Cutting Back the Clutter

And so dear readers, we are hurtling towards the end of the year at a rapid, ever-increasing pace! The last quarter of the year is upon as and for once I've actually achieved some of my New Year's resolutions! So today, seeing as I have no new work to share at the moment, I thought I would talk about something that has been inspiring me for the last few weeks...

I'm talking about minimalism!

Now I am in no way calling myself a minimalist because that would be an insult to minimalists everywhere! But I will say that I am really inspired by the minimalist movement. What is minimalism you ask? Well minimalism is essentially, living with less stuff.

GASP!

"How could I ever survive without my collection of *insert precious item here*?!". See that's the beauty of minimalism. It isn't about living with just one crappy shirt or whatever item you thought of first, minimalism is about having less stuff... but better stuff. So imagine, instead of having 20 shirts where you only really love 5 and wear them often and the other 15 don't fit properly, you only have those 5 that you love and make you feel good about yourself! Now take that principle and apply it to... well everything you own!

I think most of us can admit to being the victims of consumerism and having way too much stuff that we really don't need. I know one of the biggest (or smallest) tips from the minimalists is to move from paper to digital. I'll admit this is one area of minimalism I can't handle. I need to take hand written notes and have something to write on or everything will disappear from my brain! But you can choose to recycle paper you don't need and toss stuff that really doesn't make a difference to you, like those pesky flyers that get put under the windshield wiper of your car.

I think the challenge for me with minimalism is that, as an art student and hopefully a budding artist, I can't live with the bare minimum of art supplies... because everything gets more expensive the longer you don't buy the supplies you need. There are a couple of things I can't really minimise in my life... But I can make sure that I don't overboard with it. I've found that having less stuff really does make your life so much easier.

So to conclude my thoughts on minimalism so far, here are a few tips I can give you to use a little minimalist magic in your life without getting rid of a lot of stuff immediately:

1. Delete apps that you downloaded on your tablet/phone/PC that turned out to be a waste of time. Not only will you have less clutter on your phone, but you'll probably free up some space for that next Instagram photo or two!
2. Throw away trash as soon as you make it. So if you eat a packet of crisps, throw away the packet as soon as you're done with it. Don't let it accumulate into a makeshift bin. 
3. Don't just buy stuff because it's on sale. Figure out if you're just buying it because it's "such a BARGAIN!" or if you actually need it
4. Give old clothes you don't even like anymore to charity. Someone will put it to good use, and not only are you helping someone in need, but you're minimising your clutter too!
5. Keep your bed as a bed and not half a shelf. I have a bad habit of doing this with clothes, but keeping your bed clutter free looks so much better than having to look at that pile of stuff every time you go to bed or wake up.

And so dear readers, that's my bit on minimalism for now. Stay clutter free and focused this week.

Until we meet again

Talia