Growing up, I’ve always been neutral to clutter. I didn’t care whether it was around me or if I contributed to it. My room was typically filled with clothes on the floor or a designated “clothes” chair, piled-up paper on my desk, and an unkept bed filled with several pillows. My kitchen sink was filled with unwashed dishes and cups only to be washed when it couldn’t take anymore.
In fact, my then-newly wedded wife got so terrified and asked herself what she has gotten into once she moved into my place. So yeah, I was a messy person.
Then came a baby and living in a tiny condo. For the last several months and for some particular reason still unknown to me, there was this thing building up inside me that led me to start feeling stressed when I was surrounded by clutter. I had to wipe and clear the kitchen counter and sink (a dishwasher helped lol) every night. Something in me pushed me to put away Joshua’s toys after he was down for the night. I just can’t live with clutter anymore.
Call it sanctification, I guess? Haha.
All joking aside, I then started to come upon podcasts and Youtube videos on minimalism and I thought that this is what’s been missing in my life. And one of the first things that minimalists tell you is to know your “why’s”. So I’m here to share with you the top 3 reasons I’ve decided to be a minimalist.
1. To Remove Stress
I’m not one to stress out too much but clutter has become a source of stress in my life, and it’s just good for anyone to remove as many stress factors in their lives as possible. Removing as much junk and clutter in our lives that we don’t actually need would significantly improve our quality of life as a family.
2. To Save Money
As I stated in my previous posts, I’ve started to be more intense with saving money. And it just happens that minimalism will help me in achieving this goal! Decluttering will give us a boost with money as we sell the things we don’t need anymore, and also help us save money by giving us guardrails against spending on things we don’t actually need. Minimalism lets you spend on things that bring value to your life and helps you stay away from the things that don’t.
3. To Help Us Be Thankful With What We Do Have
Living on only the things that bring value to our lives can help us be thankful to God for the things and experiences with which He has blessed us. If we don’t safeguard against consumerism and buying all the wants in our lives, we will be in danger of materialism and trying to quench the desire of wanting more and more without actually being satisfied when all is said and done. Living a minimalist lifestyle will help me and my family stay away from chasing materialism, status, and meaningless things.
Well, that’s it for this one. I’ll definitely be sharing more about my minimalist journey and the steps I will be taking to get to a clutter-free life! I hope you all have a good week ahead!
