Minimalism: The way forward!

How many things you have in your room that you don't need. Just take a glance around you and you will find a pen not used since you bought it or clothes in your closet which have tags on them. Why? Why is it necessary to accumulate all these things? I always had this thought in my mind, why are people so much obsessed with things? Because the day you die, you are not going to take anything with you. All this extra stuff is just waste on this planet. The production causes waste, the laborers are treated unfairly and hence it's not sustainable, water, and air pollution during the entire process and you hardly use it once or twice, wastage of space in your closet. In recent times, as online shopping is trending we have started ordering things which are not needed and they just pile up in our stock rooms or end up in the wasteyard of our cities. Every year so many clothes are dumped in developing countries as waste.

The solution to this is adopting a life where you purchase and own only those things which are necessary. When you go out for buying just think whether you are going to use it or is it just an addition to the pile. How often are you going to use? Can you borrow it from your neighbor or someone if you have to use it rarely? I have started a practice in my society Whatsapp group where we have created a group only for sharing things, like the other day I need a pump for filling up air in my cycle tires, I borrowed it from my neighbor, I dint even know this guy. Thanks to this group initiative, people are sharing things more than before and also becoming a close family by knowing each other. When I started adopting a minimalist lifestyle, on day 1, I cleared my closet and donated all the clothes, shoes, and other stuff that I am not wearing, whether they were new or old. You can also start by doing this. Donating will help you feel good about yourself and you are also helping the society.

Cleaning my closet for the stuff that I don't wear was the first step. Later, I started cleaning my room, my bathroom, everywhere there was stuff which I never used, some random lotion I bought a few months ago, just lying there unused. And minimalism is not just removing stuff which we don't use, but also thinking before buying, Do I really need this?? I removed an old sofa and then replaced that corner with indoor plants and its a bliss to sit there between plants and read books! Try it. While I was giving away stuff, I felt that there is so much space in my room to breathe. Once I started getting rid of things, I started enjoying with less, and instead of things, people and experiences matter more to me. The cleaner room brought clarity to my thoughts and I really enjoy the moments now rather than collecting things that one day won't matter!

Let's start adopting minimalist lifestyles where we own only that much as much we need. This will save you money as well as our planet. So, next time you shop, take a pause and think!