Try to count the number of things you own (gadgets, clothes, bags, tablecloths, all the kitchen stuff, papers, different small items you forgot about a long time ago). Now imagine that tomorrow you urgently need to go somewhere far away and forever. Will you take a lot with you? What if you will need to pay $10 for each item you take with you? What percentage of belongings we own do we really need?
Asking these questions, I became literally obsessed with the idea of cleansing my life of everything unnecessary and meaningless, from things to information. Just imagine that you always know exactly where to find the right thing, and there is always some leftover space in the shelves and cabinets. Because you need all the things you own, you remember all of them and know exactly where what lies. Imagine you always know what to wear, because your entire wardrobe consists only of those things you wear and love.
“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off,” said Coco Chanel. Does this mean that we tend to over-decorate ourselves? Does this mean that more is not better? Does this apply to everything from the wardrobe to our home? Have you noticed that the most stylish and attractive to the eye are those pictures in which prevail only two or three colors, not overloaded with unnecessary details?
Perhaps our brain is too tired of information, including visual information, and therefore the perception of a minimalist picture is easier, more attractive, and brings more pleasure.
I have been asking these questions for a long time, and gradually minimalism has become the credo of my life, where quality means more than quantity. Does this philosophy make my life easier? I definitely became more conscious in every choice and in every action. My life definitely now has more space for the meaningful things, because living a minimal life means constantly making decisions about what is important and what is not. Today, getting rid of unnecessary things brings me more pleasure than acquiring new ones (and I still have something to get rid of). This does not mean that I throw everything away. I just find a new use for it (selling, giving it to those in need).
The true value of a thing is in its purpose—if the thing is needed, you will use it with pleasure, and if it is not used, then someone else may need it.