Corona-Crisis: “An Opportunity to declutter your home and your life”
The order is clear: stay home to save lives! Without a doubt the best remedy to keep Corona from spreading. Staying at home is the new reality. And it can be a new chance. A chance to finally get rid of all the “stuff” that has been sitting in your basement or in other places of your house or apartment and weighing on your conscience for far too long. Time to declutter!
You have to stay in? Get everything out!
Do you know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the stuff that surrounds you? Things that have accumulated over the years and which, for whatever reason, you never had the heart to sort out, to give or to throw away, even though you don’t actually use them? You are in a state of confrontation with your own disorder, the result of years of consumption and the urge to collect. After all, we were hunters and gatherers since ever, it’s in our genes… right?
Well, no longer! Everybody knows the saying “Organization is half the battle” and the “Clean up your room ” from our teenage years still rings in our ears. Time has never been better than now to re-evaluate your way of life, to clean your home and your mind!
We will help you to cast off excess ballast and give you a short introduction to the high art of minimalism. Indeed minimalism is the champions league of order, because it makes your life easier!
- It gives you more flexibility, you spend less time searching for things (i.e. when you are packing)
- Cleaning and tidying up become much easier and quicker
- You actually save money because you change the way you consume
- A changed approach to consuming is also good for the environment
- You value your belongings much more and learn to appreciate things in a different way
Own less, have more!
Apart from these very practical aspects, there are also spiritual reasons for a minimalist lifestyle:
- Become independent of consumerism and social pressure
- Collect emotions, experiences, moments instead of objects
- Learn to concentrate on the essential, to focus
- Experience a new lightness of being
HOW TO?
First steps.
Everything starts with the questions, “What do I really need? What brings me joy every day? What is good for me?”
Only keep those items for which the answer is a clear YES. Everything else… toss it (give or throw away or sell). If the answer is not clear and unambiguous, if there are doubts, put the item in a box, store the box away and check again after one month. If the item has not been needed or missed for a month and does not make you feel happy when you look at it again, it should be discarded.
For food, medication or make-up, simply check the expiration dates first. You will discard half of them, for sure.
Clothes are an easy thing. Everything that does not fit any more needs to go. For the rest, apply the same criteria: if it makes you feel good, if it makes you feel happy, looks good on you, matches the rest of your wardrobe, keep it. If you have a doubt, put it away and ask yourself the same question one month later. You will know by then if you really need the piece or are emotionally attached to it.
Photos: keep only the best and the most beautiful and put them in a nice album. Everything else can be digitalised and the paper version discarded.
CDs and vinyl (unless you have an expensive and rare collection) can be digitalised and cloud stored. And then there is Spotify, YouTube…
Rule of thumb: anything that hasn’t been used for 20 days, costs under 20 Euros and can be replaced within 20 minutes … get rid of it!
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF
Minimalism should be stress-free. It is not a competition. Everyone should keep what is really dear to them (e.g. the beloved vinyl record collection :-)
But you should question your possessions, deal with them and ask yourself consciously – do I really need this or that?
Of course, it is easier for singles than for big families, i.e. for a house with garden you need more tools than for a small apartment.
There are objects that you really need just on a few occasions (like ski boots).
And there are many items that you can share with others and thus need only once within a family or circle of friends:
- the famous fondue set that is only used on New Year’s Eve
- the lawn mower or the drill
Keyword: Shared economy! It’s all a question of agreement.
Conclusion: Not everything has to, but a lot can go. Everyone can and has to live their own personal minimalism.
Just try it!
Vanessa Schmit