s just say all of your overthinking had a large impact on the way that you were living – the way your house is cluttered. And, all it took
was to go through and rid your home of all the things that weren’t
necessary or held no purpose to you and that was the answer to fix your overthinking. If this isn’t the case, then okay we can live with that, but what if it was?
Now, why do I say this? Because clutter in our physical surroundings has been linked to mental illness for decades and that’s because we have accumulated all these things that hold triggers or distractions to us.
Living as a minimalist gives you the opportunity to throw out all those things that are unnecessary and also the old memories that you don’t want to keep anymore. So, don’t be afraid to host a garage sale, donate old clothes, throw out baby toys. Go through your whole house because now is the time to downsize!
Here are just a few reasons minimalism is super beneficial to your health.
Peace of mind
Having a cluttered space makes our minds overstimulated which keeps our minds busy and results in overthinking. When we try to
meditate or be mindful, overstimulation of our surroundings can make us have great difficulty focusing. Someone who is prone to
schizophrenic episodes can be triggered by having too much stuff in their immediate physical surroundings. A minimalist lifestyle will
decrease these episodes and help bring on concentration and peace of mind.
Self discovery
Instead of looking at getting rid of your things as a bad thing or that you may be losing a big part of your life, look at it like you are actually finding yourself. This happens by getting rid of things you
have maybe packed around for years that have no importance to you.
You may feel enlightened about who you were when you had these things to who you are now, which results in self-discovery.
Brings focus to what is most important
As things start to slowly disappear (the things you are not using and don’t need), your mind will be able to focus on the things you now need more of and also what you could or should be doing. Aren’t you tired of spending countless hours cleaning clutter that always ends up in the same place anyways? With all the extra space from ridding you of things you don’t need, you will be able to replace the space with
things you do need. Also, your mind will feel freer because you will see as you remove clutter from the physical surroundings, you will also be removing worry and distraction from your mind. With more space in your home, you will be able to focus your mind on doing
things that are most important, like starting a hobby or hosting events at your place. This will bring a sense of accomplishment.
More space to slow down and relax
The more your living space is decluttered, the more relaxed you will feel because your environment and surroundings are clear and there won’t be so many distracting messes. This will make your home feel more welcome and ‘homey’ thus resulting in a clearer state of mind so that you can relax and unwind after a busy day. With the empty
space you can now leave room for decoration and make your home more enjoyable to live in. Who knows, maybe you will want to
decorate your walls with creations of your own. Creating your own art and displaying it reduces levels of cortisol thus resulting in a relaxed mind and body.
Creates self-control and self-discipline
There may be a bunch of your stuff that you have become attached to, but is unnecessary to you in your life. By ridding yourself and your
life of these belongings, you are teaching yourself control and discipline. It’s okay if you can’t get rid of it yet, in the next section of this chapter I will explain exactly how to minimize your overwhelming surroundings. A huge part of mental illness or overthinking disorder is feeling as though you are not in control. By going through the various rooms in your home, purposely getting rid of ‘junk’ you will be in control of what to get rid of, what to keep, and what to do with it in general. It can be difficult to continue with
this lifestyle as time goes on and you accumulate more things but if you do a monthly sweep, you will teach yourself discipline that can help you with other things in your life down the road.
You can start slow with minimalism and just rid your house of
garbage, and prepare for your first garage sale or donation box, while
you keep other things that you think are important. But the point of minimalism is to live with only what you use and need the most. As you have read above, minimalism holds many benefits for your physical and mental health. Minimalism can also help you save money as you become more mindful of what you purchase and what you don’t. Your new home theme will be less is more, and so when you bring home unnecessary items, you will start to feel unaccomplished, which will actually set you up for making healthier decisions next time. Minimalism does not have
to be hard, find out how you can start in the next section of this chapter.
Start Living as a Minimalist
If you have lived with a bunch of ‘stuff’ all your life, it may be quite difficult for you to transition to the minimalist lifestyle. Though minimalism may seem like a big deal, it is not. You don’t have to get rid of anything that you don’t want to and you don’t have to throw out everything right away. Starting this minimalist life may have you
overwhelmed and so you put it off because there is just so much of everything and it may seem as though you have no idea where to start. Don’t worry, start small and add up as you go and you will feel more and more comfortable. A few things you should keep in your mind about minimalism as you go are to make clear reasons why you want to do this:
- You want to clear your mental clutter.
- See your spending habits.
- View a different way of living.
- Be okay with change.
- Be aware of yourself and your life to make the necessary changes that you need.
As long as you keep this clear mindstate, you will have no problems
with continuing down this new journey. So, there is just one last
question to ask – how do I start? Start slow, clear one room at a time, do not overwhelm yourself, and finally make minimalism a daily habit to
turn it into a lifestyle. So, let’s start:
Be clear about your intentions
Understanding why you are doing this will make your success rate greater. Making a big change like this can leave you feeling sad and stressed, however this is only temporary, so if you keep your
intentions in mind during the process, it should move you forward. After everything is said and done, if you don’t keep your intentions clear, it can be easy to fall back into the same habits thus living the
same unhealthy lifestyle as you did before. Some of your reasons for living this lifestyle are:
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You want to save money, or get yourself out of debt.
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You wish to have more space and freedom in your home.
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You wish to spend more time with your family without the excess baggage.
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You want to feel more at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
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You want to stop overthinking, and clutter adds to that.
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You want a healthy change.
Your list may look very different, however whatever your reasons for living simple may be, write them down so that when you start to have feelings of doubt you can return to this list as a healthy reminder.
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Start with one room at a time
The second step is to pick a room. It could be any room. It may be that you want to start with all the closets first or maybe the laundry room. It could be the kitchen or the kids rooms. Whatever you choose, pick one, focus on it, and don’t go on to something different until it’s complete. At the beginning of your process, it may seem as though you have a lot of work ahead of you, and you do. To not get overwhelmed or distracted, sticking to one room or closet at a time will be your best bet. When you are in a room, look at it from a third
person perspective or get a friend to come over and help. Stick to one corner, one dresser, one drawer, one thing at a time.
Create a system
For this step, you may want to buy yourself some big totes in order to keep this process as organized as possible. For some people, figuring out what to get rid of can be a hard task, so you are going to need a system to stick with. Make three boxes, totes, or even just piles or
bags and label them. One box for keep, one box for donation, and one box for throw away. Once you throw something in the boxes, do not go back and think about putting it somewhere else. This takes
patience and discipline, but know that you are in control.
Don’t use paper
Living with less means no more paper. Instead of letters – if you still do that, send emails. Mail that comes in needs to go to a specific file folder or drawer – just make sure it’s not going to just sit there. Any other type of mail can be shredded and recycled. This doesn’t mean you have to go completely paperless, just learn to be mindful regarding your paper usage.
Spend on adventures, not objects
What I mean by this, is that when you are shopping for a birthday present or something for yourself, make sure it will be worth it.
Instead of buying someone a card or flowers, print out a picture and buy a frame. The goal is to aim for things that are memorable and won’t be forgotten. For yourself, think about the clothing you are holding and figure out where you would wear it, how many times you would wear it, and what it would suit most with. If it’s a new car,
make sure that your other car actually needs to be replaced before just spending irrationally.
Replace things, don’t add to the clutter
Once you have finished going through the rooms in your house and have stuck to the system, it is time to start thinking about the minimalist lifestyle. So, when you are going out, make a list of the
things you need not want. Then figure out what needs to be replaced. Your spending should look like you are throwing something out, and then replacing that item so you don’t add to your stuff, and you’re not losing anything either. You are keeping a happy balance. While you
are resisting the urge to buy the things, you will probably find things that you want. Think about such items this way – I am going to wait two weeks, if I still want it at the end of two weeks, I will reassess my situation.
Start a meal plan
Food waste is a big problem in the US and other parts of the world. Food gets wasted because there isn’t a plan in order about when you will use the food and how you’re going to use it. Start by planning
three days out of seven, then add up to five days out of seven, and you may find that you actually save on money. Also, you will find that your food will last longer than if you were spontaneous about it. Start by looking in a recipe book, picking your meals, and writing the ingredients, then add it to your grocery list.
Adopt a minimalist mindset
When you adopt a minimalist mindset, you are too busy thinking about the necessary items, and the most important things to buy or accumulate, that you won’t have the energy to think about anything else. Unless it’s important. It’s the state of mind that if you need it, you will still need it in a few weeks. If you forget about it, then you
must have not needed it to begin with. Eventually this will turn into a habit, which will then become a way of life, and it won’t be so hard.
When you adapt to a minimalist lifestyle, you will find as though
you have more freedom and spare time on your hands to do more things. This is because you aren’t wasting your days chasing down items or cleaning your house all the time. When you don’t have anything to
pick up, then you have the energy to do more. Every purchase you make, you will be able to think twice about. Every dime you spend will seem as easy as pie when you practice minimalism. You will see that your bank
adds up and you will feel much more relaxed as you scan your house of all the items you used to have that no longer bother you. This also adds
free time and creates a sense of peace and serenity in the mind. No more overthinking – imagine that.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we introduced what a minimalist lifestyle looks like.
You learned that not only is your overthinking a problem for mental illness, but having all sorts of mess scattered around your home can actually trigger more overthinking. Decluttering the mind, and the
home are sure fire ways to start living a healthier life. By implementing minimalism, you will feel like a whole new you, it’s getting rid of the old and developing a new change. Metaphorically speaking, it’s ridding your soul of unnecessary garbage and becoming a completely new being.
To recap, you learned:
- The benefits of minimalism.
- How to start getting rid of things.
- The importance of a minimalist lifestyle.
- How overthinking and clutter are connected.
- How to continue living with less.
- What minimalism actually means as opposed to what people say it is.
In the next chapter, you will learn how overthinking has become a
habit and what you can do to break this habit. You will learn the importance of creating a schedule and sticking to it. You will also learn how to be organized and how to turn those pesky negative thoughts into positive ones and the power of what positivity feels like. Learn how to be inspired and feel empowered to live better while ridding your life of negative habits that are unhealthy.
