Not Your Typical Minimalist
How to give your life a deep clean...and keep it that way.
“It’s complicated.”
That’s what I used to say whenever someone asked me about a particularly difficult relationship I was in.
Let’s just say that that was one of the lowest points of my life, and that that painful entanglement was something I didn’t have any business needing or wanting.
Yet, there I was: In the thick of complicated.
Thankfully, I eventually came to my senses (thank you, reality) and managed to extricate myself from all that turmoil, but not without my fair share of narcissist-induced trauma.
To move on and heal, I knew I needed to shed everything about the old me — my old identity, habits, haunts, dreams and even friends (who turned out to not be such great friends after all).
I was tired of chaotic and complicated.
And so my journey of letting go (or at least trying to) began.
It was more than just wanting to be surrounded by less stuff.
I wanted to go beyond decluttering the material things in my life.
I also wanted to declutter my mind, relationships and everything else that tied me to this earth-bound existence, and keep them clean.
But while the vision of a shiny, new, lighter life was appealing, I quickly ran into another ‘complication’: I was reminded that the idea of letting go sounds easy, but it’s incredibly hard to do.
Overwhelmed and unsure about where and how to start, I gave myself space and time to figure out the specifics of what a simple, decluttered life would mean to me.
Lots of time and space.
My first step? Go inward to get to know myself better and how I want to live.
At the top of my list were these three pillars of simplicity:
Spend less time ‘maintaining’ stuff, and more time carving out a meaningful and fulfilling life for myself.
Spend less money on impulsive wants so I can invest more aggressively. This would help shorten my financial independence timeline considerably.
Surround myself with emotionally healthy people who constantly inspire me to do better, and who bring out the best in me.
Building this foundation of self-intimacy is still a work-in-progress, and to be honest, I’m beginning to realize that it’s something that I’ll need to keep working on for the rest of my life.
Yes, it’s a lengthy, delicate and at times, painful process.
But a necessary one.
Without a strong foundation to stand on — knowing my values, weaknesses, strengths, likes, dislikes, priorities, what I stand for, and just as importantly, what my boundaries are — I’ll forever be at the mercy of the people around me.
And flip-flopping to the whims of what’s outside of my circle of control means one thing: More complications.
If living a life that feels lighter, more peaceful and carefree has been on your mind lately, here’s something to think about: What will you need to let go of to get there?
📌 SIMPLE LIVING: HOW TO START
Maybe the idea of living a simple, minimalist life is intriguing to you.
Or maybe you started at some point but ran out of steam because you got rid of a bunch of stuff and then thought: “Is this it?”
As a life-long student in my pursuit of simplicity, I was once where you are, and so I wrote down the first baby steps to simple living that I wish someone further along down the road had taught me, in hopes that it’ll make yours smoother.
I put it all down in my article, Simple Living: A Beginner’s Guide To A Less Complicated Life.
I hope you find it helpful :)
-Michele
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