5 Lessons I Learned When I Got Rid Of Everything Unnecessary

I always considered myself a minimalist person who appreciated and valued what little I had, or at least tried. But my closet full of clothes, as well as the large number of books that piled up on my shelves and invaded other furniture indicated the opposite. He had too many decorative objects, designed for another purpose. This is how I started to get rid of everything unnecessary. It was then that 5 lessons emerged that I learned and that completely changed my life.

1. Now I do use what I have

One of the first lessons I learned is that more objects do not mean more options. In fact, it took me a long time to realize that despite all the clothes I had in my closet, I always ended up wearing the same thing. Some clothes I considered only for special moments, others were too new to wear in my day to day. In the end they were relegated to the back of the closet, where the only useful items were three or four counted.

So what I did was “clean up.” I got rid of everything that I didn’t use and also started using what I liked so much: I stopped imagining what a premiere would be like and started to release. In fact, I even discovered clothes that I didn’t know I had and that I loved. How could he have relegated them to second place?

2. I think twice before buying something

Without a doubt, the previous step was essential to arrive at this other lesson. When I became aware of the clothes that I had, but which I had not realized, I no longer had a need to buy those clothes that I wanted.

The same happened to me with objects, books and other belongings. I know that advertising tries to sell and makes us believe that we need something that is not really the case. A new computer, a new chocolate, the best insoles for the feet … Anyway, too many elements that in the end end up without being used or ingested.

When it comes to food, how likely is it that I will eat it before it expires? This is a question I always ask myself, especially when I go through the dairy part. Buying food to spoil is pointless, as does buying things to just take up space. This is very valuable!

3. Less things, less time

The great thing about having less is that cleaning activities will be reduced considerably. Personally, it took me an excruciating time to clean the entire bathroom because among the dirty clothes, hair and body products, magazines, too many towels… It was a real mess. What to say about the room, full of books that he was never going to read. In the end, I ended up spending more time moving objects from one place to another than cleaning.

For this reason, by having only what is fair and necessary, what I am really going to use, I can make better use of my time and that is always something to be grateful for. Time is very valuable and the less we waste it by investing it in unnecessary actions, the better. So fewer things allowed me to clean and tidy things up much faster.

4. I started to focus on the present

One of the penultimate lessons I learned was that all that disorder that surrounded me was closely related to my past and my present. There were items that I didn’t want to get rid of because they reminded me of a special moment or were a gift. However, I was not going to use them, either because I did not like them or because they were damaged and unusable.

Others, as I mentioned at the beginning, accumulated for fear of being able to need them in the future. Until I was aware that if at some point I wanted something I could buy it, without having to save it until that moment. Because, perhaps, perhaps that moment would never arise and then the action would make no sense at all.

For this reason, I began to focus more on the present, valuing what I had, discarding what was left over, freeing myself from those “what ifs…”, forgetting those “it reminds me of…”.  Collecting with a farsighted justification is over. 

5. I am not my things

This is one of the last lessons I learned and one that I found really useful. Many times we think that we are what we possess, perhaps because we endow it with great value. But, in the end they are all objects, so I asked myself a question, what would happen if my car burned out, for example? I would feel bad, yes, but it can be replaced.

I remember a news story in a town in Alicante, a few months ago, that recounted how a man had died trying to prevent a large flood from dragging his car. The consequence? Dead drowned. Is it really worth giving your life for the material?

Getting rid of what was left over in my life opened my eyes to new perspectives. The lessons I learned taught me that I can love what I have, give it value, but never become a slave to these objects or allow them to be the ones that define my life. Because the material does not give happiness and, although it does appreciate some objects. So, how much money have I lost on those that will never have any real use? How much new has not entered my life for not having space for it?

Images courtesy of Her Tea Leaves