pithy insights from the best books on simplicity and clutter-free living [1/3]

In this three-part essay, I would like to share with you the most important takeaways that I have gathered from the best books on simplicity and clutter-free living. Through these pithy insights, my intention for you is to develop a minimalist mindset that will help you in navigating through the complexities that come with modern living.  When internalized, they will guide you in your quest to living a meaningful and fulfilled life. 

The fundamentals to attaining practical wisdom and living an intentional life with less will never change and that’s why minimalism has proven to be such a vital instrument to learn the art of purposeful living. So, without further ado, here are the insights:

• The only path to bring focus back in our lives is by setting limits.
• We need to make a list of things that are overwhelming us and causing us distress, and devise a plan to build limits around them.
• It’s best to start with something easy, like unsubscribing from unwanted email newsletters and spam, reducing apps on your phone and turning off the notifications, downsizing your wardrobe to the essentials, or reducing the amount of time you spend on social media or watching Netflix.
• Through trial and error and testing new reduced lower limits we will be able to adjust our consumption and usage at the right level for us. Once our new limits are tested and defined, we can work on making this a habit.
• Setting limits is crucial for our success, well-being, and sanity. By doing so, not only do we commit to the things that truly matter in our life, but we also end up freeing our most important resources: our time, our energy and our attention.
• We are living the “American dream” but that dream turns out to be a hollow one. The main issue is that in pursuit of reaching those milestones, we forget ourselves, our aspirations and our dreams.
• Unfortunately, somewhere along the road, our perspective gets driven by external stimuli, not by internal inspiration. But the right approach is looking from the inside out and not the outside in.
• We get so stuck in the rat race, the workforce treadmill and in the pursuit of making money, that we lose sight of the things that are truly essential to us.
• The fact that many people have been available to overcome life challenges and their own personal struggles by embracing the minimalist lifestyle illustrates the power of simple living.
• The secret lies not in mindlessly purging item stuff as a way to pursue happiness, but to incorporate minimalism as a lifestyle and make it an integral part of our daily routines.
• Instead of running the rat race, we can choose to commit to a more meaningful life by changing our direction.
• As we create more space in our lives by letting go of unnecessary clutter, we can start with a blank slate anytime to pursue a new direction that resonates better with us.
• Minimalism gives us the freedom, flexibility and strength to start walking on a new path. We empower ourselves to step out of the rat race and take risks so that we don’t have regrets later in our life.
• Minimalism is not running away from things, but running towards better things.
• The minimalist lifestyle is not about living a life of misery and struggle, but it’s about tuning out the junk so that we can focus on the essential.
• To get things right, we don’t need to figure out the What of minimalism but instead figure out the Why, the reasons that propel us towards becoming a minimalist.
• Once we are in alignment with the philosophy and mindset of minimalism, we can take a step-by-step approach to getting started on this journey.
• The best strategy is to start small and gather quick and easy wins so that we can get the ball rolling.
• We need to make minimalism accessible to us and the only way to figure out what truly adds value to our life is by experimentation.
• As we tread the path of minimalism, we not only discover the gems (beyond our material possessions) that life offers us but also maximize our personal value and raise the quality of our life and relationships.
• Our goal should be to go on a tidying-spree as soon as possible so that we can get it all done in one single go and start living a clutter-free life.
• In the typical tidying process, we put things away and get them out of our sight but we should refrain from doing this and put everything under the microscope. If it doesn’t “spark joy” in us, then it’s time to let them go.
• We need to realize that there’s a big difference between storing things and discarding them.
• A better approach to tidying is to discard unwanted things first.
• When we realize that less stuff equals more space and freedom, and when we ask ourselves WHY we own those items, we will be able to downsize with a purpose.
• If we look at the big picture, as we commit to less, not only are we able to enhance our homes and lives, but also contribute to making the world a better place to live in.
• We spend a lot of our money in buying furniture, souvenirs, books, DVDs, wall paintings and then if we’re lucky, it hits us that the accumulating stuff provides us very little contentment. We start realizing that these objects are our wants, not our needs, and are not truly making us happy.
• Our worth is not measured by our possessions and the shiny objects that we have around us.