I’m not going to lie—when we first started our tiny house journey, it wasn’t about minimalism. It was about having a space of our own that we could afford. We never had much money, space we could call our own or many possessions, which made the transition to living in a tiny house relatively easy for us.
After living in our tiny home over the last two and a half years, we’ve come to embrace the minimalist lifestyle and learn quite a bit more about why it’s important. There are numerous ways minimalism can help us embrace a better life for ourselves, while simultaneously benefiting our planet.
People may be tired of hearing about minimalism, a word obnoxiously thrown around too often by others trying to capitalize on the trend. To me, minimalism describes a lifestyle that is more mindful, intentional, and efficient. And the best way to do this is to simply care.
I believe the real issue plaguing the world today is apathy. Too many people don’t care about anything outside of the narrow scope of their own lives. The mainstream media doesn’t help either, as networks spend most of their airtime convincing us of many things supposedly “in our best interest,” which often are not. Instead of reporting actual news stories, the information we’re actually being fed is that of a corporate-owned agenda. This, unfortunately, could be our downfall if more people don’t become activists and at least try to change things for the better. We need a hell of a lot more people in this world to give a damn!
You don’t have to do something as extreme as living in a tiny house to become a minimalist. All it requires is actively thinking about the things you do, the things you use, and their effect on the world. It’s not that hard!
Here are five good reasons to consider adopting minimalism:
1. To prepare for economic hardship.
Many people are likely practicing minimalism right now for the very first time and possibly don’t even realize it! But there are benefits to living a minimalist lifestyle all of the time, and one of those reasons is to be better prepared for hard times.
We’re facing an unprecedented crisis right now with the coronavirus pandemic. With numerous businesses being deemed non-essential and companies being shut down for safety concerns, many people are facing unemployment and concerns about how to pay the bills. When times get tough, it’s easy to focus on what is truly important and push all that isn’t to the wayside.
We’ve never experienced an economic downturn like this one since probably the Great Depression, and this current crisis is surely not going to be the last we experience in our lifetimes. However, if you are already accustomed to living with less, I’d argue you’re better prepared for this crisis than most.
If you already have minimalist spending habits, you’re going to be better prepared financially for this economic downturn.
If you’re used to owning less “things”, you’re not going to be in shock when you suddenly can’t afford to waste money on non-essential toys and gadgets.
If you’re used to living with less, you’re going to be more grateful and appreciative of the few things you do have, and having the ability to be grateful for anything at the moment is truly a gift.
The collective world is currently in a state of panic as the media unapologetically continues pushing its agenda to have us all living in fear. I’d be lying if I said this lockdown hasn’t affected us, but our way of life hasn’t been affected much at all. We’re grateful for our tiny home placing a roof over our heads, grateful for our health, and grateful for the food growing in the garden. It’s the little things. We’re safe here in our little corner of the universe in our tiny house (our daughter likes to say we “live in a bubble”) and I hope you all are safe as well, wherever you are.
2. Less stress.
Do you often find yourself overwhelmed and stressed? (I know I do!) Minimalism can help that.
A less cluttered home equals a less cluttered mind. I can 100% vouch that this statement is true, coming from someone with major anxiety issues—my bad days are much worse when our tiny house is cluttered—much less so when it’s tidy. Luckily a tiny house only takes a few minutes to clean!
Besides having less physical clutter, having a minimalist mindset also leads to less clutter in your mind. Minimalists may feel inclined to push away any negativity and choose to focus solely on the people and activities that bring them joy.
This means saying “no” when you’re asked to do something you don’t want to do. Instead of putting yourself in an unwanted stressful situation, a minimalist may choose the stress-free route of not putting themselves in that situation at all.
3. More free time.
We sure have a lot of free time on our hands at the moment, don’t we? But that hasn’t always been the case.
Time is something we slowly lose over the years and it can be a major struggle to regain control of. However, a minimalist lifestyle counteracts those struggles.
The fewer things you own means less time cleaning and tending to everything you own.
The fewer things you own means there is less you’re buying, which equals less debt.
Less debt means more time doing things you enjoy rather than working extra shifts to pay those bills–that’s how your things end up owning you!
Intentionally choosing less of all the above points leaves more time for travel, fun, and relaxation. After all, life is something we’re supposed to enjoy!
4. Save money!
Right now, many are facing uncertainty regarding our finances. Many things we’ve grown accustomed to buying might be looking less important. It’s a good time to take a close look at what you’re spending money on each month and eliminate anything non-essential, with little or no money currently coming into our bank accounts.
It might sound like I’m simply talking about being frugal, and one may think that the idea of frugality has nothing to do with minimalism or the act of being a minimalist. If so, I’d have to disagree. I’d argue they’re the same, as frugality is the act of only spending on what is important, which is what minimalism is all about–investing your time and resources only on what matters and eliminating all that doesn’t.
How many people right now are unhappy about being stuck with their outdated iPhone as new models are being released, knowing they can’t afford to upgrade? How many are starting to realize how unimportant purchases like that truly are? Right now, bare essentials like food and toilet paper are obviously more important than a new piece of technology, and only now are we starting to see that.
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You will have more money left in your bank account once you become more intentional about the things you buy and bring into your home. Practicing minimalism is as simple as that!
A minimalist will naturally be more conscious of the things they purchase–and less is more. Fewer impulse purchases of things you don’t need will save you money. It’s not fun or sexy advice, but it is smart and will help you to avoid falling into the debt trap, and better prepare yourself for hard times when that money you’ve saved is needed to survive.
5. Become the best version of yourself.
When you eliminate all of the things that don’t bring value to your life, you’re on your way to becoming the very best version of you.
When you decide to let go of everything that doesn’t matter and narrow your focus only to the things that bring you joy, life slows down and becomes much easier to navigate.
This has been true for our family and certainly could work for many others. Thanks to our minimalist lifestyle, I am now able to devote all of my time to be the best Daddy I can be, with little to no distractions or influences from money, work, etc. It is incredibly freeing!
Less is more!
Our next post will discuss 6 simple ways anyone can begin their path to becoming a minimalist, so stay tuned for that!
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