When it comes to minimalist living, some people may wonder whether they are a minimalist already or what they should do to become a true minimalist. For me, there is no absolute definition of what a minimalist is. Being a minimalist means different things to different people. … There is no single set of rules or standards that you must follow and meet to be a minimalist. There is no such a so-called true minimalist, either. You choose your way of thinking about minimalism and you choose your way of minimalist living. So I’m not going to give you a perfect definition of minimalism. Instead, I’ll share with you some thoughts about how minimalism means to me, how other people think about minimalism and a few values that most minimalists have in common.

How other people think about minimalism

As I just said, we don’t have a sole definition of minimalist or minimalism but our own views about what this lifestyle means to us. Here are some thoughts that other people have about minimalism that you may relate to in some way or other.

The Minimalists (Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus)

“If we had to sum it up in a single sentence, we would say, Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.”

Leo Babauta

“It’s simply getting rid of things you do not use or need, leaving an uncluttered, simple environment and an uncluttered, simple life. It’s living without an obsession with material things or an obsession with doing everything and doing too much. It’s using simple tools, having a simple wardrobe, carrying little and living lightly.”

Colin Wright

“What Minimalism is really all about is reassessment of your priorities so that you can strip away the excess stuff — the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities — that don’t bring value to your life.”

Madeleine Olivia

“Minimalism isn’t about owning the least amount of stuff, but about simplifying your life and enriching it with what makes you happy.”

Joshua Becker

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.”

Anthony Ongaro

“I believe that minimalism means:

• Detaching self-worth and personal identity from possessions

• Not worrying about the things we own, whether too much or too little

• Understanding what things actually do bring joy and more importantly, why

• Having a framework to actively manage what matters and what doesn’t

• Having more flexibility to manage what life brings, both good and bad”

Courtney Carver

“In my life, minimalism is:

• Ultimate simplicity
• Living with less

• Making time and space to discover what is really important

• Working towards real freedom

• Redefining freedom

• The answer to “enough is enough”

• Expecting and welcoming change

• Spending more time with people who lift me up and lifting them right back”

What values minimalists have in common

As you could see, people have different opinions about minimalism. As time goes on, those opinions may change. And yet, no matter how differently we think about minimalism, I know that people who practice this lifestyle always have something in common.

1. They live with less
2. They live intentionally
3. They focus on what matters to their life
4. They choose experiences over things

What minimalism means to me

Living a meaningful life

For me, minimalism is not merely about owning less stuff or living with only the essential things, or getting rid of unnecessary things but also about decluttering stress and negative thoughts, bad relationships or any things that weigh on my mind and stop me from living a meaningful life.

Simple living allows me to make time and space for what is important to me. I spend time planning my future and pursuing my dreams, my passions in life. I feel happy with what I have and the fact of having less doesn’t bother me.  Experiences have become my priorities because I know they are what makes my life more valuable.

Simple living allows me to make time and space for what was important to me.

Living more intentionally and mindfully

Being a minimalist, for me, is being intentional about what things I choose to let into my life. They may be things that I want to buy, people that I want to connect with, or memories I want to hold on to because I know they are there for good reasons.

Being a minimalist, for me, is also living a more sustainable life. The less I consume, the less waste I produce. And when I choose quality over quantity, I know I’m doing something good for the environment.

Last but not least, minimalism allows me to slow down and take a breath. I no longer mourn for the past or worry about the future because I know how important it is to live in the present.

Being a minimalist, for me, is being intentional about what things I let into my life.

So above are some thoughts on minimalism that I’d like to share with you in this post. What does minimalism mean to you?

Thanks for reading.

Just be,

Autumn

Since I started to follow the minimalist lifestyle, I have read through various blogs relating to it. You know, sometimes the best way to get some inspiration is to learn about others’ experiences. These bloggers, one way or the other, have given me so much motivation and insights into how being a minimalist looks like. Today, in this post, I truly want to share with you some of my favorite minimalism blogs (also bloggers) that I’ve followed since the beginning days. Anyway, after checking out those inspiring blogs, some of them may fall into your favorite category, some may not. But no matter how much you like them, if you take a closer look at what is shared, you’ll definitely find something useful or uplifting.

Read my blog: Inspiration for Minimalism: YouTube, Podcast and More

No Sidebar

If you’re always hooked by “living with less” content, then you might have ever heard of (or know about) this blog. It’s not a personal blog but a collaboration between some bloggers/ designers who live a simple lifestyle and would like to share their experiences about how to get rid of stuff and focus on the essentials.

Just like many other minimalism blogs, No Sidebar’s design is elegant, clean and minimal,  which is very pleasing to the eyes.

Here are some good articles on No Sidebar that you may find interesting:

• Second Chance Minimalism: Relearning to Live with Less
• My Simple, Imperfect Life is More Than Enough
• Shifting Our Mindset: Challenge, Not Sacrifice

Reading My Tea Leaves

I always love reading personal stories. If you know me (or rather, my blog), you’ll see me collecting stories from strangers and also sharing stories of my own. Funny enough, I’m obsessed with stories, and being a storyteller is my evergreen dream. Therefore, when it comes to following some blogs for education and inspiration purposes, I tend to choose blogs that share not only knowledge but also experiences, personal stories, and feelings. Reading my tea leaves is one of those few blogs that have given me so much of inspiration. I came across this blog while I was searching for something nice to read on the Internet, and was so happy to find this one because what Erin (the founder) has shared amazingly aligned with my values – living a simple, sustainable life.

Before diving into her blog, you can read my favorite writings of hers here:

• Simple matters, out on shelves
• Life in a tiny apartment
• Growing a minimalist wardrobe: Buying and selling second-hand sustainable fashion

Be More with Less

The name says it all. Courtney Carver started this website to share her life story and help others discover the joy in less. If you crave simplicity in life and work or simply want to make some changes to yourself as a minimalist, then read her blog.

I’ve picked out some lovely articles from her blog that will surely inspire you to be more YOU:

• How to Get Rid of Clutter You Care About
• If You Want to Be Light, You Have to Let Go
• Choose One Thing to Simplify Your Life (just one)

Becoming Minimalist

The author of The More of Less Joshua Becker and his family share their journey of minimalist living on the blog Becoming Minimalist. Reading their blog, you’ll learn a lot about the importance of living with less and how to make the most out of your life. Becoming Minimalist has inspired millions to clear the clutter from their lives and focus on what matters the most.

Read their most popular blog posts here to get their message of simple living:

• The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life
• 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism
• 15 Clutter Busting Routines For Any Family

RowdyKittens

I love Tammy and her writing voice – calm, honest and full of humor. Every time I read her blog, I always feel like I can relate to her in many aspects. Tammy doesn’t only write about minimalism but also her daily adventures. They are all true stories that will somehow make you smile or wonder if you’re living a real simple life. Also, if you’re into photography, then why not check her blog out? Read her about page here.

I love these pieces of writing on her blog. You may love them, too:

• On Conquering Fear
• Letting Go of Paper and Books
• Letting Go of Sentimental Items

So I’ve just shared with you my five favorite bloggers that have fed my mind with some of the most fascinating knowledge about minimalism and intentional living. At the same time, they have inspired me to consume less and create more. I hope you will find some inspiration when reading those blogs, too. What are your favorite minimalism blogs? And what have you learned from them? I’d like to know… Thank you, my friends. 

Living with less intrigued me

I must say I’m not much of a materialistic person. Yet, it doesn’t totally mean that I’m not into any kind of fancy little things. Nice things make me look nice. A new pair of Converse would make me happy all day long, and of course, I’d feel more confident when I wear a lovely dress (and I know I’m not the only one). I love wandering around souvenir shops and what I want to do at those times is bring all of those tiny little cute things home. You’d never know, they are so adorable I can’t take my eyes off of.

Anyway, clothing is a different story, though. I hate shopping for clothing. It sounds ridiculous but it’s true. I usually wear my sister’s clothes or even my mom’s. Occasionally, they give me these weird confused eyes as if I were an alien coming from some star very, very far away. How come a person can wear someone else’ clothes and feel nothing at all? They may question.

Okay, you may think I’m such a lazy person who is too lazy to go shopping. Yeah… Partly true but another thing is that I don’t like (and am never willing) to spend my money on such clothing. Other than that, I share my wardrobe with my sister, which means there is of course not much room for another pile of clothes. Isn’t that better if I wear my sister’s clothes? (Sometimes I wonder).

So when I first heard of the minimalism thing, I was very intrigued because the term did sound cool. I knew from the first place that I could follow this lifestyle, and then, people would stop asking me why I’m like that. Because I have had a very good answer – “I’m a minimalist, you know”…etc

But you know what is cool about this lifestyle? I’ll produce way less trash into the environment. More importantly, though, I’m a nomad (not now but I’d like to call myself that). I always dream of wanderlust and such. Living minimalist will be a good idea because I will have to learn how to downsize my stuff and traveling light is such a fantasy!

One of my favorite quotes: Buy experiences, not things. And that’s how I started to become a minimalist.

Buy experiences, not things

My story of decluttering books and sentimental items

The first thing that comes to your mind when you hear of the minimalist lifestyle is that you can do it. The next thing that comes to your mind when you hear of the minimalist lifestyle is that it’s damn a challenge! I’m a book lover (not a bookworm by the way). I love books (rather than reading books). If you come to my house, you’ll see a book self with quite a lot of books, many of which have been left untouched for years. This means so far they haven’t served any purposes other than to make the house look nice. Even my favorite books take up so much room (we live in a fairly tiny house) and they are indeed very expensive. On my first days practicing this lifestyle, dealing with those books was like a nightmare, which was why I decided to leave them behind and focus on other stuff.

(Until recently, I have just found out a great way to deal with them – Thank God! I bought a Kindle and it was one of my best decisions ever. I’ll share with you more about this Kindle thing on another post. Stay tuned!)

Okay, so that is the book story. There are of course thousands of difficulties I had in the beginning. I love keeping things (you can call me a keeper if you want to). I’ll keep back things that people throw out and give them the chances to live a second life. If you open my secret box, you’ll see many little old things that I’ve kept for such a long long time. You’ll see a notebook, an old stack of letters and photos, a keychain, a bracelet and so on… They’ve been there for so long. I never want to get rid of them because these things are part of my life, memories of good times and bad. And that’s my first and biggest obstacle when it comes to simplifying my life just the way people often define- live your life with the essential things. Anyway, essentialism is a different story, isn’t it? And it surely has nothing to do with being a minimalist. Moreover, minimalism is not merely a definition. It’s a lifestyle, and how can we define one’s lifestyle in several sentences? I suppose we have our own opinions about how minimalism is, and there is no right or wrong of it at all.

Holding on to those sentimental items imprisons you; holding on to the past stops you from living in the present.

I know that becoming a minimalist doesn’t happen overnight. It is the small steps you take each day that will move you along into your journey of living a minimalist lifestyle. Some may need a few months to feel comfortable living with less. The others may need a good long while. But no matter how long it may take, the only thing you have to keep in mind is that minimalist lifestyle comes in many different approaches, different shapes and sizes, and you should find one that’s right for you (and everything takes time).

How my first 30 days into minimalism changed my life…

I spent time on what matters most

When I started to lead this lifestyle, I didn’t waste time on meaningless things. Instead, I had more time for what was truly important to my life. Every morning before going to work, I didn’t have to struggle with what I should wear anymore. When I went to the supermarket, I would only buy what I really needed (Grocery list is just very useful) other than spending time and money on things that I wanted. And as time goes by, I’ve learned to focus on improving myself and spending time with my family.

Minimalist living gives me more time to spend on what is truly important.

I had more breathing space

Literally and figuratively. As Tyler Durden said, “Things you own will end up owning you”. This is so true. Once you have tons of things, you will be more likely to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Because you have so many things to worry about. If you’re like me, being obsessed with keeping emotional items, you’ll never want to let them go. Because you always think that “what if I need them someday? Or what if I will forget all of those beautiful memories after I throw them out?”. But we are more than our stuff, our memories are within us, not within our things. Holding on to those sentimental items imprisons you; holding on to the past stops you from living in the present. So yeah… the day I decided to let them go (of course I didn’t put all of them in the trash. I gave those items to some people who found them useful), I felt relieved and free. 

I saved up more money

Of course, I did! I no longer wander around shops and bring home a bunch of cute little things. I no longer purchase books without considering carefully. I started to read ebooks and borrow books from my friends or the city library. I think if you buy things unintentionally whether they are clothes or any things, you’re wasting your time and money. I still remember back then when I was a university student, one day I went to a used book sale event nearby my place and spent the whole afternoon looking for some nice books. I had no clue what kind of books I should buy and then ended up buying a very old version of Jane Eyre. It would be just fine unless it was the book that I’d read before (once or twice). If I could travel back in time, I’d have definitely never bought it. The money I paid for the book should have been spent on my travel.

I have saved up more money since I started to live the minimalist lifestyle

Anyway, that’s the story of my old days when I first followed this lifestyle. Changing your way of living is never an easy process, but if you really want to change it for a better you, then do it now. What do you think is the hardest part when it comes to living minimalist? And how has minimalism changed you? Thanks for reading.

Just be,

Autumn