(Note: This is the third post in a short series on minimalism. Please visit the first and second posts first!)
So how do you get started on the path to minimalism? One possibility is a top-down method: start identifying things that you don’t need and getting rid of them. It doesn’t really matter where you begin so long as you’re making progress. Choose something that you can get rid of, and do it! Then do another, and another, and another. The first thing you get rid of probably won’t help much, but the effects are cumulative, and soon you’ll be enjoying the freedom you’re creating. Where you start is up to you, but here are a few ideas:
- If you find the prospect of paring down daunting, start small — get rid of whatever would be quick and easy. Things you won’t miss, things that have no value and can simply be thrown away, or things that you can give away immediately. Get going promptly with some small victories so you feel the progress sooner.
- If you already have the motivation to stick with it and don’t feel like you’ll need the boost of early, small victories, start with whatever will make the biggest difference to get done. If you have a few CDs lying around that you don’t need, but a library of hundreds of books you know you’ll never read again, start selling, trading, or donating the books right away — a big project means a big victory and big benefits from having it done. You can tie up loose ends (like the CDs) later.
- If you have lots of boxes of things (like I do), you may be able to squeeze out a little bit of extra benefit by consolidating boxes after getting rid of some things.
But what about those things that you still use?
Simple Substitution: Improve Your Life By Giving Up One Thing For Another
One powerful strategy is substitution. Many possessions provide benefits we can duplicate in other ways. By simply substituting one thing for another, we can abandon the burden of ownership while still enjoying most of its benefits.
Here are some examples. You can substitute:
- Netflix for DVDs. When Netflix can put a movie in your hands in a day or two, there’s no need to maintain your own DVD library. I kept a few of my favorites, but sold off the bulk of my collection.
- Library books for your book collection. Make liberal use of the library and you can get rid of your books. If you return your books on time, you can’t beat the price! If you’re not good at returning book in a timely manner, try using the used book store instead. Sell off all the books you don’t read anymore at the used book store, then use the money (or store credit — some book stores give you a better deal this way!) to buy new-to-you books that you will read. This is “substitution light” — you still own the books, but your collection shrinks over time, as you receive less for your books than you pay for them. Keep trading in books for new ones until you only own the books that are really important to you.
- DRM-free MP3s for CDs (or cassettes, or record albums…). Many CD players now support discs burned with MP3s, and you can fit a lot more MP3s on a disc than plain CD audio — so if you truly need physical media, you can have more music with fewer discs. MP3s are also more portable than CDs, and don’t skip when you’re listening while you exercise.
- Legally downloaded software for shrink-wrapped software. Similar to the MP3s, there’s no reason to have physical media for things that are electronic in nature.
By borrowing, renting, and going digital as much as possible, you can benefit from using things without having to bear the burden of owning and maintaining them. Win-win!
Some other ideas: Give up the newspaper for news websites and blogs, TV for Hulu and DVDs on your computer, and big heavy reference books (dictionaries, atlases, phone books, encyclopedias, etc.) for online equivalents.
Simplify
Another tactic is to simply cut back. If there are things you truly don’t need, then even a substitution may cost more than its value to you. Maybe you have clothes that no longer fit, tools of a trade you no longer practice, collections of music or books or movies that you’re no longer interested in, old cars that no longer run, knick knacks that you don’t have room for, items you’ve kept only because they’re expensive and not because you use or enjoy them, keepsakes that have lost their sentimental value, and so forth.
Have a garage sale. Give things away to friends and family. Donate to a thrift store or a cause that’s taking a collection. Find a way to get those items out of your way and into the hands of someone who will appreciate them.
If you’re having trouble determining what you should get rid of, one tactic I’ve used is to ask myself “do I really need this?” and make three piles: yes, no, and maybe. Then sort the maybes — anything that’s easily replaceable is really a no, and can be gotten rid of. Only the maybes that would be difficult to replace or do without are keepers. I often find that if I repeat this a few months later, I find that some of the maybes that I kept have become nos in the mean time.
Stem the Flow of Acquisition
No matter what strategy you use to get rid of things, it will do you no good if you’re just going out and getting more things. Just as spending less is an integral part of repairing out-of-control finances, you must stop getting things you don’t need if you want to enjoy the benefits of minimalism. Fortunately, these things go hand-in-hand, so if you’re looking to get rid of stuff AND improve your finances, you’re in luck! 😀 Cut your spending, slow down, and stop getting things you don’t need,
Conclusion
Top-down minimalism is probably the best choice if you’ve got WAY too much stuff or if the project is otherwise daunting. It can be implemented a little at a time by making small changes in your lifestyle. In my next post, I’ll take a look at minimalism from the opposite direction with a much more dramatic way to make the change: bottom-up minimalism.